The Bully's Nanny (The Nannies Book 5) Read online

  An older woman with graying hair at the temples but deep black hair rushed forward. Drew had no choice but to let her hand go as the woman tackled him in for a hug.

  She grabbed his face and started to kiss him hard.

  “I’ve missed you, son. Missed you so, so, so much. It was about time you got rid of that waspish woman. She was a viper. I’m glad you came to your senses.”

  “Technically, she left,” Callum said.

  “Shut up. Tilly’s out of the picture.”

  “But she hasn’t signed your divorce papers?” asked the older man who looked like an older version of Callum. She saw Drew looked more like his mother.

  “I can see someone has been keeping you updated on everything.”

  “We worry,” his mother said.

  “Tilly will sign the papers.”

  “When she’s good and ready. That’s not good enough. You need to be able to move on.”

  “We can argue about this, or you can say hi to Meghan.”

  Callie had already given Meghan the pie to give to them.

  “We made pie,” Meghan said. “It’s a chocolate one.”

  She smiled as she looked at the older woman who crouched down. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Meghan. We have wasted so much time and you’ve gotten so big.”

  “Does this mean I can call you grandma?”

  “Yes, I’d love that very much.”

  “Can I call you grandpa?”

  “You certainly can, sweetheart.”

  Drew took her hand, locking their fingers together.

  “Can I go and play?” Meghan asked.

  “Yes,” Drew said. “But remember to wash your hands when dinner is called for.”

  She ran off to be with Rebecca. Callum and Leah stood close. The couple snuggled together.

  “Drew, son, is there anything you want to be telling us?” his father asked.

  “Callie, these are my parents, Killian and Jane. Mom, Dad, this is my ex-nanny Callie.”

  Her cheeks were on fire. They were so hot someone could probably fry an egg on them. “It’s nice to meet you.” She decided to fill the silence.

  “Son, what are you doing?”

  “Simple, I found a woman I care about and I know she cares about me.”

  “She was your employee.”

  “And now she’s not. She handed in her resignation letter.”

  The ground could very much open her up and swallow her right now, please.

  “Are you even listening to yourself?”

  “Callie is not like Tilly,” Callum said, speaking up.

  “Didn’t you go to high school with Callie?” Jane asked.

  “Yes,” Drew said. “And you know what, I was the biggest fucking jerk to her. I bullied her, along with Tilly.”

  “Drew, I don’t really think—”

  “Well, I do. They need to know that I’m happy, and I am. So freaking happy it’s insane. I didn’t think it was possible to be this free. I hurt her back then, and rather than leave me in the lurch with a child I was so clearly failing on, she stood up. She helped me.”

  “She was employed by you, son.”

  “No, she wasn’t. She didn’t have to be. She could have made my life hell, my girl’s life hell, but you know what? She didn’t. Callie’s mine now. She’s giving me a chance, and if you can’t accept that, if you want to put your opinions on how I live my life, then I’ll take my woman and daughter and leave right now. I don’t need you. I came to make peace, not to fight.”

  Drew squeezed her hand and she held him a little tighter as well, hoping to keep hold of her sanity for as long as possible.

  “Killian, please,” Jane said. “No more fighting. You said your piece over Tilly. Not now.”

  “Do you intend to cause my son any harm?” Killian asked, looking directly at her.

  “No.”

  “Why are you with him?”

  “Well, it’s kind of not your business.” Her embarrassment was complete. “I didn’t force him into anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  “Dad, leave it out. Either accept us or don’t, but stop trying to do whatever it is you’re hoping to do.”

  She looked at Drew. His teeth were clenched.

  “Fine, it’s good to have you back, son.” Killian closed the distance, shook his hand, and pulled him in for a hug.

  With that, Jane grabbed her hand and marched her inside the room. This wasn’t what she was expecting, but she was taken to the kitchen.

  “I’m so sorry about that. Killian only wants the best for his sons, always, you know. It really upsets him when he thinks one of his boys is being hurt.”

  “I have no intention of hurting Drew. I don’t even think I’m capable of doing something like that.”

  “I can see that. You’re a good one, Callie, I see it. My husband, Drew’s father, after Tilly, it took a lot of adjustment. We had to give up our son, and that wasn’t easy. Callum helped for the longest time.”

  She folded her arms beneath her breasts. This was uncomfortable. She actually preferred being the nanny when meeting the parents.

  “So Drew bullied you?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  “And you’re not angry about any of that?”

  “The past is staying there. Drew’s not the same kind of person. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

  “And Tilly, what about her?” Jane asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Drew has tried to do the right thing when it comes to Meghan. One of the reasons we’ve not seen eye to eye is that he married her and we advised against it. He was such a stubborn man, even as a boy.” She shrugged. “What are you going to do when she comes back?”

  “I don’t know.” She hadn’t really thought that far ahead but looking at Jane, she saw she clearly had.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to ruin a perfectly good day.”

  “It’s fine.” She kept a smile on her lips. “Would you like me to help with those potatoes?” So long as she kept busy, she now wouldn’t have to worry about the prospect of being replaced.

  Chapter Ten

  “I want you to leave Callie alone. She’s a good woman,” he said.

