Her Boss and Protector. Joanna Neil

      CHAPTER ONE

      ‘THIS is it, children. We’re here.’ Jade parked the car alongside the pavement and then went around to the passenger side to open the door and let the children out. ‘Will you help me with some of the bags? Connor, perhaps you could bring in the toys and, Rebeccah, maybe you could manage the schoolbags?’

      ‘Is this your house?’ Four-year-old Connor stepped out of the car and looked the place over. He was frowning, his lip jutting a fraction, as though he was trying to decide what to make of it.

      ‘Yes, it is, for the next few months, at least.’ Jade had only just moved in over the last few days, and she was still getting used to it herself. She glanced at the ivy-covered cottage and tried to see it through his eyes. The afternoon sun was warm and bright, its rays highlighting the yellow Cotswold stone where it peeped through the covering of ivy.

      ‘I know it might seem a bit strange to begin with, but this is going to be your home for a while. Try to remember the name of the street and the house number…Sweetbriar Cottage, Number three, Meadow Lane.’ It shouldn’t be too difficult for them to do that—in fact, they were fairly isolated out here, with only one or two buildings spread out along the country road.

      Connor dutifully muttered the words to himself and she gave a wry hint of a smile. That had been her mother’s mantra when she had been a little girl—always remember where you live, in case you get lost and have to ask a policeman for help.

      She didn’t share her thoughts with the children, though. They had been through enough already this afternoon, and she wasn’t going to be the one to pile any more uncertainties on their heads.

      A brief flicker of pain shot through her as the worries came flooding back. Things had to work out—she couldn’t bear it if anything more went wrong. As to how she was going to manage these next few weeks, taking on the care of two young children—it was a daunting task. She pulled in a deep breath. She would make it work. She had to.

      ‘It’s not very big, is it?’ Rebeccah said doubtfully, and Jade looked down at her. At five years old, she was a pretty little girl, with brown hair that fell in a sleek line to her shoulders and grey eyes that reflected candour and the wide-eyed innocence of youth. She looked like a smaller version of her mother.

      ‘No, but it’s bigger than it looks inside, and at least you’ll be able to have a bedroom each.’

      ‘Who lives there?’ Connor pointed towards the house next door. He, too, had his mother’s grey eyes, but his hair was a little fairer, as though it had been kissed by the sun. ‘His house is ’normous…like a mansion. I bet he’s rich as rich, richer than anyone.’

      Busy unloading the boot of the car, Jade stopped to look across at the neighbouring house. Connor was right. The house was impressive, built of honey-coloured Cotswold stone, a sprawling building, with deep gabled roofs clad with stone tiles, and dormer windows, with more windows nestling under the eaves. An overhanging roof covered the entrance porch. Altogether it was a pleasing house, and the front garden complemented it perfectly. It was well stocked, with flowering trees and shrubs that were looking a little overgrown now, and she wondered how long they had been left untended.

      ‘I don’t know about that,’ Jade said. ‘The man that lives there is away at the moment, so the house is empty.’

      ‘How do you know that?’ Connor was frowning again, his head tipped back to look up at her.

      ‘The agent told me…that’s the man who leased me this house,’ she added in explanation. He hadn’t said a lot about the man next door, just that she might not see a great deal of him because he sometimes worked unsociable hours, much like herself. ‘I needed somewhere to live that was close to where I’m going to be working, and he found me this little cottage.’ She collected the bags and cases together and locked the boot. ‘Shall we take all these things into the house?’ She started to lead the way up the path, and began to open the front door.

      ‘I think it’s haunted,’ Connor said in awed tones, looking back at the house next door. ‘I seed a ghost up at the window. It was staring at us.’ His eyes were growing larger by the minute, and his sister took advantage of his apprehension, starting to make wailing noises and bending her arms up in front of him like an apparition, backing him into a corner. Connor started to squeal.

      ‘It wasn’t a ghost. It must have been the sunlight playing tricks on you,’ Jade said.

      Rebeccah let her arms fall back by her sides and studied Jade. ‘You’re going to work at the hospital, aren’t you? Is that where they took my mummy?’

      ‘That’s right.’ Jade made a face as a ripple of unease ran through her. She didn’t want to be reminded