Susan Crosby believes in the value of setting goals, but also in the magic of making wishes, which often do come true—as long as she works hard enough. Along life’s journey she’s done a lot of the usual things—married, had children, attended college a little later than the average co-ed and earned a BA in English, then she dived off the deep end into a full-time writing career—a wish come true.

Susan enjoys writing about people who take a chance on love, sometimes against all odds. She loves warm, strong heroes and good-hearted, self-reliant heroines, and will always believe in happily ever after.

More can be learned about her at www.susancrosby.com.

To Renée Garcia, mom and home-school teacher

extraordinaire. Your value is beyond measure.

And to April Bastress, Education Specialist,

for the passion you bring to your valuable work.

Chapter One

Tricia McBride came to a quick stop a few feet from the interview room of At Your Service, a prestigious Sacramento domestic-and-clerical-help agency. She stared in disbelief at the owner, Denise Watson, who’d been filling her in on the details of a job opening.

“Hold on a second,” Tricia said. “Let me get this straight. I’m not being interviewed by the person I would be working for, this Noah Falcon? I would be taking the job, boss unseen?”

“That sums it up,” Denise replied. “It happens all the time, Tricia.”

“It does?”

“Remember, I screen all my potential employers, just as I do my employees. If you find yourself in an impossible situation, you’ll leave, but I don’t think that’ll be the case. Noah’s a successful business owner, a widower with four children. Pillar of the community.”

“Yet he’s not doing the interviewing.” Tricia didn’t like how two and two were adding up. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

Denise hesitated. “Well, to be honest, he doesn’t know his current employee is quitting. She told Noah’s brother in confidence, and he decided to take matters into his own hands and do the hiring himself.”

“Why’s that?”

“You can ask him yourself.” Denise opened the door, leaving Tricia no choice but to follow her inside.

An attractive man about her own age stood. Denise made the introductions. “Tricia McBride, this is David Falcon.”

Greetings were exchanged, then Denise left them alone.

“Your résumé is impressive,” David said, taking his seat at the conference table again.

It is? Tricia thought, but she said thank you then sat. “Why me, Mr. Falcon?”

He raised his brows at her directness. “Why not you, Ms. McBride?”

“I’m sure Denise told you I’ll be leaving Sacramento in January to move to San Diego to start a new job. I would be in your brother’s employ less than three months. That seems unfair to the family.”

“And you’re absolutely committed to this other job?”

“Yes, absolutely, unequivocally. I’ve given my word.”

“Just checking,” he said with a smile. “You know, it’s obviously not the ideal situation for us. But the important thing is that we’ll have that three-month cushion to find someone perfect, someone who will stay. Who knows, it could happen next week, and you’d be on your way. We’re not guaranteeing the job for the whole three months, either. But in the past Noah has been forced into making expedient choices. You’ll be giving him the luxury of time to find just the right person.”

“By that you mean he loses employees frequently?”

David hesitated. “My brother tends to hire people fresh out of college who don’t have a clue about life yet, not to mention how to handle four children. You were a kindergarten teacher, which leads me to believe that you like children, certainly a necessity for the job, plus you have actual experience working with them. You’re thirty-four, so you have life skills, as well. Denise has done a thorough background check on you, and I feel comfortable that you’ll be an asset.”

She eyed him directly, not easily fooled. “And what’s the real reason you’re doing this behind his back?”

He half smiled. “Truth? Noah’s children are in need of a woman like you, even if it’s only for a few months. Their mother died three years ago. The house is…quiet. They need laughter. And someone who will stand toe-to-toe with Noah.”

“Why?”

“He needs help, but he usually resists suggestions. Noah is still grieving. He doesn’t know how to deal with his children.”

“Deal with them?”

“Wrong word, I guess. He loves them. He just doesn’t know how to show it.”

He sounded to Tricia like a man out of his element and on the edge. “When Denise called me yesterday to talk about the job she made it seem like a nanny position, but after the details she gave me today, I’d say it’s beyond that.”

“It’s more teacher than nanny. The kids are homeschooled, so your teaching background is important.”

“Homeschooling four children is a far cry from being a nanny.”