  “I can see that,” Killian said. “You love her?”

  “Dad, we’re a little old to be talking about our feelings.”

  “I’ll take that as you don’t know what you feel for Callie. It’s that new.”

  He nodded. There was no point in denying it.

  “You raised a good daughter,” Killian said, looking out across the yard where Meghan was running away from Rebecca who’d been chosen to be it. Anyone she tagged now had to sit in the corner.

  “Regardless of our disagreements of late, I had a good role model.”

  “Here you go, charming me.”

  “I had a good childhood, Dad. I’ve got no regrets or resentments. I don’t like the way you handled my situation with Tilly but again, that’s in the past.”

  “You shouldn’t have married her, son.”

  “I know that.”

  “But you did what you thought was right.”

  “I did what I had to do. You always told me, Dad, be the best man you can be. Fix your mistakes. Own up to them. I did what you asked.”

  “What I didn’t add on was take care of your mistakes by not losing yourself in the process. You did that.”

  “I didn’t mean to. I was only doing what I thought was right.”

  “It happened. Don’t let it happen with Callie.”

  Drew laughed. “Callie is nothing like Tilly.”

  “She’s not?”

  “No, for one, she happens to love spending time with my daughter.”

  “Remember, she broke the rules of her contract by sleeping with you.”

  “Dad, it wasn’t like that. It’s none of your business and you don’t know how I feel when I’m around her. She’s … powerful. Her smile makes me forget what I’m pissed about. She makes me
laugh, and I want to do nothing more than take care of her. Believe me, Callie is nothing like what you think. She’s a good one. I promise.”

  “I think it’s quite simple how you feel about her, Drew. I’ll let you find the answers to that one yourself.” His father slapped him on the back and turned back to go and sit with his wife. They’d all enjoyed a nice big lunch.

  Meghan was curled up on the ground, and Callie sat with her head in her lap. The sun was slowly setting. They’d been here a lot longer than he intended.

  Moving to his woman, he cushioned Meghan’s head with a jacket and took Callie’s hand. “Come on.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I want to have a few minutes with you.”

  He tugged her along to the back of the house. He knew Callum would keep an eye on Meghan for him, and his parents.

  “Where are we going?”

  He moved down to the bottom of the garden, past the small river that ran at the bottom. It wasn’t deep as it only came to his ankles but it had been there all of his life. Opening the gate, he spread his arm out across a vast woodland. His father had loved this spot because his mother had said yes to him near this very house and he’d promised to buy it for her.

  He found the old tree that had to be close to a couple of hundred years old. An old tire swing hung down from it. There were many days and nights he’d spent on this swing, contemplating his life.

  Letting go of her hand, he held the tire swing. “Get on.”

  “What? No.”

  He laughed. “Are you afraid?”

  “No.”

  She touched the tire swing.

  “Get on. Trust me.”

  “How old is this thing? It’s never going to hold me.” She gripped the thick dry rope. “Hell no.”

  “Come on. I loved swinging on this when I was a kid. Trust me.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine, but if anything happens to me, I’m holding you responsible.” She climbed onto the tire and scrunched up her entire face. “Is it done yet?”

  He moved around to her back and slowly began to rock her back and forth. At first, she let out a squeal.

  “Trust me. Open your eyes.”

  With the sun setting, the view before him was breathtaking. Fields for miles overlooked the horizon. A few houses dispersed here and there. It was a truly beautiful view. It made him realize that he was nothing in the scheme of things. Nature was everything.

  “Wow,” she said. “And you used to come here regularly?”

  “Yes. It helped me to put my life into perspective. I wish I’d come up here more often. I might have been able to change the way I was to you back in high school.”

  “You don’t have to keep thinking about it, Drew. I forgive you.”

  He held the tire, stopping her from swinging. She tilted her head back and he stared into her eyes. “You forgive me?”

  “Yes.”

  He cupped her face but he didn’t have a good enough grip. He let go of the tire and she let out a little yelp. It was so cute.

  “I thought you said I could trust you.”

  “You can.” He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips. He hadn’t meant to let it go, but he had. “Oops.” He captured the tire again. “I’ve got you. See, no reason to panic.” He gripped the back of her head. “I will always capture you.”

  She pulled away. It was the first time she’d hesitated and froze in his arms.

  “Callie, what is it?”

  “Tilly,” she said.

  “What about her?”

  “Your mom, she said something.”

  “Ugh, what now?”

  “That if Tilly was to come back, you’d do the right thing. That you’d make it work for Meghan.”

  “Callie, my parents and I haven’t seen eye to eye over a lot of shit. Don’t listen to them. Tilly will be found when she wants to be, not a moment before. I’ve decided to let the PI go.”

  “But think about it. What if it’s true? It’s your daughter’s mother. If Tilly comes back, where does that leave me?”

  “It leaves you as my woman because I won’t tell you again, I’m not giving you up, not for anyone. Not now. I won’t make the wrong choice. I won’t make the choice that I think is right. I want you, Callie. No one else. I know it might be hard for you to believe, but it’s you I want. You’re all I can think about.” He held her face, kissed her lips, and he allowed her to feel everything he felt for her.

