The twins were fine. Connor had his eyes open and was making little snuffly noises that were the precursor to the feeding cry. Lexie was still fast asleep, but she was breathing. Riley knew that because he checked. Every time he went past the room he checked that they were breathing and yes, he knew he was being an idiot.

“What’s wrong?” Jack said urgently from behind him.

“Nothing,” Riley said softly. He scooped Connor up out of his crib and patted his diapered bottom. “Connor slept through.”

“Oh my God,” Jack said with relief in his voice.

“I panicked when I woke up,” Riley explained.

“Me too. But he’s okay.”

“Needs a change and breakfast, but yeah, he’s okay.”

Lexie let out a similar snuffling sound to Connor, and Jack lifted her up and out of the crib.

“I can’t believe we slept through the alarm,” he said.

Riley grinned at his husband. “I’m sure Robbie and Liam have it covered.”

They changed both babies, then moved out to the kitchen for milk. The routine was familiar and one of the best parts of Riley’s day.

Jack made coffee one-handed, something that he had grown adept at doing, and soon the fragrant scent filled the kitchen. Riley fell on his cup like a man starved and the first sip was nectar.

“You ready for the interview?” Jack asked when enough caffeine had kicked in so they could have a decent conversation.

“I just hope she’s the right person,” Riley said. “And that we’re doing the right thing.”

Deciding they needed help here was not something they’d come to with lightly. Even though Riley had cut his hours, he still had responsibility for so many people, and Jack managed to fit what he could of the ranch around the times Riley was here to back him up.

“We’re doing the right thing,” Jack stated. “When Max gets here we want to balance family and work, and we want to help Max and have a nanny for the twins. On paper she’s perfect.”

“Are we taking Max out after?”

“That’s what we arranged. We need to pack up the twins’ stuff.”

Riley nodded and pushed aside his doubts, and the two men moved through the morning routine with the added luxury that neither of them had planned work. Today was finding-a-nanny day, then spending time with Max. At last the clock clicked around to eleven and the nanny arrived for interview one. Marcus had recommended her. In fact Marcus Walker, half owner of the surrogacy agency that they had used, was a big part of his and Jack’s life. He was a friend and someone they respected. This nanny had his endorsement, and Riley held out high hopes.

The car that pulled up outside was a late-model sedan, and the compact woman that climbed outside was a surprise. Riley didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but she didn’t fit the picture he had in his head of a nanny. She waited next to her car for a moment, then turned a full three-sixty, slowly examining the land and the house. Riley wondered what she saw. They’d fixed the road in so that would have been smooth, and the fencing and fields were immaculate, all Jack’s department, of course. The house was half finished with different sheets of tarpaulin and scaffolding at various spots around its perimeter, but workers were there every day attempting to get everything finished on schedule.

He saw her nod, then move to climb the steps to the main front door. No one used that door, if anything it was the kitchen that everyone walked into.

“She’s here,” Jack said quietly from the hall.

Riley fought down the nerves and excitement that churned inside him.

“Best let her in,” he said.

Jack opened the front door, and Riley stopped himself from leaving the good room and immediately going into the hallway and demanding answers to a whole load of questions.

“Jack Campbell-Hayes,” he heard Jack introduce himself.

“Carol Griffin,” the wannabe-nanny answered.

“Welcome, come in.” Riley heard footsteps, and then Jack and the woman entered the good room. Riley immediately extended his hand.

“Riley Campbell-Hayes,” he said.

“Carol Griffin,” Carol replied. While most people were shorter than Riley, she couldn’t be more than five four, and both he and Jack dwarfed her. She had curly red hair that fell to her shoulders, freckles across her nose, and sparkling green eyes. Her handshake was firm, and she looked Riley directly in the eyes. He liked that.

“Would you like coffee? Tea? Water?” Jack asked.

“Water, please,” she said with a smile. Jack left to get the drink, which meant Riley was alone with her. His polite side searched for something to say that wasn’t anything to do with nannying.

“So how do you know Marcus?” He finally decided that was a neutral question.

“He didn’t tell you?”

“He hasn’t told us a lot,” Riley admitted. “Just enough to have us speak to you.”

“I was his nanny for a short while, when he was tiny. I moved away with my husband to start my own family, and we kept in touch.”

“Here you go,” Jack passed her the water and a mug of coffee to Riley.

“Carol was just explaining how she used to be Marcus’s nanny.”

“Really?” Jack sounded surprised. “You don’t look old enough to have been Marcus’s nanny.” Riley recalled Marcus was twenty-nine, so he tended to agree with Jack’s statement. Carol looked to only be about forty.

“Thank you, Mr Campbell-Hayes,” she began.

“Jack,” Jack interrupted.

“Jack.” She inclined her head. “I’m fifty-five, and I was with Marcus and his twin Marcie from when they were born up until they turned five. I am returning to nannying after losing my husband three years ago and having both my children away at college.”

She said the words calmly as if there was nothing that needed questioning, but empathy had Riley having to say something.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said gently.

She smiled. “Thank you…”

“Riley, call me Riley.”

“Thank you, I will. So Marcus hasn’t told me much either, but he encouraged me to speak to you.”

Riley didn’t hesitate. There was no point in wasting time with polite talk. If he laid everything out on the table to start then there would be absolutely no miscommunication or issues later down the road.

He took a moment to sort the words, but then they all came tumbling out. “We’re looking for someone to live in as a nanny to our twins and to a boy, five, that we are in the process of adopting. We also have a daughter Hayley, she was twelve last week. We are a gay married couple and the twins are genetically Jack’s, and Max, the five-year-old is, we believe, on the autism spectrum. I am one of two siblings who own a large part of Hayes Oil, and we take security and privacy very seriously.”

Carol nodded as he talked, and Riley exchanged quick looks with Jack, who smiled approvingly. He exhaled as he finished at the relief that he’d got everything off his chest.

“My son is gay and the thought that one day he will find someone he can call husband is something that fills me with hope, and yes, Riley, I know exactly who you are. And you, Jack, I know you; I’ve read your story, the official and unofficial versions, in various papers and magazines. I know Riley is often a victim of being followed and photographed, but Jack seems to escape most of it. I saw the photos posted of your visit to the nanny agency.”

“Oh” was all Riley could summon up.

“Nice kiss in the photo by the way,” she said with a smile.

Riley opened his mouth, then shut it again. Had Carol made a joke at their expense? He liked that, as did Jack who snorted a laugh alongside her.

“We try,” Jack said dryly.

“Forgive me, my sense of humor doesn’t have boundaries sometimes. Anyway, my credentials. I don’t have a degree, but I have training, and I was a nanny before I had my own children. I love babies and I also have experience with language disorders from my daughter’s own fight with dyslexia. While this is not autism by any means, I do have patience and I want to learn. I have very strong beliefs in how I think children should be raised. To be respectful and kind and to be part of a family that loves them.”