Chapter Four
EMMA
WE HAVE A MOVE-IN DATE
Hadley giggled as I pushed her on the swing. After the introductions, we went for ice cream and then to the park near the community center. Aiden wanted to make sure I knew where it was, since Hadley enjoyed coming to the playground and would be using the center’s indoor kids’ pool a lot that fall.
Hadley had been glued to my side from the get-go. It was pretty clear she and I wouldn’t have any issues getting along.
“Ms. Emma, are you coming home with us?” she asked when the swing slowed to a stop.
Smiling, I bent down and pushed one of her brown curls behind her ear. It wasn’t going to be hard falling head over heels for this girl. “Not today, but soon.”
“Tomorrows?” Hadley asked in that sweet little five-year-old voice. Her hazel eyes pleaded for me to say yes.
“I’m not really sure. Your daddy and I have to talk about it.”
When I looked up, Aiden was nearby, talking to someone on his phone. Glancing at me, he gestured to it with a frustrated look, and I knew he’d prefer to be present in our conversation.
“Daddy’s always sad.”
My eyes jerked back to Hadley. “Why do you say that?” I asked, trying to give her a smile.
Her little shoulders lifted in a shrug. “He doesn’t laugh a lot anymore, and sometimes when he thinks I’m asleep, he sits on my bed and just stares at me.”
I wanted to scoop her up and hold her in my arms. Erase any pain she felt, and any her father felt as well.
I was momentarily shocked by how I’d instantly felt so protective of them both. Maybe it was a coping mechanism to forget about my own problems. The ones I’d left behind. And I could do that by focusing on theirs.
“I bet he does that because he loves you so much.”
Her face lit up.
“What did I miss?” Aiden asked, looking at us both. I quickly stood and smiled.
“Hadley was asking when I was going to move in.”
Aiden’s brow rose. “Okay, well, when can you move in? The faster the better. Do you need to give notice where you’re at?”
I scoffed. “No, the man I’m renting a cabin from will probably be glad to see me go.”
“Wait…you’re staying at a rental cabin?”
“Well, yeah. I mean, I only got to town a week and a half ago. I was focusing on finding work and then a place to live.”
“That must be costing you a small fortune, Emma. You can’t be doing that.”
“Why not?” I asked, my hands going to my hips. I wasn’t about to let another man start telling me what I could and couldn’t do.
His expression grew contrite, and he cleared his throat. “Well, I mean… I didn’t mean it like that.”
I softened my stance.
“I just meant, um, the room above the garage is ready, and if you wanted, you could move in tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I asked, my voice shaking slightly. It was clear Aiden and Hadley wanted me to start the job as quickly as possible.
“Is that too soon?” he asked.
“No… No, I say we go ahead and start adjusting to the new routine,” I added quickly.
Hadley jumped off the swing and fist pumped, and Aiden looked relieved.
“Do you need help with anything? Moving, I mean?”
I shook my head. “No, I only have one suitcase. Mostly clothes and a few things that were my mother’s. Everything else, I left behind in Dallas.”
Good going, Emma. Another round of let’s give too much information.
Aiden’s brows furrowed, and I knew he wanted to ask questions, but he let it go, for which I was grateful.
Clapping his hands, Aiden said, “Then we have a move-in date.”
Hadley cheered…while I smiled and prayed that I was going to be able to pull off the full-time nanny job without giving this little girl my heart completely.
I peeked over to Aiden, who gazed at his daughter adoringly. My insides warmed with a feeling I hadn’t had in so long, I was having trouble identifying it. Whatever it was I felt toward Aiden, it was too comfortable, and it needed to stop now. I ruthlessly pushed the feeling away.
Aiden grinned when he glanced at me. “I guess we need to exchange phone numbers, and I’ll text you my address.”
“Oh, right, okay.”
After we exchanged information, I walked with Hadley and Aiden to his park ranger truck. Hadley climbed into the backseat and into her booster chair.
As he buckled Hadley in, Aiden gestured to the seat and said, “You’ll have to share the one my parents have until I can order another one for your car.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
“You’ll meet them tomorrow when you move in.”
