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  She blinked. “Sam!”

  He turned and she saw that he had also colored himself with a marker.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I’m a frog,” he said as he jumped up and down. “Adelaide is a turtle. She’s slow.”

  Sara sighed. “Well, that certainly explains it.” She bit her lip, wondering how she was going to get the marker off both of them.

  Thank goodness the markers were washable. She bathed both of the children while the housekeeper arrived with food and did laundry. Laundry and cooking weren’t Sara’s forte. She could put together a sandwich or reheat something as long as she wasn’t in a rush. She’d been known to burn food. As for laundry, she didn’t trust herself with much more than linens.

  Before she knew it, she’d fed the children and read three books to them. Adelaide fell asleep quickly, but Sam was determined to wait up for his father. Sara tried to coax him into bed, but Sam’s eyes welled with threatening tears. Sara decided not to fight the boy on it. Sam’s number one source of security and stability was his father.

  Gavin finally walked through the front door, his steps heavy from his long day. Sam perked up from playing with his plastic blocks and ran straight for his father.

  “Hey, bud, what are you doing up? Isn’t this past your bedtime?” Gavin shot a questioning glance at Sara.

  “Sam knows we have to make a habit of a regular bedtime, but it seemed especially important to him to see you tonight before he went to sleep,” she said.

  Gavin met her gaze and she suspected he might ask her to elaborate later. For now, he reached down and picked up his son in his arms. “Well, tell me about your day while I grab a sandwich.”

  “There’s some soup for you in a bowl. I can heat it up in the microwave,” she offered.

  “Thanks. I’d appreciate it,” he said.

  Sara felt a tug every time she looked at him. The sensation bothered her. It appeared as if he had reined in his desire for her. Why couldn’t she do the same for him?

  Chapter Eight

  “This can’t go on forever,” Sara promised herself when Adelaide’s cries awakened her at two in the morning. Again. She scooped up the baby from her crib and headed down the hallway

  Gavin opened his bedroom door and she waved him away. “I’ve got her.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, walking to her side.

  The sight of him shirtless only served to amp up her irritation. Not only was she sleep deprived, she was feeling sex deprived. Of all the times for her to start feeling her oats, this had to be the worst. “I’m fine.”

  “You look extremely tired,” he said.

  “I am,” she admitted. “But I’m strong. I can handle this.”

  “I wasn’t suggesting that you’re weak. I just—”

  She waved her hand for him to stop. “I’ll be fine. That tooth will come through Adelaide’s gum and we’ll all have a party. After we sleep,” she added.

  Gavin gave a slight chuckle and shook his head. “I gotta hand it to you. You’re keeping your sense of humor.”

  “Well, thank you. Now back to bed,” she said.

  “If we have another night like this, I’m getting some backup. I’ve been reluctant to bring anyone else in because both the children seem so at ease with you.”

  “Again, thank you, but let’s just get through tonight first. No need to borrow trouble,” she said. She felt as if she’d been living under that mantra nonstop for too many months. Sara’s patience with her secrets and worries about her missing brother were stretching her thin. She’d always been calm and steady, but she was finding it more and more difficult.

  “Now please go to bed,” she said. It was on the tip of her tongue to add, Because staring at your naked chest is making me think about what I’ve never had but suddenly need.

  Sara pulled a frozen washcloth from the freezer for the baby then poured herself a glass of water. With the image of Gavin stamped on her brain, she seriously considered dumping the water down her shirt to cool off her libido.

  The next day, Sara hit a wall and decided to take a rest at the same time the children went down for their naps. She kept her door open and set an alarm to awaken her since she felt as if she could sleep for a good four hours instead of just one.

  A horrible loud beeping sound jerked her from her sleep and she awakened to the sight and smell of smoke rolling into her room. Panic shot through her. Fire. For one moment, she was six years old and back in the palace, blinded by the thick smoke. Panic froze her in place.

