Special Agent Nanny

Once Jenny got used to being there each day, she seemed to thrive once more, with all the other children to play with and the excellent staff who watched over the kids while teaching them things commensurate with their ages and abilities.

But those first minutes when she dropped Jenny off…

“Good morning.” At the gruff, masculine voice, Kelley raised her gaze from her daughter—until she stared into eyes as blue as a cloudless winter sky. They looked about as cold, too. But the man behind them was one of the most gorgeous hunks Kelley had ever seen.

She felt her face flush at the direction her thoughts had veered. But that didn’t deter her mind from noting the breadth of shoulders beneath an off-white shirt and leather vest, the slim cut of faded brown jeans, the sturdiness of a set jawline and the short hair that was a cross between dirty gold and golden brown. And the cowboy boots.

“Good morning,” she returned, knowing her tone was quizzical. Was he the father of one of the half dozen kids settled at places along the tables? Kelley forced herself not to look at his hands to see if he wore a wedding ring. That wasn’t her business. Besides, a man who looked like him had to be taken. Either that or he had a bevy of beautiful women at his beck and call.

Not that Kelley cared. She wasn’t interested in any man, great-looking or not. In her experience, not one was worth a fraction of the aggravation he caused.

“And who is this?” The man looked down at Jenny, who clutched at Kelley’s clothes all the tighter. The smile on the man’s face looked sour, as if he had sucked on a lime.

“This is Jenny Stanton,” Kelley said, her tone cheerful for her daughter’s benefit. “Are you the daddy of one of the kids?”

“No, I’m the new caregiver.”

What? Kelley stared. He certainly didn’t look like the other child-care providers, who were mostly college-age men and women who studied teaching and needed to earn money in their spare time. A few were career preschool teachers. But this man…?

He knelt in front of Jenny. “My name is Shawn,” he told her. Then he rose. “Shawn Jameson. And you’re Mrs. Stanton?”

No. Kelley nearly shuddered. She definitely wasn’t Mrs. Stanton. That implied she was Randall Stanton’s wife.

She hadn’t been his wife for two years now. And that was fine with her.

It was her turn to force a smile onto her lips. “I’m Dr. Kelley Stanton,” she told the man. “I’m one of the doctors on staff here.”

Was it her imagination, or did Shawn Jameson’s straight, thick brows dip just a little before he resumed his uncomfortable smile? “Very nice to meet you, Dr. Stanton.” He stressed the word “doctor,” but it did not sound like an apology. She hadn’t expected one, but neither had she expected to be subtly insulted.

Didn’t he like doctors? If so, he shouldn’t be working in a hospital, even with children. Especially with these children, since many were doctors’ kids. But maybe she’d imagined his inflection.

“Good to meet you, too,” she clipped out, then knelt, gently extracting her skirt from Jenny’s hand. “Okay, sweetheart. Time for me to go, but I’ll be back for you soon.”

“No, Mommy,” Jenny said in her sweet little girl’s voice. “I don’t want you to go.”

Kelley inhaled, knowing the scene that was to come. Hating it, for she always felt as if she were hurting Jenny. “I have to, honey, but—”

“But we’re going to have a great time here today, Jenny.”

Kelley looked up in gratitude as Shawn Jameson took Jenny’s hand and tried to gently lead her away.

Jenny began to cry.

Shawn’s blue eyes widened. Surely that wasn’t fear Kelley saw in them? He glanced at her as if for help, but she mouthed, “Thanks,” and backed away.

Jenny began to cry even louder.

“Would you like a piece of doughnut?” Shawn asked, gesturing toward a box on the tall reception desk. “Or some fruit?” As usual, the treats had been left there that morning.

Kelley swallowed her objection to his bribing her child with sweets. It didn’t help anyway. Jenny did not calm down.

“Then let’s go color with your friends.” Shawn tugged on Jenny’s hand. The child was no match for the brawny man and followed him, but her sobs didn’t stop. He led her to an empty seat at the closest table and urged her into a chair. “Here are some nice crayons and a pad of paper,” Shawn said. “Would you like to draw something?”

“No,” Jenny wailed, pushing her chair back from the table.

“Well…would you like a cup of juice, Jenny?”

Kelley continued to watch from the doorway, wondering if she should go rescue her child. Or the man. He seemed to be growing panicked. None of the other caregivers were in the room. They were probably with kids in the facility’s other rooms. Or maybe in the kitchen, working on the day’s snacks.

