The Family Plan (The McClouds of Mississippi 1)

Isabelle glanced at Nathan. “You’ll come home after work?”

She still needed a great deal of reassurance that he wouldn’t be leaving her, he realized. He tried to give her that security with his smile. “Of course I’ll come home, poppet. I’ll be anxious to hear all about your first day at preschool.”

She nodded and looked back at Fayrene. “Okay. What’s your name again?”

“The last family I worked for thought it was amusing to call me Mrs. T. You may do the same, if you like.”

Definitely not like her sister, Nathan realized then. Although identical in appearance and equally intimidating at first impression, they were quite different in other ways. And while he was still wary about taking yet another new person into his life and his home, he was becoming convinced that he couldn’t have found a more qualified housekeeper. Now that Isabelle had given her seal of approval, it seemed they were all set.

Caitlin seemed to come to the same conclusion. “It was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Tuckerman.”

“Mrs. T.,” Isabelle whispered loudly, tugging at Caitlin’s dress.

Caitlin smiled before adding, “I really should be going now. I have a meeting tonight.”

Nathan took a step toward her. “I’ll walk you out.”

She didn’t meet his eyes when she said, “That’s not necessary.”

“Certainly you should walk her out,” Fayrene said to Nathan. “Isabelle and I will get to know each other. Do you like hot cocoa, Isabelle?”

The little girl nodded eagerly. “Especially with marshmallows.”

“Then come with me to the kitchen and we’ll see what we can find. While I make the cocoa, you can tell me how you feel about going to school tomo

rrow.”

Isabelle willingly skipped out of the room at Fayrene’s side, already beginning to chatter. Nathan and Caitlin were left standing in awkward silence, he trying to read her expression and she seemingly intent on keeping him from doing so.

The memory of the kiss they had shared hung almost palpably in the air between them.

Chapter Eight

Caitlin had every intention of making her escape as quickly as possible. She needed to do a great deal of thinking—away from Nathan.

“There’s really no need for you to walk me out,” she said. “You wanted me to meet Mrs. Tuckerman and I did. I heartily approve of her, by the way. You’re lucky she was available.”

Ignoring her less-than-subtle hint, he moved to the doorway, where he paused and motioned for her to precede him. Short of dashing past him and trying to outrun him to her car, there didn’t seem to be any way to avoid having him walk her out. Holding her head high, she swept past him, keeping her gaze focused ahead.

Nathan stayed close behind her, his voice low when he said, “Can you believe how much she looks like Irene? Gave me a shock when I answered the door.”

“I felt the same way when you and she walked into the den. I had no idea Irene had an identical twin sister.”

“They even dye their hair the same color. Wonder whose idea that was?”

“Who knows?” She started to reach for the front doorknob, but Nathan beat her to it, opening the door with a chivalrous flourish.

Hearing the door close behind them, she felt an urge to babble as she strode down the landscaped walkway toward her car. “It’s starting to get cooler at night, isn’t it? And beginning in a couple of weeks, when we turn our clocks back an hour, it will be dark almost by the time we close our office. Hard to believe it’s almost winter already.”

She was fully aware that she sounded like an idiot, but Nathan politely refrained from treating her like one. “This month is passing quickly,” he agreed. “Probably because so much has been going on. So many big changes.”

His words made her rather wistful. Things had been so much easier a month ago. Back before Nathan had brought Isabelle home and had pulled Caitlin into his life because there had been no one else to turn to.

Before he had kissed her.

She tried to keep her attention focused on the conversation she had started, banal though it may be. “Guess you’ll be going trick-or-treating in a couple of weeks?”

He chuckled. “I always do that, anyway,” he boasted, though she didn’t believe him. And then his amusement faded. “It’s the holidays after Halloween that concern me.”