  She blinked it away and shook her head. She wasn’t six and this wasn’t the palace. The children. Fear gave her legs. She had to get the children out of the house.

  Running into the hallway, she noticed the smoke was thicker toward the nursery and the laundry room. Her heart caught in her throat. Adelaide. Please let her be okay, she prayed. Despite the encroaching smoke, the baby slept soundly. Sara, however, had experience with the aftereffects of smoke inhalation. Snatching the baby from her crib, she automatically grabbed the diaper bag.

  Sam appeared in the hallway with his hands covering his ears. “What’s happening?”

  “There’s a fire. We have to get out of the house,” she said. “We have to go now,” she said, urging him down the hallway. “Quick, quick, quick like a bunny.”

  “I’m not a bunny. I’m a frog,” he told her.

  “You’re right,” she said, remembering how he’d colored his body and Adelaide’s with green markers. “How could I forget?”

  “But what about my toys?” he protested.

  “We can’t worry about the toys. We have to get out.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the den where the smoke was beginning to spread. “Out the door.” She remembered to grab her keys and cell phone.

  “But what about the Christmas angel?” he asked, his eyes full of fright. “We have to get the Christmas angel.”

  “Of course, you’re right,” she said, pulling the ornament from the tree. Stuffing it into the diaper bag, she pushed open the door and took Sam’s hand again.

  “Where are we going?” he asked.

  “To the car.” Sara plopped Adelaide into her car seat then helped Sam into his. With trembling hands, she called emergency. A woman answered the phone. “We have a fire,” she said. “There’s a fire in our house. It’s filled with smoke.”

  “What is your address?” the woman asked.

  Still rattled, she managed to give the woman the information and was told a fire truck was on its way. Immediately afterward, she called Gavin. He didn’t answer, so she left a scrambled message. She then called Tabitha and assured her sister repeatedly that she and the children were safe. After she hung up from Tabitha, she called Princess Ericka.

  “There’s a fire in the cottage. The children and I are in the car,” she babbled.

  “That’s terrible,” Princess Ericka said. “We’ll take care of you. Don’t worry. Have you contacted Gavin?

  “He didn’t answer,” Sara said. “He said this was a busy week.

  “Stefan can be such a slave driver,” she muttered. “I’ll take care of this. Sit tight.”

  “The fire trucks have arrived,” Sara said, watching as the screaming trucks pulled into the driveway.

  “Excellent.”

  “But I’m going to need formula soon,” Sara said.

  “I understand. We’ll take care of you. Call me in ten minutes,” Ericka said before she hung up.

  Sara tamped down her anxiety attack by taking several breaths. “Well, isn’t that fire engine impressive, Sam? What do you think of the siren?”

  Sam frowned and covered his ears. “It’s too loud.”

  “It’s loud so it can warn people that it’s coming,” she said. “Having a fire engine come to your house is a big deal.”

  Sam uncovered his ears. “It is?”

  “It definitely is.” She wished her hands would stop shaking.

  Adelaide gave a sound of protest. />
  Sara pulled her from her seat and put the baby on her lap. “How do you like all this excitement?”

  Adelaide looked up at Sara as if she were a crazy woman. Perhaps she was.

  “I want some juice,” Sam said.

  Sara shook her head. “We don’t have any. We have to pretend we’re in the desert and we can get some later.”

  “Do we have any cookies?” he asked.

  Sara shook her head again as she watched the firemen enter the cottage with hoses pumped full of water. “I’ll give you three cookies tonight.”

  “Three?” he echoed. “I had three at school yesterday.”

  “Three cookies and a large cup of juice are in your future. I just need you to hang on and help entertain Adelaide.”

  “Do we have any markers?” he asked. “She liked being a turtle.”

  “I have no markers,” Sara said, relieved that she was speaking the truth. “Maybe you can make faces and noises at her.”

