Page 10 of My Orc Nanny
“I’m oldest!” Benny yelled right back. “Youhaveto listen to me!”
“Tova, Benjamin,” came Aswan’s quiet rumble as I struggled to sit up, rubbing my eyes and wondering what had died on my tongue. “I told you that your mother and little brother were sick. Be respectful.”
My daughter’s expression turned mulish as Benny’s looked guilty for a moment. Then he rolled his eyes, muttered, “Whatever, happy summer vacation,” and stomped upstairs.
“He’s just hungry,” I tried to explain, struggling to surreptitiously twist my bra right way around. “I’ll make him a grilled cheese.”
“Ms. Woods,” Aswan began sternly, coming to scoop Joshua off my chest. “I can make perfectly lovely grilled cheese sandwiches. You rest.”
With him so close, I could do little more than flop back down onto the couch and listen to Tova’s rendition of thelast day of school…the brownies were a hit, apparently. One more thing I owed Aswan for.
And his chicken soup?Amazing. “Boy, thisisspicy,” I later coughed, reaching for the glass of orange juice he’d brought me. “It’s clearing me right up.”
One of his solemn nods. “That’s the idea. I simmer it with the red pepper, and the orzo soaks it all in. Come on, Joshua, let’s get your mama one of the garlic rolls.”
My almost three-year-old, who had perked right up thanks to the medicine, dragged Mr. BunBun into the kitchen, bellowing, “Gahlic woll! Gahlic woll!”
Because oh yeah, it turns out, Aswanalsomade my children dinner; a simple pasta dish, since the soup was too spicy for them. Oh well, more for me.
I still wasn’t 100%, but thanks to the nap and the spicy soup, I was feeling a little better by the time the kids were sitting down to dinner, and I managed to get my butt off the couch to walk Aswan to the door.
“Thank you for everything today, Aswan.” Although it felt strange—especially after how much I owed him—I offered him my hand, as if we were in a business meeting. “You really saved us today.”
“I was happy to do it,” he said quietly with a small smile, his large hand enveloping mine. Isweara warm tingle shot up my arm at that touch. “I hope I’ve passed muster.”
Passed mus—oh. “I think the kids and I would benefit greatly from having you as our nanny.”
“Thank you, Ms. Woods.”
I squeezed his hand—because oh yeah, had I failed to mention that I still hadn’t released him? “I think, after today, you ought to just call me Hannah, okay? I mean, we’re friends, right?”
Somethingflared in those dark eyes, and for a moment, I swear I saw a flash of green before Aswan dropped my hand. “Yes,” he said. “Friends.”
Chapter Three
Aswan
It was difficult,but I managed to stay away from Hannah’s house until just before noon on Saturday.A full eighteen hours. What, you think you deserve a reward?
I should have stayed away longer. What kind of male enters a desperate situation like Hannah’s and imagines things that aren’t there? Because that’s surely what had happened.
She’d been ill—maybe not fevered like her son, but she clearly wasn’t feeling great. There was nowayshe’d been thinking dirty thoughts about me!
Except…there’d been a few times, right on the edge of my senses… Look, orcs have much more acute senses than humans gave us credit for, right? We could hear small movements or even pulses, especially if it’s someone we’re attuned to. And our sense of smell was legendary, which wasn’t so much of a boon when it came to Joshua’s diapers.
But yesterday?
I could haveswornI smelled Hannah’s arousal.
See? Ridiculous. The poor woman was ill, exhausted, and at her wits’ end when it came to her work and kids. Besides, there’d been that parting handshake:friends. I was her nanny, and she was my friend.
And I told myselfthat’swhy I was standing on her porch at noon on a Saturday—a day the nanny shouldn’t be working—with arm loads of groceries. Because she was sick, and she was my friend.
“Hi, Aswan!” Tova announced as she yanked the door open, a smile—missing two teeth—brightening her face. “I’m going to play at Emmy’s. Mom said it was okay. Did you bring her?”
Since she’d skipped off as she asked this, I took it as an invitation, and stepped into the foyer, carefully nudging the door closed with my heel. “I didn’t. Do you walk to Emmy’s house?” I told myself I was only asking because nannies needed to know these things.
“Our backyards connect, silly!” Tova was shoving things—were those dolls?—into a backpack. “Well, almost. The Stevensons and Mrs. Mallak don’t mind if we cut across their woods to play. I have to cross the creek, but I can just hop across it, easy peasy. Wanna see?”
