“I know. Annie is devastated. She’s been so tired, because Scotty is fussy and up all night, that she missed a pill, she said.”

  “They can barely support themselves right now, let alone Scotty, and now they’re having another child.”

  Quinn couldn’t believe her brother Brett could be this careless. He was only twenty-one, Annie just twenty. Both of them worked full time, but neither of them made much, neither of them had any more than a high school education.

  “I know. I think he knew you’d be upset, which is why he’s avoiding you. But he’s so happy. You know him—he’s always wanted kids. He wants to give his kids the life we never had. The life Annie didn’t have either.”

  Annie had been a foster child, too. She and Brett met in high school and had that common bond of being shuffled around and not wanted. When they turned eighteen, neither of their foster parents wanted them anymore, which was normally the case. Brett was working and had a cheap run-down apartment and let Annie move in with him. One thing led to another and now Quinn had a nephew…with another baby on the way.

  “I’ll call him. I’ll send some money.”

  Money she was hoping to put away in case this job with the Hamiltons didn’t work out. Such was her life. Every penny she saved, two more went out the window to someone.

  “Quinn, don’t. He hates when you do that. I hate when you send me money. We know you’re struggling too. Please, you don’t always have to take care of us.”

  “Sure I do,” Quinn said. Someone had to, it’s not like they had any parents. Hell, they didn’t even have the same fathers.

  “If you feel you must, but don’t send me anything. Please. Tess gives me everything I need. I don’t need your money.”

  “You need to always have your own money, Lily. You need to have something put away in case of emergencies.”

  Quinn learned that the hard way. You could be picked up and moved from one family to another in the blink of an eye. Having some cash could mean the difference between food in your stomach or shoes with holes in them.

  “I know, but it’s not like that here. I’ve got everything I need.”

  “For now,” Quinn said stubbornly.

  “Stop it, Quinn. I’m sorry you didn’t have the same experience I’ve got. I wish you did. I wish everyone could have lived with Tess and Ronnie, but they couldn’t afford it. You know they wanted to adopt me, but Mom wouldn’t sign the papers.”

  Which was a joke if anyone ever heard one. There was no reason their mother, Rae, couldn’t sign the papers. It’s not like she wanted her four kids or had been a parent to them…ever.

  “I know. I’m sorry. Listen, how about some good news for once?” Quinn asked.

  “Sure. You never have good news. Did you find a full-time job?”

  “I did. I’m going to be a nanny and housekeeper for a doctor who is a single dad. He’s got two kids, nine and eleven. They’re nice kids. I figured if I could handle you three and all the foster kids I’ve been around, this would be a piece of cake.”

  “That’s great! I’m so happy for you. You’ll be great. You’ve always been a little mother to everyone. Always the one to break up fights and clean up cuts and scratches. Those kids will be lucky to have you.”

  “Thanks, that’s good to hear. It’s a three-month trial. I’m packing my stuff now to move in early. So the best part is I have no living expenses. They’re letting me use a car, and can you believe I’ve got medical insurance? I filled out all my paperwork today and never expected that. I’m being treated like an employee at his office.”

  “Listen to you all excited over medical insurance. You’re such an adult.”

  Quinn laughed. Lily didn’t get it. She was still too young and still in the system. When Lily turned eighteen and was on her own and got sick, she’d understand it fully.

  “Someone has to be, right?”

  “And it’s always been you. If I’ve never said it before, I’ll say it now. Quinn, you’re the best big sister there could be.”

  Lily had never said it before and Quinn felt her eyes start to fill. “You’re a pretty good baby sister, too. I’ll talk to you once I get settled. Tell Brett I’ll be contacting him. Pass on the news and tell him to stop avoiding me now that the cat is out of the bag.”

  “Will do, little taskmaster. So, tell me, is he good looking?”

  “Who?”

  “Your new employer? He’s single, so is he good looking, or old fat and balding?”

