He needed to get a grip. The woman was getting under his skin and she didn’t even know it.

Chapter Seven

The evening hadn’t been as bad as she expected. Mostly because she and Margaret stayed out of each other’s way. Sarah cooked dinner for everyone while finishing her conference call. She and Margaret engaged the boys during dinner but not each other. Margaret didn’t even thank her for cooking and cleaning up.

The boys enjoyed playing with their new toys and Margaret. Sarah watched the boys with their grandmother and decided their happiness was worth being in the same house with her mother-in-law.

She’d discovered a few surprises last night. The pantry and refrigerator were barely stocked, the main living spaces of the house were in need of a good dusting and vacuuming, and Margaret had apparently abandoned the main suite upstairs and moved into the smaller suite off the kitchen.

She’d tried to think of a discreet way to ask Margaret about the state of the house and property, but couldn’t find an opening for the conversation that wouldn’t lead to Margaret taking insult or thinking Sarah looked down on her or her home.

So she thought she’d do something nice for Margaret, and keep the boys from being surrounded by all that dust, and called her housekeeper and nanny, Camille, to come in the morning and clean the house top to bottom.

Once the boys settled into bed after their bath and books, she’d stayed up until four in the morning working on the Knox Project. Not such a hardship to sit out on the balcony with her laptop. The cool night air kept her energized and you couldn’t beat the view of the trees and all those stars. If she listened carefully, she could hear the horses from Luke’s ranch.

She’d gotten the boys breakfast at seven, done the grocery shopping at eight, and met Camille at the door just before eleven. “You made it.”

Camille hugged both boys at once. “I’ve missed you guys.”

Jack cocked his head. “You saw us yesterday.”

Camille poked Jack in the belly. “It seems like forever.” She brushed her hand over Nick’s head, then turned to Sarah. “The drive was beautiful.” She glanced past Sarah into the house. “Everything good?”

“Sure,” Sarah replied because what could she say about Margaret’s expected hostile welcome?

“We’re going to see the horses,” Nick announced.

“I heard.” Camille looked at her. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

Spending the day with Margaret’s attorney . . . No. Probably not a good idea. Still, she couldn’t let him dare her to prove him wrong and not show up to do just that.

“We’re going to have fun riding horses.” Her cheerful response probably didn’t fool Camille about how she really felt about facing Luke’s continued scrutiny.

“Be yourself,” Camille said. “He’ll see you for who you really are.”

“Who are you?” Margaret asked from behind Sarah.

Sarah waved Camille into the entryway. “Margaret, this is my good friend Camille. She’s the boys’ nanny and our housekeeper.”