“Which is why the salary is so high. But the kids are bright and eager to learn.”

“How old are they?”

“The boys are nine and the girls are twelve.”

“Twins? As in two sets?”

He gave her a dry, apologetic smile. “Which is the other reason the salary is high. Yes, two sets of twins, who aren’t nearly as intimidating as you might imagine. Just the idea of them tends to scare off the prospective help, which is why I asked Denise not to mention it.”

“I’m really not sure about this….”

“I understand your reservations, but if you’ll just give it a chance…” He leaned forward. “Denise is good at what she does, finding the right person for the job. In fact, she’s downright uncanny at it. Why don’t I just take you to Noah’s house now, while he’s at the office? You can meet the children and see the environment.”

The children. Tricia pictured them, sad, and lonely for a father who didn’t know how to show he loved them. She blew out a breath, trying to dispatch the heart-tugging image. “Where does he live?”

“About an hour’s drive north of Sacramento, a little town called Chance City, although not within the town itself.”

“You mean it’s in the country?” Tricia couldn’t contain her horror at the idea. She’d spent her entire life in the city. She liked concrete and grocery stores and fast-food restaurants.

“Depends on what you mean by country. It’s in the Sierra foothills,” David said. “His home is large and comfortable, on ten acres of property.”

“As in no neighbors for ten acres?” This was getting worse and worse.

“Or thereabouts.”

“So, I’d have to live in? What about my house? I’m getting it ready to put on the market.”

“You could get Saturdays and Sundays off. He can hire weekend help locally, if he wants to,” David said.

Silence blanketed the room. Living in, with weekends off. Not exactly what she’d signed up for. Or expected. Then again, it was only for three months, and her mantra of the past year kept repeating in her head: Life is short. Make it an adventure. She just needed to keep her usual safety net in place, too.

“Okay,” she said at last. “Let’s go check it out.”

Claws of tension dug into Noah Falcon’s shoulders as he turned into his driveway and followed it to the back of his property. He drove into the garage, shut off the engine and sat, trying to shift out of work mode and into parent mode. The demands of owning a company were a breeze compared to being with his children each night. Somehow during the past three years they’d become almost strangers to each other.

Lately he’d found himself coming home later and later, knowing they would be ready for bed, if not already asleep, thus avoiding contact beyond a query about how their day had gone and what they’d learned. When he did manage to make it home for dinner, he tried to carry on a conversation at the table, but unless he continually asked questions, they were almost silent. He didn’t know how to breach that silence, to get them to open up on their own.

And this was Friday, which meant another whole weekend with them.

At least tonight he didn’t have to worry about what to do, since it was past their bedtime. But as he walked toward the house he saw his daughters’ bedroom light on and realized he’d come home too early, after all. The rest of the second-floor rooms visible from the back side of the house were dark—the master suite and the bedroom the boys shared. Although there was a bedroom for each child, both sets of twins remained doubled up, choosing not to be separated.

He understood their need to be together and hadn’t pushed them to split up, even though he remembered having to share with his middle brother, Gideon, when they were young, and begging to have his own space, not getting it until he was a teenager.

But twins were different. Closer. At least his twins were. And Adam and Zach were only nine, so they probably wouldn’t be ready for individual rooms for a while yet. Maybe Ashley and Zoe never would.

Noah let himself into the kitchen through the back door. As usual, a plastic-wrap-covered dinner plate was in the refrigerator, along with instructions on how long to heat it in the microwave. He peered through the clear wrap and saw meat loaf, mashed potatoes and green beans. His stomach growled. He shoved the plate into the microwave, set it and headed upstairs to say good-night.

As he neared the landing he heard a woman speaking, her voice dramatic. The girls must be watching a movie, because it wasn’t their nanny, Jessica.

He’d almost reached the doorway to the girls’ room when he spotted all four of his children reflected in Ashley’s floor-to-ceiling ballet mirror on the bedroom wall. They wore pajamas. The boys were nestled in beanbag chairs they’d dragged into the room from their own. The girls were lying on their stomachs on Ashley’s bed, chins resting on their hands. All of them were focused on a woman standing off to the side a little, an open book in her hand.

