JACE
She told me once there is a clock in the hearts of parents. Most of the time it is silent, but you can hear it ticking when your child is not with you and you do not know where they are, or when they are awake in the night and wanting you. It will tick until you are with them again.
Cassandra Clare,Queen of Air and Darkness
“Will they like me?”
“Absolutely. In fact, I think they’ll love you.”
Ryla was sitting in her booster seat in the backseat of my car, legs swinging. She’d paused while belting out all the lyrics to “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” to ask this question. I’d gotten a call from my momma this morning. Pop was having a flare of his rheumatoid arthritis. They’d come back early from Florida because of it, but hadn’t had time to go to the pharmacy yet. Momma had sounded frazzled over the phone, so I offered to pick up his steroids and pain medication that had been called in for him.
So here we were, on our way to my parents’ house, even though they had no idea I was a nanny.
“Max?”
“Yeah?” He pulled back one of his headphones.
“They’re going to love you too. Stick close to me if you like. If you need a break, just grab my hand and give it two squeezes.”
Nodding, Max put his headphones back on and returned to looking out the window.
When I’d gotten my parents’ message this morning and called Polly, she’d only seemed concerned about their welfare, having no problem with me bringing the kids to their house. Her reaction surprised me some, but it shouldn’t have. Her kind heart was one of the best things about her. Despite being exhausted, I’d lain awake the previous night for a fair while. More than I was used to. Partly because I was holding a sleeping Polly in my arms, but partly from worry. I’d wondered what the future held. What happened at the end of August, when Polly didn’t need me as a nanny anymore?
We’d gotten to my parents’ house just after lunch. Max was looking at the house furtively whereas Ryla was already out of her seat and reaching for the door handle.
“Not so fast, little miss. A few ground rules. Take off your shoes by the front door. My momma doesn’t exactly know I’m working by y’all, so she might ask a lot of questions. Max, you already know to stick close to me. And Ryla?” I took in the outfit she selected for herself: leopard shorts, a pink tutu, black T-shirt, and unicorn headband. I winked at her. “Just be yourself.”
Going up the front walk—I knew Momma would be appalled if I let “company” in through the garage—Ryla grabbed the pharmacy bag from my hand, replacing it with her hand. Max was holding onto my other hand, so Ryla rang the doorbell for me.
“It’s Jace!” I yelled when I heard movement from the other side of the door.
Momma opened the door, eyes narrowed in question. “Jace? Why are you—” She stopped speaking once she saw the kids standing next to me, confusion heavy on her face. She glanced back at me, eyes widening as she clocked my red hair.
“Surprise!” I cried, holding up our still joined hands. “Momma, this is Max,” I inclined my head as I introduced them, “and Ryla. I’ve been working as their nanny for the last few weeks. Their momma is a new pediatrician in town.”
I didn’t add that I was also falling in love with her. That’d have to wait for another day.
Momma’s eyes blinked twice. “Nanny?”
“Jace is our new Giselle!” Ryla exclaimed high and sweet, smiling wide . . . but she continued holding my hand, letting me know she still felt a bit shy.
I stifled a chuckle as Momma openly gaped at Ryla, probably wondering what she just said.
“Alright if we come in?”
At my teasing tone, she narrowed her eyes slightly, then put on a polite smile. Her manners were deeply ingrained.
“Yes. Please, come in. I was right about to put a batch of cookies in the oven.”
Apparently, that was enough for Ryla. Trust, granted. Dropping my hand, Ryla walked through the door like she owned the place, stepping right up to Momma. I gave Max’s hand a squeeze as we followed her inside.
“Your daddy’s in his recliner, resting.” Momma looked down to Ryla, eyeing the pharmacy bag. “Here, why don’t you give that to me—What’d you say your name was again?”
“Ryla.”
“Ryan?”
“Ryyyy-llaaaaa.”