  “He’s not old, fat, or balding,” Quinn said, laughing. It might be better for her peace of mind if Max were.

  “You didn’t say if he was good looking, so I’m going to take that as a yes,” Lily said.

  “Doesn’t matter either way. He’s my boss, I’m his employee, and this is a job I can’t afford to lose. I’ll be focused on my job and the kids. Nothing else.” Liar.

  “Whatever you say, little taskmaster.”

  Quinn hung up the phone and shook her head. Taskmaster. That reminded her of Max and his description of Jennifer. Quinn never thought of herself as a taskmaster before; she just did what needed to be done.

  And Max today at his office—he was nice to her. Nicer than most employers were. She’d seen the patience and understanding in his eyes. He certainly wasn’t a pushover; she’d noticed that right away—the narrowing of his eyes when he thought there might be more to her background.

  Or how fast he said he’d be taking back the offer of employment.

  No, he seemed to have a kind soul underneath it all. He wasn’t judging her, even though she’d kind of judged him and his practice until she found out more about it.

  His office staff had nothing but nice things to say about him. And though that could have been for show, she’d worked in enough places to know the signs. If employees weren’t happy at their jobs, they might bite their tongues around clients or customers, but not each other. No one at Max’s office seemed anything but genuine. The way they interacted with the patients and other staff. You can’t hide those things.

  There was an ease in the office that Quinn had never been around before. Even an acceptance of her, which definitely was something she’d never been exposed to.

  But under it all, there was something else about Max. She wasn’t sure what. He was looking at her funny, like he was trying to read her. Or see through her.

  What normally would have made her nervous didn’t. It just made her want to stay in there and talk to him more. Find out about his situation.

  She didn’t though. Instead, she thanked him again, like she had so many times already, and then proceeded to fill out her paperwork. She was his employee and that was all she was going to focus on, just like she said to Lily. Anything more would be a recipe for disaster.

  Adapt

  “Quinn, you’re here!” Lara yelled when Quinn opened the driver’s side door.

  She’d finished packing around five thirty and just shoved every box in her trunk and threw the bags in the back seat. Every box she could grab from the restaurant, she did. Luggage was a luxury she’d never had. Old food boxes and garbage bags, she had plenty of those.

  Lara came running up to her and wrapped her arms around Quinn’s waist. The easy acceptance was oddly…comforting.

  “I am,” she said.

  “I’m going to help you move in,” Lara said, jumping around and looking in the old car’s windows. “Wow. You’ve got a lot of bags in there.”

  “Give Quinn some space, Lara,” Max said as he walked down the steps of the front porch.

  She hadn’t expected him to be home this early. Jennifer had told her he worked all sorts of long and odd hours, but yet here he was at almost six on her first night. She wondered what that could mean, if anything, but tried not to belabor it.

  “She’s fine, Max. It’s a nice welcome.”

  “Lara can be a little overzealous at times.”

  “It’s a good trait to have,” Quinn said. She didn’t know what it was like to be that happy in life. That carefree.

  “Davey,” Lara yelled, “help me get the bags.”

  Lara was yanking open the back door and struggling to pull a bag of clothes out. Quinn felt her face heat up at her measly makeshift luggage.

  Davey walked around without saying a word, just offered her a nod and slight smile as he moved closer to his sister. “I’ve got it, Lara,” he mumbled, but Quinn still heard it.

  “But I want to help,” Lara complained.

  It was sweet the way they were arguing over helping her. What a welcome, and totally unexpected.

  “Kids,” Max said, “we can all help. Quinn, pop your trunk and let me get some things. Tell us what you want in the guest room for now, and the rest we’ll put in the dining room. We never eat in there anyway, and you’ll be moving into Jennifer’s suite in a few weeks.”

  “I’ve got it,” Quinn said, feeling uncomfortable with all the attention and the help.