A look of confusion swept over my face, and Aiden caught it. “I don’t live with my parents, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
With a giggle, I held up my hands. “I wasn’t going to judge.”
He smiled…another genuine expression. “I do, however, live on their land. I built my house right after college on acreage my parents gave me.”
“Oh wow! That’s pretty exciting.”
Aiden finished buckling Hadley in and turned to me. “I built it off an old log cabin that had been on the property when my folks bought it. It was a fun project.”
“I can’t wait to see it.” And I truly meant it. I was eager to see a home that had been built by someone’s own hands.
He winked—and my knees wobbled.
What in the heck? Oh no. This is not going to happen. He is a man with a daughter… And as of a few moments ago, he’s now your boss.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then. We’ll be home from church around two. How does that sound?”
I glanced at the park logo on the truck door, then it hit me again that he was dressed for work, even though it was Saturday. “Do you work on Saturdays?”
Aiden glanced at his uniform. “No, not usually, but I was covering for someone today. Will it be an issue if I need your help on the weekends? It doesn’t happen that often, but I can’t say that it never happens.”
“No, not at all,” I quickly confirmed.
I could see the look of relief on his face. “Good. See you tomorrow, Emma.”
“Bye, Emma!” Hadley called out before Aiden shut her door.
I waved and replied, “Bye, Hadley!”
As I stepped back and watched them pull away, I drew in a deep breath.
“God, please don’t let me wake up tomorrow to find this is simply a dream. Please.”
A rush of warm air came out of nowhere, causing me to smile and glance skyward. “Quick response. I like it!”
Glancing back to the retreating truck, I sighed. Here goes nothing.
* * *
“You have got to be kidding me,” I whispered.
I parked my car, grabbed my bag, and got out, gaping at the log “cabin” in front of me.
The red door added the perfect splash of color to the already charming home.
The massive front porch held a swing on the very left with a low wood table in front of it.
To the right side of the door were two wicker chairs, and to the right of that, another long wooden table.
“This house is huge,” I muttered.
“Don’t worry, you don’t have to clean it. That’s my job.”
Spinning around, I placed a hand on my chest and gasped. An older woman with salt and pepper hair stood behind me.
“You must be Emma.” The note of distaste in her voice wasn’t hard to miss.
“Yes. Yes, I am. I’m sorry, you are…?”
“Alice, Aiden’s housekeeper. He called me last night to tell me you were moving in today. Do you need any help?”
I gave her a warm smile and shook my head. “No, I only have the one piece of luggage.”
She glanced down at my bag, raising a brow. “Travel light, huh?”
“Something like that,” I replied, trying not to sound rude even though she was being pretty unpleasant.
“Well, follow me in. Aiden and his folks are running behind. They went out to lunch after church, then he had to go help his father with something at their place.”
I grinned. “That was sweet of him.”
She huffed and walked around me. “Yes, he’s a gentleman.” She pointed to an even bigger log cabin home that was on the other side of a large, beautiful meadow.
“That’s a stunning house. The views of the mountains in this valley are breathtaking.”
Alice huffed again. “Mr. and Mrs. Bishop’s home. And I grew up here, so the mountains make no difference to me.”
My eyes widened. What a charming lady…not.
“I was the Bishops’ housekeeper for many years, until Lisa died. Then Mrs. Bishop had me come and start taking care of Aiden’s place. Single father and all.”
“Yes, I see,” I offered.
Picking up my suitcase, I followed Alice up the porch steps and into the house. We walked into a small foyer that housed a bench and hooks to hang up jackets and such.
To my right was a living room with a giant fireplace. The furniture seemed formal with a bit of casual thrown in. There was a gorgeous piano sitting in the corner.
“Does Hadley play the piano?” I asked Alice, stepping into the room.
“No, Mrs. Bishop did. No one has touched that since she passed.”
My heart sank a little. A beautiful piano like that one needed to be played. The house could use some music to fill it up. Music, for me, had always been so healing.
