Code Name: Nanny (SEAL and Code Name #5)(25)

The little girl flushed. “Tiffany says a lot of rude words. She wears black thong underwear, too.”

Gabe’s lips twitched again. “Is that a fact? And Tiffany is what, nine?”

“Oh, no. She’ll be eleven next month.”

“Skirting middle age, in fact,” Gabe murmured.

Summer felt her mouth slipping into a smile. With hard effort she summoned up a frown. “How long have you been out here, Mr. Morgan? Fixing the lights,” she added dryly.

“About forty minutes, ma’am. I had to make a few calls to plant suppliers, then I grabbed a quick meal in the kitchen. Have you met Patrick yet?”

Summer shook her head.

“The boy makes a mean sourdough bruschetta. Compliment his dough and he’s yours for life.”

Something was wrong here, but for all her effort Summer couldn’t put her finger on it. She looked at the girls. “I think we should go inside now.” The sun was gone and the air was purple with the first hint of twilight. “You’re shivering, Sophy.”

“I’m not cold. It’s not that.” The girl looked back across the broad lawn. “For a moment I almost felt like . . .” She jammed her hands in her pockets. “Never mind.”

Gabe knelt before her. “What is it, honey?”

She shrugged fragile shoulders. “Nothing, really. I guess Ms. Mulvaney is right. We should probably go in.”

Gabe gave the girl a strange look. “I’ll go with you and drop these lights off.” As they walked back to the house, the girls in front, he fell into step beside Summer. “Did you get a confession out of them yet?”

“She admits nothing, but Sophy says Audra had it in for me. No surprises there,” she added quietly. “I’ll have to discuss it with their mother.”

Gabe rubbed his neck. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened earlier this afternoon in the shower.”

“I doubt it. In fact, I could swear you were enjoying yourself, Mr. Morgan.”

“Call me Gabe. And you can put down the bat now. I’m trying to apologize here, not attack you.”

Summer realized the bat was still hanging at her side. As she looked at Gabe, some of her tension faded. “How I feel about what happened doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does.” His voice fell. “I had some . . . disagreement with Susanne.”

“The girls’ old nanny? That explains why you were stark naked in my shower?”

“No, it doesn’t. Audra and Sophy told me the new nanny wasn’t arriving until much later.” Gabe shrugged broad shoulders that rippled beneath his well-worn tee shirt. “You weren’t supposed to be in the guesthouse when I was there.”

“Assuming that I bought your story—which I don’t—I still don’t see why they would pull a trick like that.”

“They didn’t want their nanny to leave. Susanne taught them all the cool new dances, shared her nail polish, gave them haircuts. Girl stuff like that.”

Summer frowned. She wouldn’t be offering any of those skills, not in this lifetime. They simply weren’t in her repertoire. Kickboxing, definitely. Firearms safety, absolutely. But French braids and cool new nail polish?

No way. And she wasn’t going to ask Gabe for details about his problems with Susanne.

“Forget about the old nanny. You seem to have won the girls over already—Sophy, at least.”

“Sophy could make friends with Godzilla,” Summer muttered. “But Audra hates me.”

“Audra hates everyone, including herself. It’s teenage angst.”

“Maybe.” One thing still bothered Summer. “Why weren’t you surprised to see someone waiting outside when you came out of the shower?”

They were almost at the house now. The sky had faded to a rich molten purple. For long moments Gabe didn’t answer, his eyes on the girls. “I had my reasons.”

“Because you were expecting someone to be waiting,” Summer mused. “Is that it?”

“Let’s just say that Susanne had a way of turning up unannounced wherever I was.” His eyes narrowed. “In my room. In my shower. Sometimes in my bed.”

Summer frowned. “So you two were sleeping together.”

“That’s not what I said. Susanne was on the mend from a broken relationship and looking for comfort and reassurance from a man—any man. I was within easy reach, so she chose me.”

“Let me get this straight. She wanted sex, but you, being pure and noble of heart, turned her down?”

Gabe’s voice hardened. “She told me no one would believe it.”

“Did Ms. O’Connor know about this?”

“I didn’t want to bother Cara. There was no need. I could handle myself around Susanne. I kept my mouth shut and my hands to myself. Things aren’t always what they seem, Ms. Mulvaney.”

“Probably not.”

“So you believe me?”

“I’m thinking about it.” Summer frowned. “You’ve got an accent. Were you born here?”

“Southern Wyoming. As beautiful a place as God ever set his hand to create.” Gabe scanned the trees near the house. “My dad’s work kept us on the move. Thailand, Singapore, Sri Lanka, we hit all of them. After that I spent ten years Down Under. People tell me I still have a bit of a roll with the arr’s.”