  “Let him help you,” Jennifer said from the open doorway. “He rushed his butt home in hopes you’d be here already cooking dinner. For his penance, he has to carry your stuff in. Sorry, Max, you’ve got my cooking tonight.”

  Quinn saw Jennifer’s lip twitch briefly before she turned and went back into the house. Quinn looked over and caught Max’s foolish grin.

  “Guilty,” he whispered. “There are days I wish she didn’t know me so well.”

  Wow, look at that. Max actually did come home early because of her. What do you know? “If I’d known, I would have come earlier. I didn’t know if it was okay to move in this early as it was, until Jennifer asked.”

  Max stopped in the process of picking up a box from her trunk. “I told you it was fine.”

  “I know. It’s just a little new to me. I’m not sure how this all works.”

  “How what works?” Max said, lifting the box and walking toward the door.

  Quinn grabbed a box and followed him quickly. “The nanny thing. Nannies didn’t exist in my world.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll adapt quickly,” he said. “It’s not really all that hard. I mean, the hard part is the kids and housework, and I don’t think that will be a problem for you. The rest will just fall into place. That’s why you’ve got these few weeks with Jennifer.”

  “I’ll adapt. I know I will.”

  What else could she say, that she wasn’t sure? That she didn’t think she could do it? No, that wouldn’t exhibit any confidence in her ability.

  The truth of the matter was, she didn’t lack confidence in her cooking or cleaning. Not even taking care of the kids. It was more fitting into this world of Max’s.

  The world of wealth and privilege. A world that she barely saw from a distance growing up.

  Sure, there’s a lot of wealth in Chicago, but it wasn’t anywhere near where she’d lived. Not in the foster homes she moved around in, the detention centers, the courts or the clinics. All she saw there were overworked and underpaid people just trying to get by.

  “Good. Well, let’s get the rest of your stuff in the house and go choke down Jennifer’s dinner. She bought another crockpot,” Max grumbled.

  Quinn tried not to laugh, but she couldn’t help it. Here was a guy that was paying for two nannies for a short period of time, had this beautiful house, a successful medical practice, and he was being served crockpot food and taking it in stride. There was definitely more to him than met the eye.

  ***

  The next morning, Max’s steps slowed as he made his way toward the kitchen. He smelled coffee. Fresh-ground coffee, not the junk out of the can that Jennifer made each morning. Must be she was feeling bad about leaving him.

  He hurried his steps, only to be brought up short by long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes traveled down the rest of Quinn while she had her back to him.

  She was on the petite side, but not frail. She definitely had strength in her. He’d seen that as she easily lifted her boxes and bags and carried them in last night. Not just a physical strength, but a mental one too. The embarrassment over the shabby amount of possessions wasn’t hard to miss, but she pushed through it, he saw.

  He wanted to ask about furnishings, but decided not to. There was no need to put her on the spot. He guessed she either had a small place that was already furnished, or what she had wasn’t worth moving. Maybe she sold it to someone for money. Either way, it was of no concern to him.

  What was of concern to him was her standing there in old jeans, thick fuzzy socks, a long-sleeved shirt pushed up at the elbows, and a bowl in her hands that she was whisking something in rather fast.

  “Good morning,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you up this early.”

  Quinn turned quickly at the sound of his voice. “Jennifer told me what time she gets the kids up, so I figured I’d have breakfast ready.”

  “This was nice of you.”

  He stopped talking when she placed the bowl down and poured him a cup of coffee, then added cream and walked it over. “I remembered how you drank it from the restaurant.”

  “Thanks,” he said, taking a sip.

  Very observant. He liked that. He took a long sip and sighed blissfully. He only got this coffee on the weekends when he had time to make it himself. The weekday mornings were normally too much of a rush and he tried to stay out of everyone’s way.

  “I hope it was okay to use that coffee. I saw both and wasn’t sure, but figured I’d go with the better choice.”

  “It was the right choice. Jennifer drinks the other stuff, so that is what she makes each morning. I normally grab a quick cup before I leave.”