In any event, this did not look good.

“I don’t want juice,” Jenny screamed. “I want my mommy!”

She looked at Kelley. So did Shawn. Kelley took a deep, uneven breath but did not move. If things didn’t improve in a minute, though, she would have to step in.

If she did, if she had to complain about this man, he could lose his job. That might be a good thing, but on his first day? Didn’t he deserve a chance?

Besides, Kelley had enough enemies these days. She didn’t need another if she could avoid it.

But why didn’t he seem to know what to do with the child? Worse, why did he appear so rattled? Surely he had worked with kids before. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been hired.

“Mommy!” Jenny shrieked again, rising from her chair. She looked as if she was about to run toward Kelley, who wondered if she should just leave. Maybe things would calm down when she was gone.

Maybe they wouldn’t.

The other children watched the exchange, eyes huge. The lower lips of a couple began to quiver, as if they might cry in sympathy for Jenny. Or for their own absent parents.

Obviously Shawn noticed, for he looked around nervously.

“Hey,” he said, grabbing a pad of paper and some crayons from the table. He looked desperate. What was he going to do? “Do you have any pets at home, Jenny?”

No, Kelley wanted to tell him. Don’t remind her. Jenny wanted a puppy or a kitten. Having a pet was even a recommended therapy to help Jenny recover from the trauma of the fire. But the timing wasn’t right.

If Kelley were a stay-at-home mom, the way Randall had wanted her to be, she would be able to take care of a pet. But that wasn’t reality. It wasn’t what Kelley wanted, either for herself or her daughter. She wanted Jenny to have a strong role model.

Not the kind of role model Kelley herself had had.

“I don’t have no pets,” Jenny told Shawn, shaking her head sadly. But at least she was no longer crying.

“Would you like one?”

It was time for Kelley to intervene. The man couldn’t be allowed to distract her daughter by making her feel bad about other things.

As Jenny nodded in response to his question, Shawn said, “Well, then, you shall have one.”

That was it. Kelley began crossing the room toward them, but Shawn Jameson must have noticed, for he held up one large hand. Kelley paused, but only for a minute. If he didn’t stop—

And then she got it. Kneeling on the floor beside the pint-size table, Jameson used the crayons to sketch on the pad. In a moment, the outline of a fuzzy spaniel puppy took shape, one with big, sad eyes and a lolling tongue. And that with only a few strokes on the paper.

It was an adorable caricature.

“Here you are, Jenny,” Shawn said. “This is your new puppy. And—” he made a few more strokes on the page. A child appeared beside the dog—a child with Jenny’s straight, blond hair and soulful chocolate-brown eyes. She wore a crown, like a princess.

“For me?” Jenny asked in obvious delight. Her tears had dried, replaced by a big, amazed grin.

“For you,” Shawn replied. “But you’ll have to think of a name for the dog.”

“Okay,” Jenny replied, her small brows knit as she gave the matter a lot of thought.

Before she came up with a name, the other kids were crowding around, looking at her drawing. Demanding, “Me, too, Shawn. Please. Me next,” all in a chorus that earned from Shawn Jameson a foolish, pleased grin.

Kelley turned toward the door. No matter what the man’s qualifications, he had obvious talent in one direction. And the kids loved it.

Maybe he would work out after all.

SHAWN WATCHED AS Dr. Kelley Stanton left KidClub.

“Okay, Teddy,” he told the nearest child and began to sketch a kitty-cat, as requested.

Amazing. He had all but forgotten his old ability to draw caricatures. Thank heavens it had come back to him when he’d really needed it. As he’d once really needed it to survive.

“I’ll call my puppy Gilly,” Jenny told him solemnly as he continued to sketch on the pad. “For Gilpin. That’s this hospital.”

“And a damn—er, darned good name that is,” he told her. He knew the hospital had been named for William Gilpin, the first governor of Colorado Territory back in the mid-1800s. A nearby county bore his name, too.

Jenny was a cute kid. Looked like her mother. Shawn had silently evaluated Dr. Kelley Stanton with the eyes of an artist.

And an arson investigator.

She was certainly a woman whose appearance was arresting. And he might have to be the one to ensure she was arrested.

