Keyed Up

Chapter One

Colton

I was never hiring a nanny again.

I would tell my boss that I couldn’t travel anymore. Or I would beg him to let me stay strictly behind the scenes, doing camera security work. Anything to avoid this panicky feeling that consumed me as I pulled off the highway onto my winding driveway.

The gravel crunched under my tires as I cranked the wheel, passing over the bridge without giving the frothing creek below even a backwards glance. For the hundredth time, I doubted whether I had made the right choice moving here.

I had only one thing on my mind. And as soon as I made sure she was safe, then I could breathe again. And then after I took a breath, maybe two, nanny was going to have to answer to me.

I didn’t think the truck was completely stopped before I was on my feet, striding up the short distance to the log cabin that I’d made my home for the past two years.

My nine-year-old daughter, Sera, loved it here, and so after she’d been especially disappointed when I was gone for so long on my last job, I’d suggested she and a nanny stay here.

I hadn’t had time to interview the nanny, but when my ex-wife sent me her information, I’d run her name, Gia Cook, through the standard Lock and Key processes, and absolutely nothing had been flagged.

I’d had to say okay. I had no real pushback, after all.

And I was trying too hard to garner some trust with my ex-wife again. And my ex-wife had loved the woman.

I had been thrilled that for the first time in years, I hadn’t had to make these decisions on my own.

That was until a few days ago, when Sera had called and mentioned that both she and the nanny had been sick that day.

And while I’d managed to talk to Gia for a few moments, it had been clear that the woman was very ill. And Sera was only slightly better.

I had dropped everything, including my high-profile client, to race home. I would make sure that my daughter was okay, and this nanny could get healthy again and then get her out of our life. Because if she wasn’t able to tough it out for my daughter, then she couldn’t be trusted with her.

I suffered absolutely no fools. Not when it came to Sera.

I knocked on the door with my fist, not asking for entrance but warning that I was coming in.

Running my fingertip across the keypad, the lock chirped a greeting as it unlocked.

Chest tight, I stepped into the small living room, where a kids’ movie was running.

Blankets were strewn across the sofa, and the lights were low, matching the stormy weather outside.

“Sera?” I didn’t stop myself from shouting. “Sera, where are you?”

A gasp, a flurry of footsteps, and then my daughter’s brilliant blonde hair appeared around the corner of the center staircase. “Dad! You really came!”

Relief coursed through my bloodstream as I leaned down. “Of course, baby.” Nothing would ever keep me from those I loved.

Sera grinned, front teeth still missing as she hurried down the hallway toward me. I held my arms wide, my eyes taking in her slightly crumpled blonde braids and the pajamas that she was still wearing well into the afternoon.

And I couldn’t even begin to dwell on how pale her face was, the dark circles under her eyes enough to send me into a rage. I held out my arms. “Come here, baby.”

Just as Sera broke into a jog, a sharp voice spoke out from behind her. “Sera, don’t!”

Fury pricked the backs of my eyes as I glared at the woman who stepped from the shadows. She was dressed in a pair of pajamas as well, a very familiar pair that was cinched high at her waist and dragged over the ground as she stepped into the light.

She was wearing my fucking pajamas.

I was going to lose my mind.

But then, just before Sera got to me, she seemed to slow down, her eyes going wide as the woman from behind her raced up, something in her hands. Something round and plastic, and… Oh, fuck.

A bucket.

“Breathe through your nose, baby,” Gia murmured, quickly catching up to where Sera now stood halfway between the kitchen and me. “Just like that.”

I was there in an instant, running an anxious hand over my daughter’s hair as she took a deep breath like Gia had instructed. “I’m sorry.” She hiccupped, pressing a hand to her belly. “I just got excited.”

“It’s okay,” Gia and I spoke at the same time, which made me only glare at her harder.

“Can you make it to the couch?” I realized now that I was so busy glaring at her that I’d missed that my daughter had managed to not gag again.

Gia spoke softly to Sera, her hands still running up and down her back soothingly.

I watched her hands for a moment, oddly transfixed by the bright-pink nails as they moved. They matched the enormous scrunchie that was holding her messy blonde bun and of course, the soft tank top that was barely holding in her breasts was pale pink as well.

She was Nanny Barbie. Fuck my life.

“Yeah, I can make it.”

Sera soft voice snapped me back to attention. “No. Here, let me carry you.”

I reached down and swung Sera up into my arms.

Gia moved with us, hissing slightly as my arms went around the girl. “Careful. I wouldn’t squeeze too hard.”