  He didn’t know if this was love, or what it was, only that he didn’t want to let her go.

  Kissing her temple, he looked out over the horizon. He’d never shared this with anyone, and it felt rather fitting to finally be able to share it with his woman.

  ****

  The time with his parents wasn’t so disastrous. Meghan got to meet her grandparents, and she got to see the most beautiful sunset. It was hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago, she’d met Drew’s parents.

  On a video call to Europe, she talked to her parents and introduced them to Drew. She never admitted to her parents about the extent of the bullying, and certainly not Drew’s name. Her parents had adored him.

  Drew also happened to enjoy her parents. It was a win-win, all around.

  Now, with only a few weeks to go until Meghan’s first day of school, she had to talk to Drew about how he wanted to approach this.

  Callie folded the laundry as Meghan talked nonstop about her day at the park. The boy who kept on bullying her was there but this time, Meghan had ignored him. Callie kept a close eye on the situation as it unfolded, but so far, she didn’t see a reason to pull the two apart.

  During school, Meghan would have to learn to take care of herself.

  “I’m home,” Drew called, and like every single time when he came home early, Meghan rushed toward him.

  She loved to see father and daughter. Their bond was united and sweet.

  With the laundry neatly folded, she made her way out to find them chatting. Drew sat on the stairs as Meghan showed him her cut.

  “I was really brave, Callie said so.”

  “She was running toward the ice cream truck before I could stop her.”

  “Did you get an ice cream out of it?”

  “Yep, it tasted really good, Daddy. I wanted to get you one but Callie said it would be completely melted by the time we got to your office.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Melted ice cream. Totally gross.”

  “Very gross,” Meghan said.

  Callie laughed. “Let me get by so I can put this away.”

  Drew picked up Meghan, placing her on his lap as she stepped by. His hands curled around Callie’s ankle, and just that one touch alone sent a shiver up her spine.

  As she got to the top of the stairs, the doorbell rang. “Do you want to get that, Drew?” she said. “I don’t know who it could be. I’ll be starting dinner shortly.”

  She entered Meghan’s room. She put all the neatly folded clothes away in the dresser. As she went, she picked up toys and made her bed. There was a nice butt crease from where she’d clearly been reading.

  Humming to herself, she took the laundry to Drew’s room. She hung up a couple of her shirts, all of Drew’s suits, and put their underwear away. With everything neatly done, she put the basket back in the bathroom where she’d used it to gather everything that had been thrown around upstairs. This was why she preferred to do the laundry daily. She didn’t like to spend all day on clothing.

  Washing, drying, and ironing was a boring job.

  “Who was at the door, Drew?” she said, coming downstairs and pausing as she saw who stood in Drew’s living room. Meghan was against his side, but she recognized Tilly. It had been years since she saw the woman who’d hurt her repeatedly through high school, but there she was in the living room.

  “Wow, you’ve got whale Callie living here.”

  “Enough, Tilly.”

  “What? This is my house the last time I checked.”

  “No,
this house is mine. To have a home, you have to live here.”

  “And guess what, honeybun? I came back. There’s no way you’re taking my home and my kid from me. I mean, seriously, you’re going to replace me with the fatty from high school? You couldn’t even look at her back then without your eyes melting, remember? She was so fat with her thunder thighs. Ugh, it makes me sick to think of your ugliness in my house. Get out.”

  Callie didn’t know what to do.

  Meghan broke apart from her father and rushed toward her. On instinct, she picked the young girl up, holding her close, wanting to protect her.

  “You think you’re going to take my kid from me? You’ve got to be joking. This is a fucking laugh.” Tilly stormed past Drew and tried to wrench Meghan out of her hold. When the little girl banded her arms around Callie’s neck, Tilly clearly saw red.

  She raised her hand as if to strike her and that was when Callie burst into action. With Tilly’s palm raised, Callie moved, grabbing Tilly’s wrist.

  No one knew how violent Tilly could get.

  Callie remembered the many times she’d come out of the bathroom to find Tilly had been waiting for her. Tilly had believed that because she was fat, she had extra cushion. She’d use her hands or fists to hurt her. Never to kick though. She’d taken the hits because violence repulsed her, but as she went to slap Meghan, Callie couldn’t allow that to happen.

  Tilly turned shocked eyes to her.

  “Don’t you ever raise your hand to strike her again. Hit me all you want, but don’t ever hit her again.” She shoved her away.

  “Tilly, you need to stop.”

  “There’s no way I’m signing this piece of paper, not until you get that slut out of my house.”

  “Callie, go to Callum’s, take Meghan.”

  “Drew?”

  “Just, please, go. Keep an eye on Meghan. I can sort this out.”

  “But?” She wanted to argue leaving him alone with Tilly.

  “Don’t worry, fat girl, I can sort this out.”

  She looked from Drew to Tilly. Meghan shook in her arms.

  Take care of her.

  Drew pleaded with her. Even as she wanted to argue, she didn’t. Holding Meghan in her arms, she grabbed her bag and took Drew’s car keys.

  After putting Meghan in the back, she buckled up the car seat. She paused, looking back at the house, but she didn’t hear any noise.