Her auburn hair glinted, as if someone had painted flames through the shimmering brown. Her face was heart shaped, her expression even more solemn than her daughter’s. As if she had forgotten how to smile.

And no wonder, if she set fires for a hobby.

Even if she was innocent of that, she might have treated the flu patients from Silver Rapids improperly, as the current rumors unearthed by Colleen indicated.

Two people had died from that flu outbreak, right here at Gilpin Hospital. Two of Dr. Kelley Stanton’s patients.

Did she know anything about that flu? Its origin? Whether it was actually an outbreak of Q fever, antibodies for which had been found in the blood of sheep on a ranch that had already been investigated by Colorado Confidential?

Finding out might help rescue a child even younger than her own sweet daughter. A child who had been kidnapped, whose mother had caught the flu and whose kidnapping could in some way be related to that very strange epidemic in Silver Rapids.

The lovely Dr. Stanton just might be in the middle of the whole thing.

Lovely? Hell, she was extraordinary-looking. Shawn had an urge not only to draw her caricature, but to paint her.

Nude.

He laughed ruefully aloud.

“What’s so funny, Shawn?” Jenny asked.

“I just thought of a joke.” Yeah. Very funny. He had a very sudden, very real urge to make love to this kid’s mother. A possible arsonist, of all people.

There was nothing he hated more than someone who set fires.

Someone like that had damn near ruined his life.

He turned to little Teddy, who sat at the table beside him.

“Here you are. Here’s your kitty and you, together.”

“Thanks!”

Shawn couldn’t help but feel a burst of pleasure at the honest wonder and gratitude in the little boy’s fervent exclamation.

“Me next,” chorused the other kids.

Shawn started on his next work of art. Maybe he’d found his way to manage this assignment after all.

He’d begun to make friends with little Jenny Stanton.

Now all he had to do was get to know her mother well enough to start asking questions. A lot of them.

And the fact this woman made his fingers itch to touch her… Hell, he’d just have to get over it.

Chapter Two

Despite the bustle of people hurrying by, Kelley walked slowly down the hall as she left KidClub, wondering whether she should go back. Check on Jenny.

Make sure Shawn Jameson remained in control of all those rambunctious young rascals in his charge.

Not that she had any interest in seeing the handsome caricature-drawing cowboy again. But she fretted about her daughter and Jenny’s transition back into day care, today and every day.

No, things would be fine. She had to stop worrying so much.

As if she could. About Jenny or anything else in her life lately.

Resolutely, she picked up her pace.

The scent of fresh paint still hung in the air. The repaired walls were a lighter shade this time, though still a pale peach. After the fire, they’d been smoke-stained and dark, and the place had smelled awful. Most of the signs and fixtures had had to be replaced, too.

She turned the corner at the end of the hall and nearly ran into a cart full of cleaning supplies.

“Hello, Dr. Stanton.”

“Good morning, Juan,” she said to the tall, thin man beside the cart. Juan Cortes was one of Gilpin Hospital’s janitors, a pleasant man in his thirties who always wore a toothy smile beneath his neat, dark mustache. He had a faint Spanish accent. Relatively new at the hospital, he apparently loved kids. Each morning, before most people arrived, he came by KidClub with sliced fruit plus a box of doughnuts, each carefully dissected into several pieces to appease parents’ concerns about too many sweets.

“I saw the treats you left on the desk,” Kelley told him. “Thank you. Again.”

“You’re welcome again,” Juan said. His grin sobered. “How is Jenny?”

Like the rest of the staff, Juan knew Jenny had been in the child-care center when the fire broke out.

Inside KidClub. That was what Kelley told everyone, to protect her daughter. The fire had at first been called accidental, but the official cause was later ruled arson. So far no one had been arrested. Kelley had no reason to think Jenny had seen what happened, but just in case…

“She’s doing better,” she told Juan, “but it’ll take time before she can put it all behind her.”

“Of course. Well, I made sure I got her favorite today, a twisty glazed doughnut. She can have the whole thing if she wants, not just a piece of it.”

“That’s sweet of you, Juan.” Kelley hesitated. She suspected that providing doughnuts and fruit every day might create a dent in the janitor’s salary. “How about if Jenny and I bring the treats tomorrow morning?”

“Well…” Juan didn’t look keen on the idea.

