Matters of the Heart Read Free Page A

and
Fitch. She left town quicker than she’d arrived. He didn’t even know she was
pregnant until she left that poor baby on his doorstep along with a note. That
bitch.”
    Sadie felt it
in her bones. Something magical was going to happen.
    “I’ll be back
in a minute,” said Sadie, pushing her cart to one side.
    She ran
outside, putting the hood of her jacket over her head to keep her head dry, and
hoped she’d catch the sheriff before he left.
    “There you go
all done. Now, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Sadie overheard him talking to the
baby, who sucked her fist while he secured the last of the buttons on her suit.
    “Excuse me. I
hope you don’t mind me being nosy, but I heard you’ve suddenly been thrust into
the role of single parent. Would you be looking for a nanny?”
    “I wasn’t,
but now you mention it, it does sounds like a good idea. Are you offering?”
    He smiled and
Sadie knew straight away that she’d found Lucy’s man. He was not only handsome,
but the two ladies in the supermarket had given him high recommendations. Sadie
felt this might be a perfect pairing in the making.
    “Not me, but
I know a young woman who’s a nurse and she’s looking for employment. I think
she’d be idea. Of course it would have to be a live-in position as she’s from
Helena
.”
    “No problem
at all. In fact, that would be perfect because being sheriff means my hours
aren’t always eight to five. Could I interview her?”
    “Absolutely. I’ll give
her a call. Can she drop by your office later today?”
    “Sounds
great.”
    “And there
would be some paperwork to sign should she meet with your approval,” said
Sadie. Yes, what a cunning way to get him to sign on the dotted line so the
match could be official. He’d think he was signing an employment agency
application and it would be giving Sadie carte blanche to match him with Lucy.
Sadie would keep it her little secret.
    He lifted the
baby up and Sadie tickled the back of its hand as it stopped fussing and gazed
into her eyes.
    “No problem
with that. Hey, I think you have my daughter spellbound.”
    “Yes, I hear
that all the time.”
    ****
    Brad rocked
Presley’s baby carrier with one hand while writing up a traffic incident report
with the other. She cooed so he glanced sideways at her. She was sucking her
fist again. It seemed to be her favorite pastime, and at least it kept her
happy and quiet.
    There was a
tap on his door. Vicki, the front desk receptionist, peeked into his office.
She made a funny face at Presley which made the baby coo louder.
    “Hi,
sweetie pie. You’re such a pretty baby. Brad, there’s a young woman here
to see you. Her name’s Lucy Davis and she said it’s about the nanny’s job.”
    Brad was
mid-sip with a mouthful of coffee so he swallowed it quickly. He’d almost
forgotten that he’d agreed to interview someone about the position this
afternoon.
    “Sure, show
her back here.”
      Brad turned to Presley.
    “Okay, we
have to check out this lady to see if she’s the right person to take care of
you while Daddy’s at work. What do you think she looks like? More like Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee ?”
    There was a
knock on the door and that question was quickly answered when he saw a brunette
with the big blue eyes and full rosy cheeks standing in his doorway.
    He was struck
speechless. She was pretty, which for some strange reason took him by complete
surprise. Not that he’d automatically assumed she’d be ugly with moles and hair
on her chin, but he wasn’t quite ready for this.
    She’s hired.   No questions asked.
    No, that was
so wrong of him. He was thinking of his own selfish need to have someone this
cute around him. That was his old life. The life that had gotten him involved
with a woman like Nevie . Now he had his daughter to
consider. If this wasn’t the right nanny for Presley, he’d have to let her go.
    “Hi, I’m Lucy
Davis,” she said.
    He stood,
knocking the coffee mug off the desk so