  “Well, now I know. I can make this each morning for you. No problem.”

  She said it so simply, he wasn’t about to dispute it. “What are you making?”

  “Pancakes. I didn’t know how anyone liked them, so I’ll just keep them simple this morning. I didn’t find any fruit either, other than bananas.”

  Oh man, this was going to work out just fine.

  “Any way you make them is wonderful. If you happen to pick up blueberries though, I won’t complain,” he said with a wide grin.

  She smiled back tentatively. “I’ll do that. What about the kids? What does everyone normally eat for breakfast?”

  He settled back in the chair by the center island to watch her cook. All ideas of going in early and grabbing an egg sandwich on the road to eat while he finished up paperwork before the office opened flew out of his head.

  “The kids usually eat cereal or toast, but they’ll eat normal breakfast foods. Pancakes, waffles, French toast. Things like that. Sometimes eggs and bacon, but not often. You don’t need to go out of your way though.” He felt he should throw that out there.

  “It’s not out of my way. I love cooking and it will be nice to have someone to cook for.” She poured the batter on the hot griddle. “I’ve never been in a kitchen this nice before, so I have to confess I’m a little more excited about this than anything else.”

  “You’ll have an appreciative group then.”

  “Really, Max,” Jennifer said, walking into the kitchen. “You’ve got Quinn making you breakfast already.” Jennifer turned to Quinn quickly before Max could say a word. “Quinn, cereal is just fine for the kids. Max never stays long enough to eat breakfast anyway.”

  “Maybe it’s because you never make me anything,” Max said, smirking at Jennifer.

  He was going to miss their bantering along with their friendship, but he sure the hell wouldn’t miss her cooking, or lack of it.

  Jennifer snorted like he knew she would. “You didn’t hire me to be a cook. You knew what you were getting when you asked me to come here with you.”

  “True,” he said. “Still, you’d think you would have learned a few things in all those years living with Rosie.”

  Rosie was the cook and housekeeper that he had employed in New York City along with Jennifer. Mia didn’t have time to do anything, if she was even inclined or home for that matter.

  “Rosie would have chopped my hand off if I so much as stood within three feet of her while she cooked. You know no one was allowed to talk to her in the kitchen.”

  “Sad but true. At least you’re off the hook then. So what do the Russos expect?”

  “Don’t get sarcastic on me, Max.” Jennifer turned and addressed Quinn, who was quietly cooking and ignoring the two of them. “The Russos are the family I’m going to be working for in a few months when I move back home.”

  “Months?” Max asked, surprised.

  “Yes. I’m starting the first of the year. Don’t you think I’m entitled to take some time for myself? I’m going to visit with my parents and stay with them for a few weeks, then take them on a cruise as a Christmas present,” she said, lifting her chin at him, giving him the same look she did when she was scolding one of the kids.

  He sighed. He was being a heel and he knew it. He should be happy he got a replacement so fast for her and one that already looked like she was going to work out well, but deep down he was still hurt Jennifer was leaving him. Another change for him and the kids to adjust to.

  It was hard to move on before. Hard to move here to begin with, not just on the kids but him as well.

  When Quinn placed a plate in front of him, working efficiently—almost as if she were in a restaurant and blending in with her surroundings—Max figured he better address another situation.

  “Quinn, what did Jennifer tell you in terms of time off?”

  “She said we would talk about it at some point. No worries. I’ve got nothing going on.”

  “Be that as it may, you aren’t employed twenty-four seven. Obviously I need you available for when I’m on call and such, if I need to leave in the middle of the night. I’m only on call every third weekend. The other weekends are yours to do what you want with.”

  She looked a little confused. “You mean not stay at the house?”

  “No,” he rushed out. “You live here. This is your home now. When I’m not on call, you don’t have to do anything. Cook for us, clean, run around, etc. I do take time off during the year for vacations too, and we’ll work that out. If you need a day off for something, just let me know.”