She was tall. He was six-four, and he figured she was five-ten, maybe taller. Her hair was a wild mass of golden-blond curls that bounced as she dramatized the story. She used a different voice for each character and put her whole body into the performance—her whole very nice body. Blue jeans clung to long legs; her breasts strained against a form-fitting sweater. Incredible breasts.

She would look magnificent naked, like some kind of Amazon. A warrior woman—

Noah scattered the image. She was a stranger in his house, in his children’s bedroom. Who the hell was she? And where was Jessica?

He moved into the room. The children turned and stared but said nothing, just looked back and forth between the woman and him.

“Good evening,” he said to them.

“Good evening, Father,” they answered almost in unison.

He saw the woman frown for a moment, then she came forward, her hand out. Brilliant green eyes took his measure. “Hi. You must be Noah Falcon. I’m Tricia McBride, your new schoolmarm.”

Chapter Two

“My new…schoolmarm?” he repeated as he shook her hand. “But, where’s Jessica?”

“Watching television in her bedroom. We can do an official changing of the guard on Monday.” Tricia leaned close to him, sympathetic to his shock. “You need to call your brother David.”

His mouth hardened. “In the meantime, may I speak to you in the hall?” he said, more a command than question, then he left the room without waiting for a response.

Tricia steeled herself for the discussion. She’d expected surprise and resistance, based on David’s comments, as well as Jessica’s. But having spent the afternoon and evening with his children, she’d decided she would make him hire her. They needed her. Period.

She set down the book and smiled at the children. “I’ll be back to finish it with you. Why don’t you have a pillow fight or something in the meantime?” She grinned as they looked at each other in astonishment.

She crashed straight into her new boss as she left the room.

“What took you so long?” he asked.

“Ten seconds is long? I was assuring your children that I’d be back to finish reading the story.”

“Aren’t they kind of old for bedtime stories? They do know how to read.”

She was definitely going to have more problems with the father than the children. And, really, someone should’ve told her how incredibly attractive the man was, with his rich dark brown hair and eyes, and all that height and broad chest and shoulders. Too bad he didn’t have a funny bone.

“Personally, I still love a good bedtime story,” she said, realizing he was waiting for her to answer.

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I take it Jessica is quitting.”

“That’s the scoop.”

“And my brother found out and intervened and hired you.”

“Yes. I imagine he’s waiting to hear from you.”

“Oh, he’ll hear from me, all right.”

She wouldn’t want to be on the other end of that call.

“What’s your background?” he asked.

“Kindergarten teacher.” She figured he didn’t need to know yet that she hadn’t taught for five years. “Jessica showed me the curriculum. It looks doable.” Just needed a little shaking up to add some fun to the program.

He angled away from her. “I’m going to talk to Jessica, then call David. Please come to my office when you’re done reading to the children. Do you know where it is?”

“Jessica gave me a tour.” Seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, three stories. The tour lasted half an hour.

“Good.” He started to walk away.

“I’m sorry. I must have interrupted your saying good-night to your children,” she said cheerfully.

He gave her a long look then sidestepped around her and went back into the room. She followed, wanting to watch them interact.

No pillow fight going on, but that wasn’t a surprise.

“So. Another change,” Noah said, standing in the middle of the room between the boys and girls. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Ashley said with a smile.

“No, it’s not okay,” Noah said after a long moment. “I’ll fix it.”

The girls were sitting cross-legged on the bed. He ruffled their long, strawberry-blond hair and said good-night, then did the same with the boys, who were so similar in coloring to their father, dark hair and eyes. They each said, “Good night, Father,” in return. He nodded at Tricia as he left the room.

She picked up the book again. She only had three pages remaining to finish the story and figured he would need some time to take care of his business. She started reading, noted that the children got caught up in the story again instantly, their expressions rapt.

Ashley applauded at the end. She was easy to distinguish from her twin, Zoe, because Ashley almost always smiled, while Zoe rarely did.

“I guess it’s time for bed?” Tricia asked them, thinking it was early for twelve-year-olds, but they didn’t complain.

