“No. You lost your spouse. You were hurt just like they were. No one can expect someone to push that off to the side so easily,” I said.
“I can’t recall any regression. Clara still sleeps with me sometimes, even though she has her own room. Nathaniel’s gotten more combative. Less willing to listen.”
“Which one’s which?” I asked.
“Clara’s the youngest. The three-year-old. Nathaniel’s the oldest. Six. Joshua’s the middle child.”
“Just turned five,” I said.
“Yes.”
“It’s normal for a six-year-old to be combative, no matter what the circumstances are. His frontal lobe is only beginning to develop, so his impulse control is still lacking. And will for a few more years. Did Clara sleep with you and your wife? You know, in the same room?”
“For a time. She was in her own separate crib, but she was there. She was a sick infant. Always coughing or throwing up. She didn’t start sleeping through the night until almost two years old.”
“What did her doctors say?” I asked.
Carter sighed and I shut my mouth. I hadn’t intended to get into all of this today. I thought I was coming in for an interview, not a meeting to get to know his children. We were talking about sensitive information. Things that shouldn't be talked about unless he intended on hiring me as his nanny. But I could tell he wanted someone to talk to. Someone who was knowledgeable on what to do. This beautiful, sexy man was overwhelmed and out of his element, and he needed help.
If anything, so he could continue to grieve the way he needed to.
“Miss Lewis.”
“Yes?” I asked.
“How soon can you start?” he asked.
I tried to hold back a smile as I drew in a deep breath.
“How does tomorrow morning sound?” I asked.
He reached around behind him and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. I watched him jot something down before he handed it to me. I opened the paper and saw a very large sum of money on it. I tried to keep my cool as the figure ran around in my head.
This man was offering me six figures to watch his children?
“Is that fair?” Carter asked.
“It’s, um… more than fair,” I said.
“My kids are rambunctious.”
“Welcome to having three kids under the age of seven,” I said.
“I’ll need you at this address at six in the morning,” he said as he handed me another sheet of paper. “You’ll be responsible for getting them up, dressed, fed, and off to school. I have files on the three of them I’ll lay out for you on the counter. If you want to come early and read through them before they wake up, be my guest.”
“Okay,” I said.
“There will be a spare key in the mailbox. That key is yours. For now, you won’t be working weekends, but you will be on-call. My company’s in the middle of a massive merger, so there will be times I’ll need you as promptly as I can get you.”
“Not a problem,” I said.
“Whatever you feel is required in terms of their schedules is fine with me. You seem qualified to do that sort of thing.”
“It is my degree,” I said.
“See you in the morning,” he said.
Then I was dismissed with the flick of his wrist.