Kelley did not want to make him feel bad, though she had been meaning to make this offer for a while. “Another day, then,” she said quickly. “You know I always teach her to take turns. If you tell me what kind your favorite doughnut is, we’ll be sure to bring you one. Okay?”

“Maybe next week sometime,” he said without enthusiasm. But he added, “My favorite is chocolate with peanuts.”

“Good. We’ll work out when soon.” She should probably also find out what kind of treats Shawn Jameson preferred, she thought as she continued down the hall.

The way he looked, his preference in treats probably had nothing to do with sweet rolls.

She shook her head. Why was the new child-care attendant so much on her mind this morning?

She turned the corner to the main hallway and glimpsed the back of Dr. Madelyne Younger. The short, platinum-blond cap of hair over the signature purple lab jacket was a giveaway.

Kelley’s own lab coats were light in color. Conservative. Unlike Madelyne’s.

“Hey, Madelyne, wait up,” Kelley called, but not too loudly.

Though this was the administration wing, it was still part of a hospital.

Her voice had apparently been loud enough. Madelyne, an internist who specialized in infectious diseases as did Kelley, turned to face her. She didn’t have the same compunction about raising her voice, which boomed down the hall. “Hey, kiddo, how ya’ doing this morning?”

“Not bad.” Kelley, smiling, caught up with the older woman.

“Not good, either, I’d say.” Madelyne’s narrow face screwed into a frown as she studied Kelley. Lines radiated from the edges of her barely made-up eyes. She gestured for Kelley to join her at the hall’s periphery to let the crowd of hospital staff and visitors pass by. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Kelley moved to the wall and shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing new. It’s just hard to leave Jenny these days.”

“I figured. Are things around here improving?”

Kelley didn’t want to think about that but replied with a sigh. “Not really. All the innuendoes appear to be taking on a life of their own and sneaking into every corner of this place.”

“Remember they’re only that—innuendoes. I was there. I didn’t see you do a damned thing wrong. That influenza epidemic was a beast and a half, and those two older patients who died—well, they simply arrived too late to be helped. Got it?”

“Got it,” Kelley affirmed, unable to stop herself from grinning back at her irrepressible friend. But she’d noticed the way Madelyne had phrased her reply. She hadn’t seen Kelley do anything wrong.

That didn’t mean she would swear that Kelley hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Anyway, there’s nothing—oh, puffballs. There’s the chief innuendo manufacturer now. Just remember the source, kiddo.”

Kelley sighed. Madelyne was glaring over her shoulder, and Kelley chose not to turn to see who she was looking at.

She already knew.

“Good morning, Kelley. Madelyne.”

The stilted masculine voice that had once been the stuff of her daydreams was now one of her worst nightmares.

Slowly, Kelley turned and found herself looking up into the face of Dr. Randall Stanton, cardiologist extraordinaire. Star of Gilpin Hospital’s surgical staff.

And her blasted ex-husband.

Randall wore a lab jacket with as much finesse as most gentlemen wore tuxedos. He wasn’t a particularly tall man, but Kelley, at five foot three, had to look up at him—a fact that suited him just fine. Silver-haired, silver-tongued Randall thrived on adulation the way sports stars did. Though the hallway was broad here, he seemed to take up its entire width with his presence. And of course he wasn’t by himself.

“Good morning, Randall,” Kelley said with forced civility, adding through gritted teeth, “You, too, Cheryl.” Even more than Kelley disliked her ex, she loathed the woman by his side.

“Yeah. Hiya.” Madelyne sounded even less enthusiastic than Kelley.

Kelley’s ex seldom traveled alone, even through hospital halls. His most constant companion these days was his assistant, cardiac nurse Cheryl Marten.

Cheryl was a little taller than Kelley, but she, too, had to look up at her boss. And lover, if Kelley was any judge. Cheryl carried a clipboard—most likely Randall’s.

Other than her height, Cheryl was not at all similar to Kelley. The nurse was more voluptuous and flaunted it. Though she wore an unprepossessing colorful smock over her clean white slacks, its top buttons were undone, revealing a hint of substantial cleavage.

She was probably a year or two younger than Kelley, which made her ten years younger than Randall. She radiated Randall’s air of superiority. More than once an irritated Kelley had itched to remind the woman that she was a nurse, while Kelley was a doctor. But Kelley always swallowed the urge. There was enough animosity between them without giving in to the woman’s obvious baiting. And Kelley knew that, with the esteemed Randall on her side, Cheryl would prevail in any catfight. Even with what she’d done.