The boys grabbed their beanbag chairs and headed for the door.

“I’ll come say good-night,” she said to them.

They looked at each other. “Why?” Adam asked. Tricia had noticed that Adam often spoke for Zachary, too, after exchanging a look. But Adam and his sister Zoe were also similar in that they were constantly moving. Even if they were sitting, their feet were rarely still.

“Because I like to,” Tricia said to Adam. “I think it’s a nice way to end the day.”

Again the boys looked at each other. The overly quiet Zachary shrugged and left. Adam followed.

“You’ll be here on Monday, right?” Ashley asked as she climbed under her blankets.

“Your dad will make the final decision, but I sure hope so. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Why?” Zoe asked from her side of the room.

Zoe was easily the most intense of the four, the one to question why.

“Because I like you,” Tricia answered.

“You don’t even know us,” Zoe scoffed.

Ah, yes. Definitely not one to just go along. “That’s true, Zoe. And you don’t know me yet, either, but I really like what I’ve seen already.” She tucked Ashley’s blankets around her. “Good night. Sleep tight.”

Ashley clung to Tricia’s arms for a moment, smiling sweetly. Zoe was resistant to being tucked in, so Tricia didn’t try.

“Do you leave your door open or closed?” she asked. She’d already noted a nightlight on in their adjoining bathroom.

“Closed,” Ashley said, quickly adding, “but not the bathroom door.”

The slight tremor in her voice told Tricia all she needed to know. “Okay. Good night.”

She went down the hall to the boys’ room. The door was already shut, no slit of light under it. She smiled. They had a lot to learn about Tricia McBride.

She knocked. No answer. She opened the door wide, letting the hall light guide her way. Neither boy spoke. The lumps in their beds remained motionless. In the dark she couldn’t differentiate between the boys and didn’t know which one slept in which bed, either. She took her cue from what surrounded them. One side of the room was military neat. The other was a maze of sports equipment. She headed there first, tripping over a basketball.

“Good night, Adam,” she said, rubbing his shoulder for a second. He lifted his head in a hurry.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“You are one of a kind, young man.”

A moment of silence, then, “I am?”

“You sure are. Sleep tight.”

“Will you be coming back?”

“I hope so.”

She moved to Zachary’s bed and repeated her good-night and quick touch to his shoulder. He didn’t say anything until she’d reached the door.

“I don’t remember your name,” he said in the darkness.

“Tricia McBride. ’Night.”

After shutting the door, she leaned against it for a moment, grateful she’d been able to tell them apart, hoping that impressed them in some way.

Then she headed downstairs to beard the lion in his den.

Noah drummed his fingers on his desktop, phone to his ear, as he listened to his brother defend his decision to do the hiring this time around.

“Doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes, either,” David said, a wink in his voice.

“That’s about the dumbest thing you’ve said. I’ve never gotten involved with an employee, nor do I intend to start.”

“You should take a page out of my book. Worked for me.”

“You took a huge risk by getting involved with your housekeeper. She could’ve quit, or filed a lawsuit, or—”

“Get engaged to me,” David interrupted. “Turned out great.”

“You were lucky.”

“Damn straight.”

“I didn’t mean it in a good way, David.”

David laughed. Noah settled into his chair. Actually, he was glad not to have to deal with interviewing and hiring yet another nanny, but he didn’t want David to think he had free rein to interfere.

“The kids seem to like her,” Noah said. “They’ve had to adapt way too many times. I hope this one sticks.”

David was quiet for a few seconds, then, “That’s my hope, as well.”

Noah heard someone coming down the stairs and assumed it was Tricia. “I have to go. We’ll talk more at the office on Monday.”

“I guess I can wait until then for my thank-you gift.”

Noah shook his head as he hung up. David wanted everyone to be as happy as he was, now that he’d found the right woman. Noah had already found and married the right woman, once upon a time.

A knock came at his door. “It’s Tricia,” she announced.

“Come in.” He tried to take in her tall, curvy body again without her noticing his interest. Easy on the eyes, indeed, he thought, remembering David’s comment. He indicated the chair across from his desk.