  Watching the firefighters enter the cottage, she leaned her head back against the headrest. She heard Sam making weird noises and tried to calm her heart and breathing. This wasn’t the same as the time she’d nearly suffocated at the palace when she was a child. This was totally different.

  Sara took several more breaths.

  Sam made a noise. Adelaide giggled.

  All was good, she told herself. The firefighters seemed to be quenching the fire. Good, she thought. That was good.

  Several moments later, one of the men approached her and she lowered her window. “Everything okay here?” he asked.

  “We’re going to need some formula and clothes,” she said.

  “And toys and the tree,” Sam shouted. “We need our Christmas tree.”

  The man twitched his lips. “We’ll work on that. We can’t let you back in yet, but we can gather a few things for you. Can you give us directions?”

  “Of course,” Sara said. “But first, how did the fire start?”

  “Looks like the laundry room,” he said. “Were you doing any laundry today?”

  Sara shook her head. “No.”

  “Unfortunately some of these older cottages have wiring issues, especially in the laundry area.”

  “That’s frightening,” she said.

  The man nodded. “We’re trying to bring everyone up to code, but it takes a bit of time.”

  She gave a slow nod, still feeling her own set of jitters. “We will need clothing,” she said.

  “It’s going to smell like smoke,” he said.

  “We can air it out or clean it,” she countered. “Can you please let me go inside?”

  “It’s against regulations,” he said, clearly reluctant.

  “I promise I won’t take long,” she said. “But I will want one of your men to remain here with the children.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Deal.” He waved one of his men over and escorted Sara into the cottage. The stench of smoke nearly overwhelmed her, but she was determined to cover it. She placed her hand over her mouth.

  Trying to keep her mind clear, she grabbed diapers and clothing for Adelaide. Then she scooped up some clothing from her own room and from Sam’s. She grabbed a few extra toys, the sound machine, and she gathered some clothing from Gavin’s bedroom, too. She noticed a laptop and added that to the pile.

  “Formula,” she said to the fireman and pulled out a few bottles from the refrigerator, along with some cookies.

  Sara looked at the tree. “Sam really wants the tree.”

  “We’ll put it on the porch,” he said. “We need to get out.”

  “I think that’s the best I can do,” she said and walked toward the door.

  “Do you need some shoes?” he asked.

  Sara looked down at her bare feet and chuckled. “I guess so.” She returned to her room and collected shoes for herself and the children, then walked out the front door with the fireman.

  It could have been worse. So very much worse.

  Just as she loaded several things into the trunk of the car, Gavin pulled into the driveway. He raced from his car. “Thank God, you’re all right.”

  Sara felt a sliver of relief, and it was all she could do not to sink into his arms. “The children are fine,” she said.

  Gavin touched Sam and Adelaide as if he wanted to be sure. Then he turned to Sara and shook his head. “This must have been horrible for you. Especially after that fire you experienced when you were a child.”

  She couldn’t deny it, but she tried. Sara shook her head. “It wasn’t that bad. The smoke alarm saved us. Sam was wonderful. He followed my directions.”

  Gavin put his arms around her and held her, and Sara couldn’t find the strength to pull away. She slumped against him. “We have formula and clothing and the fireman said he would put the terrible tree on the porch if we really want it. Apparently Sam has grown attached to it.”

  Gavin squeezed her tighter, then chuckled. “I guess we’ll be staying in a hotel tonight.”

  “Maybe,” Sara said. Her cell phone rang and she pulled back and accepted the call. “Sara,” she said.

  “Sara, this is Ericka. We’re all horrified about the fire. The good news is there’s plenty of room at the palace. We’ve arranged for you to stay there as long as necessary.”

  “Oh, thank you,” Sara said. “We really appreciate this. I hate that the children will be disrupted again, but I think it would be a stable environment for them.”

  “Yes, it will,” Ericka said. “We have a nanny ready to take over for the next few nights. You will need some time to recover.”

  “I’m fine,” Sara said.

  “Of course you are. You’re a royal. You’re always fine. That said, we would like to help you and Gavin recover.”

