Maid for the Single Dad by Susan Meier

confronted her. Why would a six-year-old get up at four o’clock—or close—every day?
    She squeezed her eyes shut. Mac might be an okay guy, but she couldn’t dismiss her suspicions so easily. No matter how or why Lacy’s mom had left, losing her mom had affected her. Without knowing the truth, Ellie could make a million mistakes with that little girl.
    Â 
    Three hours later, with Lacy fed and back to bed for a morning nap, Mac headed for his office, then realized he couldn’t go there because it was too far away. He changed directions and headed for the master suite. Halfway down the hall, his cell phone rang. He glanced at caller ID and saw it was his investigator, and not a moment too soon.
    â€œHey, Phil.”
    â€œHey, Mac. I’ve got some news on your new girl.”
    Mac opened the door to his suite, stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. “Spill.”
    â€œWell, she’s from Wisconsin.”
    Walking to one of the two white chairs in front of the never used fireplace, Mac laughed. “You say that as if it’s bad, but this is Florida. Lots of us are Northern transplants.”
    â€œIt’s not the part about coming from up north that’s bad. Your new housekeeper was a foster child.”
    That stopped him. “Oh. Why is that bad?”
    â€œIt isn’t. I mean, it doesn’t positively indicate bad things. Lots of foster kids grow up to be perfectly normal. But that’s not the end of the story on your temporary maid. She ran away at age seventeen. Didn’t finish high school.”
    â€œHow does a seventeen-year-old support herself in a strange city without an education?”
    â€œThat’s just it. The possibilities that come to mind aren’t good ones. If she worked on the street or under the table, from here on out it’s going to be harder and harder to find information.”
    â€œI don’t care. Whatever it costs, you fill in the blanks of her past.”
    â€œNot only is that going to be expensive, but also it will take days.”
    â€œAgain, I don’t care. This woman is going to be caring for my kids. I want to know everything about her.”
    Phil said, “Will do, boss.”
    Blowing his breath out on a sigh, Mac disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair. Being attracted to an employee was bad enough; being attracted to someone he didn’t know—at all—who had missing pieces of her past was downright foolhardy.
    In fact, he’d have to watch her very, very carefully over the next few days as his security team continued their investigation. If she made one move he didn’t like, he’d have to let her go. He wasn’t worried about the silver or the artwork or even money she might find. He was concerned for his kids. God only knew what Ellie had done in the years after she ran away from home. Without a high school education, as a runaway on the streets, she could have been a thief…or worse.
    Â 
    After doing some cleaning, Ellie once again took out her cookbook and cruised the well-stocked Carmichael cupboards. She found the ingredients for many of the recipes, but she also found boxes of ready-to-cook hamburger dishes, noodle entrées and macaroni and cheese. Maybe the Carmichael pallet wasn’t so sophisticated after all? Mac did have a six-year-old, and children did like to eatfood they saw on TV. So maybe the thing to do would be prepare simple lunches of the prepackaged foods and cook more elaborate—more nutritious—suppers?
    Satisfied with that decision, she headed to her room for a half-hour break before she had to return to the kitchen and prepare lunch. After turning on the television to listen to the day’s news, she began taking inventory of the clothes she’d brought. Knowing she’d be here at least a month, she realized the few jeans, shorts and tops she’d packed wouldn’t be enough. Especially if she needed