“I know how to carry my daughter,” I grouched at her before I could stop myself. Sighing, I kept moving, making my legs take me over to the sofa, where I carefully put Sera down next to her favorite throw blanket.

“There you go, baby. Can I get you anything?”

Sera, who was looking pale again, shook her head. But her little hand reached out for my pant leg. “Actually, maybe the bucket. Just in case. I don’t want to mess up the couch again.”

“Mess up the couch?” I turned, finding Gia standing there stoically holding the bucket out.

“Don’t worry. I cleaned it up already.”

I blinked at her, taking the bucket as she pushed it into my belly. I grunted and then watched as the young woman walked away. She was moving slowly, but her chin was sky high as she moved back toward the kitchen.

“I’ll get your cereal, okay, babes?”

Sera nodded, sinking farther into the sofa cushion as the movie began to play again. I pressed the bucket against her fingertips and then, after watching her for a long minute, moved to walk after Gia.

She hadn’t gotten far. She was leaning over the countertop in the small kitchen space, the muscles in her back bunching as she seemed to stare down at the counter. Off to the side by her hand was a freshly poured bowl of cereal, a box still open behind it.

“Gia, hey, I know you don’t know me, but I’m—”

“Colton. I figured.” Her shoulders rose and fell with a ragged breath. “You sound the exact same in email as you do in person. Which I know sounds weird. But it’s true.”

I licked my lips, preparing to send her out. To tell her she could keep the remaining days’ money, but she had to get out of his cabin. And fast. Because she’d done a shit job keeping my daughter safe and healthy, and I didn’t want to be mad at her. But I was.

“Look, I know what you’re here to do, okay? And I’ll leave in just a few. I just need…” Her body stiffened, her hands drawing into fists. “I just need a moment.”

It struck me for the first time that this wasn’t a guilty response. Or even a shameful response. It’s something else. “Gia?”

She had been sick before, but that had been days ago, when Sera had called me and told me that her nanny had been so ill.

“I’m fine.”

I moved to stand next to her, looking away when I saw her raise a hand to swipe a tear away from her cheek. “I’ll be fine in a second. I just—God, the smell.”

“The smell?” When did I become such a parrot? I looked around the kitchen. “The smell of the cereal?”

“She threw them up so many times the first few days, but it’s still the only thing she says that sounds good. But God, I can barely stand the sight of them.”

Realization dawned. Clearly this woman had been picking up and cleaning up a lot of vomit these past few days. Suddenly feeling a little ashamed of my earlier train of thought, I pressed a hand against her back, noticing the clammy feeling of her skin before picking up the bowl of dry cereal.

“I’ll take it to her.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, breathing hard through her mouth as I left the room. As soon as I got to the couch, Sera hit pause and reached for the cereal.

“Are you sure you’re ready for these?”

“I’m sure.” Sera’s face was serious as she took the cereal and then, ignoring the spoon, quickly began to use her fingers to eat.

I sat next to her, noticing the clean, lemony scent of the furniture shampoo. “Hey, I need you to tell me a little more about what happened. How long have you been sick?”

Sera put another two bites in her mouth, nodding.

“It was awful. The first day or so, I thought it was just Gia. She was so sick, Dad. It was awful. But she ordered pizza and made sure to get breadsticks, even though answering the door made her throw up a whole bunch more. And then yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night and could not stop vomiting. It was nasty. But Gia got me cleaned up and didn’t even get mad when I got her messy too.

She ended up sleeping in the bathroom with me, but I managed to get up today. ”

I had made so many assumptions, and now I was right in the middle of a massive fuckup. I nodded along as Sera told me about what kind of pizza she’d had and that Gia had promised they could order it again another time when she wasn’t sick so she could enjoy it more.

“Okay, baby. I’m going to check on Gia, and then I’ll be back.”

“Are you going to send her away? Because you’re home?”

I paused in the doorway, smiling back at her. “I’m pretty sure I can take care of you now.”

“I know.” Sera’s shoulders slumped. “But there were a lot of things on our to-do list we didn’t get to. I was just hoping once she felt better, we could try again. But if she can’t stay…”

“I’m sure there’ll be another time,” I said, hating the way the lie felt on my teeth.

No matter what had happened here, there was no way that this woman would ever come back—even if I asked her now.

I had come bulldozing in here, assuming she had done a poor job with my daughter, only to find out that she had done the absolute most. Far more than most parents would be able to manage while still being sick themselves.

And I’d been a dick about it.