  Humbled, Sara felt tears swell. “Thank you. You are too kind.”

  “You would do the same,” Ericka said. “Ciao for now. Call me for anything.”

  Gavin looked at her with a questioning glance. “Well?”

  “What do you think about staying at the palace for a while?” she said.

  He blinked. “The palace?”

  “Yes, with a nanny to help us,” she said.

  “I’ll take it,” he said, glancing back at his children. “What about the ugly Christmas tree?”

  “We’ll figure it out,” she said. “Let’s strap in the babies and get to the palace.”

  As soon as they all arrived at the palace, Sara felt reluctant to hand over the children. She wanted them safe and secure. When Sam started running in circles demanding cookies and Adelaide filled a diaper, she got over her trepidation. After changing Adelaide, she handed the baby over to Binnie who took Sam, as well.

  Then she went to her new quarters, took a shower and collapsed on her plush bed. Hours later, she awakened to a tray of food in the room on a stand. She lifted the tin from the soup and found it still warm, along with a covered dish of chicken and vegetables.

  Sara gobbled half of it down and stretched on the bed in pleasure. She felt as if she’d gone back in time to when staff had prepared her food and served it at any time of night or day. These days were different, but, oh, this was a delightful temporary change.

  She sank back on the bed for at a few moments, then thought of Sam and Adelaide. She had to check on them. Pulling on a robe, she stepped from her bed to the hallway. She’d been told the nursery was just down the hall. Walking toward the suite, she stopped outside and pressed her ear against the door. Hearing nothing, she carefully pushed the door open and found no one in the entryway.

  Seconds later Binnie appeared with her index finger pressed to her lips. “They’re both asleep. It took the boy a bit longer.”

  “He may have still been a little upset by the fire,” Sara said.

  “Yes,” Binnie said. “But he’s out for the count now.”

  “Good,” Sara said. “If either of them need me...” she began.

  “They should sleep long and well,” Binnie said. “They’ve had an even
tful day.”

  “Still,” Sara said.

  Binnie smiled. “You’re more than a nanny. You’re like a mother. I’ll call you if they need you.”

  Sara felt her heart shift at the woman’s words. Like a mother? “Thank you,” she managed.

  “Get some rest,” Binnie said. “You deserve it. You’re quite the hero.”

  Sara shook her head. “I bumbled though.”

  “You bumbled quite well,” Binnie corrected. “To bed you go now.”

  Sara nodded, then returned to her room and slept the whole night through. The next morning, she arose, ready to fulfill her duties as nanny. The Devereaux family, however, had different plans.

  Binnie greeted her as she entered the nursery. “The palace has determined that you should take some rest. You are to take the next two days off.”

  Sara stared at the woman in confusion. “Two days off?”

  “Yes,” Binnie said. “It was never intended that you should work yourself to exhaustion.”

  “I’m not exhausted,” Sara protested.

  The nanny shot her a skeptical glance. “That’s debatable.”

  “I’d still like to see the children,” Sara said.

  Binnie nodded. “Of course you can.” She led Sara into the expansive nursery. Sam played with Lego bricks and Adelaide did her best to crawl across the room.

  Sam looked up. “Miss Sara,” he said. Then he ran to her and hugged her.

  Her heart squeezed tight at his reaction. “It looks like you’re having a good day.”

  “Nanny B says I might get to play with Tyler and Travis,” he said, clearly excited.

  “That should be fun,” she said.

  “When will we get our white tree?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “I thought you didn’t like the white tree.”

  “It’s not too bad,” he said, returning to his toys.

  Adelaide squealed when Sara knelt down on the floor in front of her. “And how are you? How are your gums?”

  Adelaide gave a wide smile, revealing her precious teeth.

  “I think one just punched through her gums,” Binnie said. “She’s not drooling as much.”

  “Thank goodness,” Sara said. “I thought she was going to be teething forever.”