Maid for the Single Dad by Susan Meier

I’d fill you in on a bit of mine?”
    Thank God she was thinking like a normal, rational human being and kept the conversation going where he wanted it to go. He could handle telling her a bit of his past. After all, she probably should know some of it in order to properly care for the children.
    â€œYeah. We should share information about our pasts.”
    â€œOkay. I’m really curious about the kids’ mom.” She grimaced. “Not curious in a gossipy way. But curious in a way that helps me to care for them. I don’t want to accidentally say something I shouldn’t.”
    Damn.
    He’d hoped she’d start off by talking about herself. Instead she’d led with a question about him. This was what he got for being tongue-tied and stupid just because she was wearing a bathing suit.
    â€œThe children’s mom left me because having a second child made her career difficult.”
    Ellie gaped in horror. “Are you kidding?”
    His sentiment exactly. “She left when she got pregnant, using the pregnancy months to reestablish herself so that when Henry was born, she could hand him off to me and jump back in again.”
    â€œI don’t care how liberated you rich people are—that stinks.”
    He couldn’t agree more. Oddly, talking about Pamela had given him back perspective about being attracted to Ellie. He knew the consequences of falling too hard for someone. He had to keep this professional. He couldn’t talk in great detail about his ex-wife with a servant. He’d stick with the information she needed to know to do her job. “She visits the kids about once a month—”
    Ellie bounced from her chaise indignantly. “Once a month!”
    â€œAnd I spend the next week answering questions from Lacy. Consider yourself lucky that she’s cancelled her visit for July or you would be too.”
    â€œHow nice of her to let you know in advance,” Ellie said sarcastically.
    Mac laughed. “I’m sorry. Normally I don’t find anything humorous about this situation. But your reaction is a bit funny.”
    She paced to the pool then back to the side-by-side chaise lounges. Looking down at Mac, she said, “I volunteer for a charity called A Friend Indeed. We work with women with children who are forced to leave abusive homes. I’veseen the trauma of a child who misses a parent—even when that parent is abusive. Considering her probable feeling of abandonment, Lacy’s fairly well-adjusted.”
    Finally! The conversation had shifted, and in a brilliant way. Though talking about Lacy, she’d thrown in some pertinent information about herself. Now he could get everything out that he already knew and he could stop tiptoeing around her.
    â€œWell, her mom’s been gone eighteen months. Time is healing the wound, helping her adjust,” he said, then instantly turned the discussion back to Ellie. “So tell me about this charity. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of them.”
    â€œThat’s because the work they do is confidential.”
    â€œI understand. Everything you tell me will be kept in strictest confidence. What, exactly, do they do?”
    The mental debate she held about whether to trust him changed her expression at least twice. Finally, he said, “My family’s charitable foundation is always looking for worthwhile causes, charities that actually go in the trenches and help people. We know how to be discreet.” He caught her gaze. “And we can be very generous. It might be beneficial to A Friend Indeed for you to tell me about them.”
    Obviously seeing his point, she sucked in a breath and began to pace alongside the pool again. “The charity purchases homes and places abused women in them.”
    â€œThat’s wonderful. How do the women who need help find them?”
    â€œSocial Services doesn’t exactly recommend a woman leave her husband, but