Hot & Heavy in Paradise: Manny Collection

Chapter 2

ALI

"JUST LET me finish paying these bills," I groaned under my breath as Jackie cried out in the baby monitor. I hadn't had a break in the nine months since she'd been born, and it was really wearing me down. When I got pregnant with her, I mistakenly thought things would be all sunshine and roses, but her father took off with a stripper he met on the Vegas Strip, and it's been Jackie and me since. I couldn't sign the divorce papers fast enough and move to Paradise, Nevada, right outside Las Vegas, even if it was only two towns away.

I didn't need the monitor in my little house, but I felt better having it. My place was really small, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchen, and you guessed it, a small living room. My house was a step up from a tiny house. It was mine, though, and no one would take that away from me.

By the time I got to Jackie's room, she was quiet again. I considered turning and leaving her be but something made me open that door.

"What have you done?" I asked even though she wouldn't answer.

Looking around her crib I saw poop smeared all along the walls, her sheets, and all over her body.

"I so didn't need this today. What happened to napping like a good girl and not giving mom a hard time?"

Picking up my daughter was a challenge since it seemed like she had gotten poo everywhere. Once I got her to the bathroom to clean her up, I put her in the tub and scrubbed her down. My little angel and I needed help. I had been doing this for so long on my own, but if I wanted to get ahead, I would have to do something different. I couldn't keep doing this to myself. What was it they said about insanity? It was doing the same thing and expecting different results. It was time for me to take the bull by the horns and make my life better. Lord knew Kip, Jackie's dad, wouldn't lift a finger to help.

"Hey, pipsqueak, what do you say we get you back down for your nap?" Jackie gave me a gummy smile, and I took that to mean she agreed... or she would give me hell. There was a good chance it meant either one, probably the latter.

With a towel wrapped around her, we went into her room again, and then I got her dressed. Once she was in her jumper, I cleaned up the huge mess she'd made on the wall and crib. Finally finished, I put her in bed and gazed down at my sleepy girl. It looked like she'd be out in no time, hopefully without another incident. If she pulled another stunt, it would be a long day.

I was just sitting down to work again when the phone rang.

"You better need something good, or I'll wish a month of no naps on you," I told my friend Sasha.

"Ouch, that's harsh."

"I know. It's just that so much is going on, and I just had to clean up an art project that was inspired by monkeys."

"Monkeys?"

"You know they fling their poo?"

"Oooohhh. Yeah, you need wine. Hey! You should call Helping Hands. They've been awesome."

"I don't know, Sash. I need help, but I'm just getting used to the idea. How do I even know if calling someone is the right answer?"

"You're not an island, Ali. You can't do this alone. Besides, Gretchen is great with Lo. It's not like she's his mother or anything, she helps out when I need her."

"You make it sound easy," I said.

"It is easy. It doesn't make you a bad mom if you need help. If anyone needs a hand, it's you. Promise me you will call them."

"All right, I'll do it."

"See, that wasn't so hard. Now get off the phone and call. Don't call back until you have everything set."

I said my goodbyes and dialed the number for Helping Hands.

"Good afternoon, Helping Hands, this is Donita. How may I help you?"

"Hi, Donita, I'm Ali, and I'm calling because I'd like to hire a nanny."

"I'm so happy you called, but at this time all our nannies are booked. I can put you on the waitlist if you like."

"That's all right. Maybe it's the universe's way of telling me I don't need one."

"I hate that we can't help you with a nanny. However, we have a new program that's just started. We've hired a group of mannies and they're available now. In fact, one can be over there right away."

"A what?"

"You know, a manny. A male nanny. They've been popular in the field so we've employed a few males ourselves."

"I don't know about a guy taking care of my baby. No offense to the men you've hired."

"I can understand your reluctance. It's a female-driven field, but I assure you we only hire the best. All our men have passed our thorough background checks and have been trained like all of our women. We promise they will do a good job, and if you're not one hundred percent satisfied, we'll make it right. We are even offering a discount of half off the first week of their services."

As Jackie cried again, I closed my eyes and gave Donita my address. At this point it didn't matter if they sent a man or a woman. An extra set of hands was what I needed.

Donita said goodbye, promising she'd be in touch, and told me she'd send over all the paperwork with my new manny. I don't know how I got myself into these messes, but it seemed like it was always one thing after another.

An hour hadn't even gone by when there was a knock at the door. My clothes were ratty, and I wondered if I should fix my hair or something, but then I decided to forget it. What man signed up to watch kids, anyway? Probably not one who cared what a woman like me looked like. It's not like I needed to worry about what he thought. Jackie was only nine months old, and I had much bigger fish to fry. If this man would be helping me out with Jackie, he'd see me looking like a hot mess on a regular basis. No time like the present. Besides, he probably looked like Quasimodo.

With my daughter in my arms, I made my way to the door and pulled it open.

"You didn't have to come today, but - " the rest dried up like water in the dessert.

"You must be Ali."

I nodded at the tall, dark haired man standing in front of me. There was no way this guy took care of kids on the regular. He looked... good, too good. He was big all over, and I couldn't help but wonder how he ended up at my door. "Definitely not Quasimodo," I said under my breath.

"Are we going to stand here all day, or are you going to let me in?"

"I don't know you," I blurted out, flustered.

"Zach. Zach Thomas. Helping Hands said you called and needed help," he said as he leaned against the doorjamb looking me up and down.

My cheeks heated from the way he took me in, and I wondered what he noticed when he looked. My hair was up in a messy bun, half of it falling out by now, and my clothes had spit up on them. I was making a stellar first impression.

"You gonna let me in, or what?"

"You take care of babies?"

"I'm here. Aren't I? Now why don't you open up and we'll get started."

As I looked into his crystal blue eyes, I felt a pull, something telling me that this man was at my door for a reason. There was no other explanation for why I stepped back and let him into the house.