Chapter One
Jase Nicholas was not an angry man. If something bothered him, he’d either retreat to his office and pace the floor, or he’d go outside for a long walk with his head bowed and his fists clenched in his pockets. And he wasn’t big on revenge: he cared more about amicable, intelligent solutions than he did about getting even.
Whenever someone wronged him, he’d usually focus on the positive side, turn the situation around, and move forward without harboring resentment. Though this was one of his best attributes, it was also one of his biggest vulnerabilities.
Forgiveness was the way Jase handled Angus Bernie, the vicious old guy who lived at the end of his property in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, when Angus tried to take control of the easement road that led to Jase’s home, Cider Mill Farm. After they found an old map with an original survey of the property, Jase hired Philadelphia attorneys to validate the easement was legally his to use to gain access to his property. Then, instead of fighting Angus in court and draining Angus’s bank account, which would have been simple for Jase to do, he offered Angus Bernie a large sum of money. He bought Angus’s small stone home for far more than it was worth to get rid of the negative energy. And he even walked to the end of the easement road on the day Angus moved out to personally shake his hand and wish him well.
Whenever Jase and his husband, Luis, had an argument, Luis knew Jase wouldn’t remain angry for long.
Jase never tried to get even and he never shut Luis out with silent treatment. Either Jase would apologize to Luis first, or Luis would apologize to Jase first, and they’d make love. And since Jase’s child, Hunter, had come into their lives, they’d been forced to deal with certain situations all new parents have to face. They were learning there wasn’t always a simple solution with regard to raising a child, especially after Jase’s grandmother, Isabelle, went back to Alaska the previous September. When they found themselves alone and dealing with Hunter’s needs, conflicts seemed to arise that neither one of them could have predicted.
About a month after Angus Bernie moved out of the little stone house at the end of the driveway, Luis decided to discuss two important things with Jase and he wasn’t sure how Jase was going to react. They’d recently returned from spending Easter with Jase’s family in Alaska and they were upstairs in their bedroom at Cider Mill Farm watching TV. It was late at night and their eyelids were already drooping.
Hunter was in his room, sound asleep, with their little dog, a Chinese crested named Camp, stretched out at the foot of Hunter’s bed. Though Luis’s and Jase’s bedroom door was locked for privacy, they could see and hear every sound in Hunter’s room thanks to the nannycam Cory, their handyman, had installed after Jase’s grandmother went back to Alaska.
Luis reached down and ran his palm lightly across Jase’s upper thigh. “Can we talk about something?” he asked.
They were stretched out on the sofa in their underwear. Jase was wearing the tight black boxer briefs that made his balls look huge and his back was resting against the arm of the sofa.
Luis wore black mesh briefs and his back rested against Jase’s chest. When his palm touched Jase’s thigh, Jase wrapped his arms around Luis and held him tighter.
“What do you want to talk about?” Jase asked. They were watching the Home Shopping Channel and Jase’s gaze was fixed on the TV screen. One of his older inventions, a home cheese-making kit, was being featured that night and he wanted to see how it was selling.
Luis wanted to talk about two things that night, and he knew both topics had the potential to lift Jase’s eyebrows. So he decided to start with the lighter of the two subjects and brace for Jase’s reaction. “I’ve been thinking about hiring a live-in nanny for Hunter. At first I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to spend all my time with him. But with your grandmother gone it’s been hard to juggle work and Hunter at the same time. When she was here with us full time I always knew there was a backup babysitter I could trust. But now there’s no one. And we never go out anymore alone because we can’t leave Hunter with a stranger. When we went out to dinner alone in Alaska this past weekend and your parents watched Hunter, it was the first time we were alone together since September.”
“It won’t be easy to find someone,” Jase said. His eyes were still focused on the TV and his tone remained calm and rational. “I don’t want to call an agency and hope for the best. I’ve heard some really bad stories about people hiring nannies and I don’t want to take any chances.”
“I know,” Luis said. He fully agreed; he knew it wouldn’t be easy to find the perfect nanny for Hunter. “I was thinking I’d start asking around and take it slowly. But I do think it’s a good idea, especially for Hunter’s sake. He’s so attached to me. I don’t want him to wind up being one of those creepy, clinging kids.” Last September, he’d enrolled Hunter in preschool in New York, three half days a week.
Even though Hunter had adjusted to the fact that he didn’t have a choice about going, months later Luis still had trouble peeling Hunter’s fingers away from his each time he dropped him off at school. “Besides, taking Hunter on location where I’m shooting might not be the best place for him.” Luis was a model who worked often. His jobs were usually for discount department stores and smaller clothing outlets. And he was starting to wonder whether or not this was the right environment for a small child. The last time Luis took Hunter to one of his modeling jobs, a buxom young blond woman walked onto the set wearing nothing but a skimpy bra and panties. Hunter’s head went up and his eyes popped. He fixed his gaze at her huge chest and parted his lips. Luis had to take him for a walk until she got dressed.
Jase pulled Luis closer and kissed the top of his head.
“You know, I think it might be a good idea.”
Luis’s head went up and he smiled. “You do?”
Jase nodded. “But I think it should be someone who is willing to live in, and someone who is willing to help out around the house. Sort of like a live-in nanny-housekeeper.”
“I’m so relieved,” Luis said. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Why are you relieved?”
Luis shrugged and ran his fingertips up and down Jase’s thigh. “I feel a little guilty about hiring a nanny. I wanted to do it all alone.”
“Hey,” Jase said, “You work hard and you have a rough schedule. So do I. So do millions of other working parents all over the country. They do what they think is best.