On the other side of the hallway were double doors that led into an office.
“That’s Mr. Bishop’s home office. When the doors are shut, you leave him alone.”
I nodded. There was a long hallway in front of us, but through the living room, I spotted a formal dining room. “Do Aiden and Hadley eat in the dining room for dinner?”
Alice turned and gave me a look. “Do you mean, Mr. Bishop?”
Okay. So this is how she wants to play this.
“Mr. Bishop has asked me to call him Aiden. But if that makes you uncomfortable, I can call him Mr. Bishop when you and I speak, if you’d like.”
The housekeeper stared at me like I was a bug that needed to be stepped on and swept down the hall.
Fast. “If he’s already told you that, then no, please continue to call him Aiden.
And to answer your question, no. They eat in the kitchen at the island.
Mrs. Bishop liked the formal dining room, so he doesn’t eat in there. Ever.”
I nodded.
At the end of the hall, we emerged into a kitchen. It was attached to a family room that looked distinctly different than the rest of the house and featured another fireplace and much more comfortable-looking furniture. It was a room that looked lived in.
The kitchen was gleaming, with fancy appliances and a big island that held four stools. “Oh my goodness, this kitchen is huge!”
Alice nodded proudly. “It is. Do you like to cook?”
I nodded back while running my hand over the granite. It was cool to the touch. “Yes, very much so.”
That made her smile. Finally, something she liked about me. Small miracles, Emma.
“Thank goodness. Aiden isn’t much of a cook, and most mornings, poor little Hadley gets a Pop-Tart and a SunnyD.”
I scrunched up my nose.
“Yes. He tries, but some things he hasn’t mastered…and that includes mornings.”
Chuckling, I let Alice show me the pantry, the laundry area, and the upstairs, which housed three bedrooms. Aiden’s master bedroom was downstairs, and she didn’t show me that room, but she did mention his room had been the original cabin on the property, along with the family room.
The wood in the family room was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.
You could tell it was old, so I could only imagine how beautiful Aiden’s room must be.
Upstairs, a loft area with comfortable seating and a large-screen TV led out to a sizable connecting balcony. Alice nodded across to the old carriage house.
“It’s unlocked, the key is on the counter. I’ll let you get settled while I start cleaning Hadley’s bathroom.”
“Thank you, Alice. I appreciate you giving me a tour of the house.” It seemed as we went along through the house, Alice had warmed up to me a bit. It was probably weird for everyone that another woman was taking up residence in the house.
“If you need anything, let me know. I’m not sure when Aiden and Hadley will be home. I normally clean the house on Sundays, so that I can make Aiden a few meals for the week, but now that you’re here I’m turning that over to you.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“Thank you again!” I called out as she headed back through the loft area and into Hadley’s bedroom.
I walked toward the door that led to my new home, passing an outdoor table and chairs and a fancy-looking telescope. Taking a deep breath, I turned the handle and walked in.
My breath caught in my throat.
The living area was one huge open room with a big picture window that overlooked the mountains.
The kitchen was the perfect size for me.
A large island with two stools separated the kitchen from the living room, a fireplace sat in the corner, and cozy French country-style furniture filled the space.
I made my way into the kitchen and inspected the cabinets.
They were stocked with all the cookware and dishes and everything else I needed.
There was even a Keurig on the counter. I couldn’t wait to make a cup of steaming hot chocolate and sit in front of the fire with a good book.
Grabbing my suitcase, I walked down the small hall and to my bedroom. It was huge as well. A queen-size canopy bed sat in the middle, with an end table on each side. A matching dresser was placed opposite the bed, and two closed doors completed the space.
I opened the first door and gasped at the size of the walk-in closet. “Wow.”
I made my way to the other door, tossing my purse onto the bed. When I entered the bathroom, I squealed like a little girl. A big claw-foot tub was the first thing I saw. I raced over to it and immediately climbed in. Sinking down, I let out a sigh.
“I’m officially in heaven.”
“So…I see you’re easy to please, Emma.”