Especially since Kelley’s formerly rising star at Gilpin Hospital had lost its luster.

“How is our daughter this morning?” Randall asked, pointedly ignoring Madelyne.

As if you care. Though they shared joint custody, Kelley had primary physical custody, which suited her fine. Randall was supposed to have visitation on certain nights and weekends, but often claimed to be too busy to take sweet little Jenny.

Kelley always made excuses for him, more to soothe Jenny than to protect Randall.

She had done enough of the latter when they were married.

Despite everything, Randall had not admitted to the slightest bit of responsibility for Jenny’s being left behind the night of the fire. Even though it had been his night to care for their daughter, even though his assistant had been the one to sign the child out, he blamed Kelley.

“Jenny’s fine,” Kelley said. “I’ll bet she’d love for you to ask her yourself. Do you plan to take her tomorrow night?”

Randall didn’t answer until he had glanced at Cheryl, whose smile looked forced to Kelley, but no matter. Apparently it had been the permission Randall needed.

More likely, he had just made sure a baby-sitter was available.

“Of course,” his voice boomed. “I can’t wait.”

I’ll bet. “Great,” Kelley forced herself to say.

“Umm—and your caseload these days? Can you handle it?”

“My caseload is growing, Randall.” An exaggeration, but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “And my patients are doing fine. Thank you for asking.” You nasty, vindictive jerk.

She hadn’t even been the one who’d demanded the divorce. She’d simply not knuckled under to his insistence that she change her lifestyle to suit Randall and his image.

“See you later, Kelley,” Randall said. “Madelyne.” He nodded toward the other doctor and headed down the hall, Cheryl trailing in his wake.

“Son of a boring snitch,” Madelyne hissed in an under-tone after them, making Kelley laugh despite all the malaise turning ugly cartwheels inside her. “Ignore him, kiddo.” She paused for only a second before continuing, “But there’s someone no red-blooded American woman can ignore. If I could whistle, I’d do it right about now. Who the heck is he?”

Kelley inhaled sharply. She knew just who Madelyne was talking about but didn’t let on. Instead, she turned to look in the direction her friend was facing. “Oh,” she said as she spotted Shawn Jameson coming down the hall toward them. “He’s the new child-care attendant at Kid-Club.”

“Well, damn. If I’d known that, I’d have had myself a kid or two to leave with him.” As Shawn reached them, Madelyne looked at Kelley expectantly.

What could she do but introduce them? “Hi, Shawn. This is my colleague, Dr. Madelyne Younger. Madelyne, this man is a genius with crayons. He staved off an entire room of fussy children this morning by drawing them into submission. Including Jenny.”

“No kidding?” Madelyne said. Kelley was almost embarrassed by the frank way her colleague looked Shawn up and down.

He appeared both amused and uncomfortable. Kelley considered rescuing him, but he did it himself.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Dr. Younger, but—”

“Madelyne,” she corrected swiftly.

“Madelyne,” he said. “But I’m off to a meeting. I’ll see you around, I’m sure. And I’ll be at KidClub later when you pick Jenny up, Dr. Stanton.” The look he turned on her with his cool blue eyes seemed to impart a message that Kelley could not decipher.

She wasn’t certain she wanted to.

In fact, she suspected, with the way things were going around here, that even from the new guy on the block, a great-looking man who couldn’t possibly blame her for anything, the message would not be one she wanted to hear.

“SO YOU’VE STARTED working at KidClub?”

Shawn, sitting casually in the small but luxuriously appointed hospital administrator’s office, nodded at Louis Paxler.

The hospital administrator, fiftyish, had a sweep of hair several shades darker than his thin brown brows. It looked real but not natural, probably dyed rather than a hairpiece. He wore a dark suit, and the red tie fastened over his white shirt appeared to lift up the extra flesh beneath his chin.

“I got there early this morning.” Shawn leaned back in the tall leather chair facing Paxler’s mahogany desk. “Marge showed me around.” Marge Ralston, head of KidClub, had no sooner arrived than there was a minor emergency in the kitchen. She had hurriedly left Shawn in charge of greeting the children. The way his credentials had been presented to her, she’d obviously had no concern about dumping that small responsibility on him.