“They’re all tucked in,” she said, crossing her legs, her foot bouncing. “They are sweethearts.”

He leaned back. “Thanks. It’s been hard on them since losing their mother.”

“I’m sure it has. That was three years ago, right?”

“Right, but don’t give me any pop psychology about how they should be over it by now.” He was so damn tired of hearing that.

Her foot stopped bouncing. “In some ways it gets even tougher as time goes by. They’re probably not able to bring up her face so easily now, and I imagine that bothers them a lot. It’s scary when the images fade, and you want so much to keep them near.”

Her observation struck home hard with him. He was going through the same thing, even with pictures as reminders. He couldn’t hear Margie’s voice anymore, except that Ashley and Zoe laughed like her. “You sound like you’ve had experience with it yourself.”

“My father died when I was eleven, so I do understand their loss.”

He appreciated that she had that in common with the children. It could only help.

“Shall we discuss the job?” she asked. “Did David fill you in on me?”

“He said you want weekends off and would live in during the week. Cora, the woman who cooks and cleans for us, also only works Monday through Friday. That leaves me without anyone on the weekend.”

She smiled in a way that said she wasn’t biting. “Since you don’t need the house cleaned or the children schooled on the weekend, you only have to feed and play with them. I assume they make their own beds? And you must be able to cook by now.”

Apparently she was going to be difficult. “Is there a particular reason why you can’t live here full time?”

Her brows went up. “Do I have the job description wrong? David said I was mostly to be your children’s teacher. That’s a Monday through Friday job, as far as I’m concerned. And everyone is entitled to time off, you know.”

“The rather lucrative salary I pay,” he said, “has always included the general care of the children. A nanny as much as a teacher. That means weekends, too.”

“Then you’ll have to cut my salary proportionately, because I don’t want to live here 24/7. I live in Sacramento. Is there some reason why you can’t parent your children on the weekend?”

She’d touched a nerve. He was already aware he was failing as a father. He didn’t need someone who didn’t know anything about him or his history telling him that, too. “Sometimes I have work to do,” he said.

“Then we’re at an impasse. If you can’t watch your children yourself, you’ll need to hire weekend help. David must have told you I’m fixing up my mother’s house to sell it.” She cocked her head. “And I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but you seem to be in a good position financially. You could hire a full-time, live-in staff.”

“I haven’t always been in that position. It’s made me careful. Too careful, David tells me. I do what I feel is right for me, my family and my business.” He had children to provide for now and in the future. He also had employees who depended on him, on the business he brought in and the solvency of the company. He lived up to his own personal standards, was proud that he did.

“Father?”

All four of his children stood in the doorway, crammed shoulder to shoulder.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Noah asked.

Ashley took a step into the room, her hands clasped. The others huddled around her. “We want Miss Tricia to be our new teacher.”

He leaned back and steepled his fingers in front of his mouth. “I see. Well, I can’t say for sure yet that she will be. Miss Tricia and I are still in negotiations.”

“What’s that mean?” Adam piped up.

“It means we’re trying to figure out what would work best for all of us.”

“The best is for her to live here,” Zach stated, his voice quiet but strong.

Silence filled the room as the least talkative of the bunch announced his wishes.

“You just need to pay her a lot of money,” Ashley said.

“It’s not about the money,” Tricia said, looking pleased at the children’s insistence. “Your father pays a very good salary. The issue is that I need weekends off.”

The children all looked at each other. Ashley seemed to take a silent vote. “We’re not little kids anymore, Father. We don’t need to have a nanny all the time.”

“I’ll take it into consideration. Right now you all need to go back to bed and let us discuss it.”

Zach went up to Tricia and shook her hand, one big up-and-down shake, his expression serious. Adam followed suit, grinning.

Zoe came next. “Do you know how to play soccer?”

“I sure do.”

“Okay.” Zoe stuck out her hand for a shake, then left the room bouncing an imaginary ball from knee to knee.

Ashley finally approached. “Please say yes, Miss Tricia,” she said, then gave Tricia a quick hug before she hurried out.

Noah saw how the children affected her. If she could become that attached after just a few hours, she was definitely the right one for the job. It would be a great weight lifted from his shoulders, too.

