She’d been thrilled to discover that last part. She’d thought maybe Nash was an old boyfriend or current lover or something. Not that it mattered to her.
When Nash ended the call, Emily darted around the room gathering her purse and a bag of tricks for the baby. She’d taken a drive up to Tucson last night to buy all the latest and greatest toys for Wyatt. She’d come in like a pro.
She drove her rental out to Nash’s place, and this time she turned into the gates and circled around the driveway to park behind his truck.
She squeezed the steering wheel with her hands and huffed out a breath. “You can do this, Emily.”
Pasting a smile on her face, she hitched the bag of goodies over her shoulder and strode up to the front door. Before she had a chance to ring the bell, Nash opened the door, a crying Wyatt clinging to his side.
The smile froze on her lips before she forced out some words. “Oh, what’s wrong with Wyatt this morning? Is someone in a bad mood?”
“Yes.” Nash scowled and then his eyes popped open. “Oh, you mean Wyatt. Yeah, I’m not sure what’s going on with him.”
She jumped back as a Siberian husky nosed his way between Nash’s legs and barked at her.
“This is Denali. I guess he wants to get in on the action, too. You’re not allergic, are you?” Nash peeled Wyatt from his shirt so that the baby hung in the air between them, his legs dangling just above the dog’s head.
She should take him. That was what Nash expected. That was what any self-respecting nanny would do.
“Come here, you little rascal.” She placed her hands beneath Nash’s on either side of the baby, and Nash released him to her.
She pulled Wyatt against her chest, tucking one arm beneath his bottom. She couldn’t very well hold him out there at arm’s length.
He wrapped his hand around a strand of hair from her ponytail that had swung over her shoulder and then put it in his mouth. At least he’d stopped crying.
“Oh, no, you don’t, you little—” she swallowed “—rascal.” She disentangled her hair from his grubby fist.
“That’s the first time he’s stopped crying in about thirty minutes. You’re a genius.” Nash stepped aside and ushered her into the house. “He’s had his breakfast. I left you instructions on what he eats when, although you’re probably a better judge of that than I am.”
Emily bounced Wyatt in her arms as she took a turn around what could only be described as a great room, which led into a huge kitchen completely out of her league. She noted the well-placed and discreet cameras in the corners of the room. She also recognized the type—video, no audio.
Nash may be leaving a new nanny in charge of his friend’s baby, but she had no doubt he’d be keeping an eye on her.
“You have my cell phone number already, but I left it and the station number on the counter. I’m not too far, and I’ll come home for lunch to check on things.”
“Okay, sounds good.” She dropped her bag by the couch. “What about Denali?”
“If you don’t mind losing some of the AC in the house, you can leave that sliding door open so he can go in and out. He likes running around the pecan groves.”
She wandered to the sliding door that led to a covered patio and a sparkling pool and those rows of trees beyond. “Maybe we’ll go for a walk. Do you have a stroller?”
“I do.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at a small hallway next to the staircase. “I put all the baby stuff in a room down here.”
Emily spun around, Wyatt contentedly resting his head on her shoulder, drooling on her blouse. She tapped the list on the granite kitchen island. “I think we’ll be fine.”
“You are a godsend.” Nash put his hands together and bowed his head. “I’ll be home for lunch. Call me for anything.”
He grabbed a hat, slung a laptop case over his shoulder and waved his way out the front door.
When the door slammed, Wyatt jerked up his head and his mouth puckered.
Emily pinched the list between her fingers and collapsed onto the couch with the baby, positioning him to face her on her lap. “You like Uncle Nash? I do, too, but probably for different reasons than you do.”
Emily bit her bottom lip. She probably shouldn’t be talking to a baby about how she had the hots for his temporary guardian.
She shook out the list and scanned it. “Food, bottle, diaper. Doesn’t say anything about a nap on here. Do you want to sleep?”
As she bounced Wyatt on her knees, he brought his hands together and chuckled. The sound brought a smile to her lips. “You are pretty cute, but does that noise mean you’re not interested in a nap? How about some playtime instead?”
Emily had read that babies this age liked to be on the floor to practice their rolling and crawling. She’d been relieved to discover she didn’t have to carry him around all day when he wasn’t sleeping.
With the baby hitched on one hip, she shooed Denali outside and shut the sliding door after him. No matter how friendly that dog seemed or how much he liked Wyatt, she’d have a lot of explaining to do if Nash came home to a baby with a dog bite.
As Denali scampered past the pool out back, Emily dug through the bag she’d brought and shook out a blanket dotted with clouds and unicorns. She spread it on the floor and placed Wyatt on his back in the middle of the square. He kicked his legs and waved his arms.
She dumped a variety of toys next to him and unfolded a padded arc that had plush cows, pigs and chickens hanging from it. She placed this over Wyatt’s body, and he went
