Page 21 of Substitute Bride

“You think the girls are all right, don’t you?” he asked.

Rose let out a breath, realizing now why he’d wanted to talk. He was worried about his daughters and wanted to feel her out about them.

Of course that was all it was. It wasn’t like he would want her company just for the sake of it. Things between them had never been like that.

She told herself there was nothing to be disappointed about. In fact, she should be relieved since it was a clue that told her how to behave. “Of course,” she said with a smile. “The girls are just fine.”

“Julie said she never liked Genevieve.”

“She never got to know her, and Genevieve can be intimidating for kids. It wasn’t anything serious.”

“She never did anything to the girls before the other night, did she? I mean, she didn’t give them any other reasons not to like her?”

She could see what he was asking. He was worried that Genevieve had hurt the girls in a way he didn’t know about. Rose said quickly, “Of course not. I think it was just that she was always kind of distant, and she never made any effort to really bond with the girls. Kids pick up on that kind of thing really easily. If anything had happened, I would have told you. I promise. There’s nothing to worry about.”

James sighed visibly and slouched back against the couch. “Okay. Thanks.”

Rose nodded and waited for him to say something else. He didn’t though, so she wondered if the conversation was over so she should get up and go to her own room.

She and James were certainly not in the habit of sitting on the couch together after the girls had gone to bed.

“Did you always want to be a nanny?” James asked out of the blue. He’d been staring at a blank spot in the air, but now he looked over at her, his tone and expression both thoughtful.

“No,” she told him, once she’d processed the question. She leaned back against the couch since he clearly wanted to sustain the conversation. “Not really.”

“So why did you become one?”

“Well, I always wanted to teach in elementary school, but we were always so short on money that Deanna and I tried to get jobs right away instead of spending money or taking out loans for college. I always planned to get started, taking classes part-time, but it never seemed like the right time. Being a nanny seemed as close as I could get to teaching children.”

“You’re really good at it. You’d be a great teacher.”

She sighed and then turned to smile at him. “Maybe I will one day.”

“You could start taking classes now.”

“I know.”

“So what’s holding you back?”

She glanced away. “I don’t really know. I enjoy being a nanny, and I’ve always been a little… hesitant about changes and new things. I’m sure I’ll start soon.”

She wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but she still wanted to be an elementary schoolteacher, which meant she would have to eventually go to college.

James was silent for a while, evidently thinking about their conversation. Then he asked, “What’s your family like?”

Rose wondered what was leading to these unusual questions. “I don’t know.”

“Of course you know.”

She gave a little smile. “Well, it’s kind of hard to explain them. You got a taste of them the other day.”

James chuckled, the amusement softening his hard features. “Your grandmother seems quite… formidable.”

“She is. No one can defy her. And even if they do, they’ll eventually end up doing what she wanted all along. She’s just like that. She’s obsessed with history and all things connected with our family, of course. You should have seen the lengths she went to in order to restore our old house.”

“I heard something about that. She engineered your sister’s marriage?”

“Yeah. Kind of. But I wonder sometimes if it was just for the money. Afterward, when Deanna and Mitchell fell in love, it was like she’d known that would happen all along.”