“So,” Noah said after a long, quiet moment. “Saturday morning to Sunday evening off. And you’ll be here this Sunday night.”

She smiled. “Jessica’s not leaving until Monday.”

“Jessica will be gone by Sunday afternoon.”

“I see.” Tricia nodded. “Is five o’clock okay with you, Mr. Falcon?”

He stood. “Noah. And yes, that’s fine.”

She stood, as well. “I’m curious why you don’t send them to public school.”

“I made a promise that I would continue what my late wife started.” He paused. “I’ll walk you to your car. Where is your car, by the way?”

“Next to your garage. You didn’t notice it?”

“I was preoccupied. Let me go tell the children that you’ve agreed to take the job. They won’t go to sleep until they know. I’ll be back in just a couple of minutes.” He extended his hand, as his children had. “Thank you.”

“I’m very happy we came to an agreement.”

Her handshake was firm, one sign of her character. She seemed straightforward. She obviously could and would speak her mind.

The Falcon household was about to change.

As Tricia stepped outside with Noah ten minutes later, the chilly late October evening cooled her warm face and cleared her eyes and mind.

So. It was official. She was employed. She would have enough money to tide her over until she started her new job.

Peace settled over her at the thought, then the quiet around her struck her. Country life. It was going to take some getting used to. No. A lot of getting used to. But she was probably noticing the quiet even more because Noah hadn’t spoken since they’d left the house.

“Have your children always called you Father?” she asked.

“Yes. Why?”

“You just don’t hear it much these days. Did you call your father that?”

“No. Most of the time I called him a son of a bitch.”

Tricia stumbled. He reached for her, caught her. She grabbed hold, steadying herself, then looked at his face, as he held her upright by her arms. At odds with the coldness in his eyes, his hands were warm, his heat leeching through her sweater. “Thank you,” she said quietly, sorry when he let go. There was something comforting about his large and gentle hands. “Your words caught me off guard.”

“No sense hiding the truth. I made it my goal to live as differently from him as possible.”

“And you called him Dad, so you don’t want your kids to call you that?”

They’d reached her SUV. She pressed the alarm button to unlock it.

“You haven’t been here long enough to criticize,” he said coolly. “Or analyze. I grew up in total chaos. It’s not what I want for my children.”

She opened her car door, wanting to escape. He was right. She should mind her own business. “I apologize, Noah. I was just curious. Everything seems kind of formal between you and your children.” She didn’t add what she wanted to—that they were all distant from him, physically and emotionally. And that they were starving for his affection. Anyone’s affection, which was probably why they’d latched on to her so easily.

“Is there anything you’ll need to start the job?” he asked, very directly changing the subject.

She sensed in him deep, unrelenting pain, and she wondered if he would ever break through it to embrace life again. Or maybe he never had. She shouldn’t presume what she didn’t know. Maybe she could carefully ask other people how he was before his wife died.

“If I think of something, I’ll let you know or just go ahead and buy it in Sacramento,” she said, getting into the car and sliding the key into the ignition. “I’ll review their classroom work Sunday night so that I’m ready to go on Monday.”

“You have my phone numbers?”

“Yes, thank you.” She started the engine then glanced up at him as he rested an arm on the top of her door and leaned toward her a little. He really was an extraordinarily attractive man, even tightly wound as he was. She wanted to tell him that things would get better, that his life was going to change, that she would see to it, especially for his children. But did he want to hear that?

“Do you space out often?” he asked, his voice laced with surprising humor. “Should I worry for my children’s safety?”

Her eyes were dry from not blinking. “You won’t regret that your brother hired me,” she said, wondering if it was true.

“David may have done the prelims, but I hired you. And my children. If any one of us had objected, you wouldn’t be coming back.”

“Of course,” she said, then shifted into reverse. “Until Sunday.”

He backed away, but he was still standing in the driveway when she looked in her rearview mirror before she turned onto the road. Maybe she’d been lying when she’d told him he wouldn’t regret hiring her, because he may well be sorry. She was pretty sure she was different from any other teacher he’d hired before.

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