Page 5 of My Orc Nanny
I felt my lips curling as I patted the small child’s rear, the way I remember fathers doing for their kitlings in my village. “I did know that. You’re her best friend.”
“And she’s my best friend. She doesn’t talk to me very much, but she talks to me more than she talks to any of our other friends, that’s how I know.” The convoluted sentence took me a moment to work through. “And you know what else? Her mom is Ms. Rios, our teacher! I mean, she’s her stepmom, that’s what it’s called when your dad marries a new lady. Like if Mom married a new boy, he’d be my stepdad. I want a stepdad, because you know why?”
Honestly, I was only half paying attention. I’d been on Eastshore long enough—and had spent enough time with Sakkara, his Mate Nikki, and their daughter Emmy—to know Tova…and to have beentalked atby Tova. So I studied the boy, Joshua, and murmured, “No, why?” to his older sister.
“Because then Mom would be happy again. Sometimes, when it’s nighttime and she thinks I can’t hear her, she cries. I don’t like it when she’s sad.”
The confession, so nonchalantly given, caused something in my chest to freeze. My shocked gaze swung back to Tova, who’d dropped my hand and was now shrugging out of her brother’s backpack.
Ms. Woods…criedat night?
Why did that make myKteer—that primitive part of me that howled survival instincts deep in my chest—growl? Did this have to do with the way I responded to her panic, with aneedto fix things?
A thundering of feet saved me from having to respond to this shocking realization, and I looked up to see the woman holding the hand of a sullen boy about ten years old as they came down the steps. She was wearing a cotton blouse now, the red causing the highlights in her hair to shine.
“Find your shoes,” she snapped to her oldest son as she struggled into her suit coat. “Your sister has your bag. We have to gonow.”
“Ms. Woods,” I announced, stepping in front of her as she hopped on one foot to strap her heels. “You take the children to school. I will stop by the bakery and pick up thebrownies and drop them off with Ms. Rios on Tova’s behalf.”
“Wh—” she began, straightening to gape at me.
I thrust the toddler into her arms. “Is your stroller in the garage? I’ll load it into my car, and we can go from the school to the bank.” That’s where Sakkara said she worked, and where I assumed her meeting was.
Her mouth was working, but no sound emerged, and Tova tugged on my arm. When I turned my attention to her, she beamed.
“Make sure you get the ones with the sprinkles, Aswan. They’re the best.”
I nodded curtly. “Understood. Will two dozen be sufficient?” When the little girl merely blinked at me, I clarified, “Twenty-four. Never mind, I’ll get thirty.”
“You’d better get fifty,” she said seriously. “They’re really good, everyone likes them.”
Her mother interrupted, “He’ll get what he can find, young lady. Get in the car!” She bounced the fussy toddler as she peered up at me, her gaze torn between fear and hope. “You really don’t mind, Aswan?”
My attention was caught by her lower lip again. Part of me had been wondering what it taste like…but when she said my name?Allmy attention centered onthat. And the way it made myKteerhowl with glee.
I forced myself to incline my head. It took two tries to make my voice work. “I am here to help,” I managed before I strode out the open door.
I had a stroller to find and brownies to buy.
It was good to have a purpose again.
Chapter Two
Hannah
Maybe I was hyperventilatinga little when I pulled into the bank’s parking lot.
Joshua was asleep in his car seat in the back—poor baby, that’s how I knew he reallywasfeeling yucky, to already be so tired. I dropped my forehead to the steering wheel, squeezed my eyes shut, and tried to breathe through the pep talk.
Unfortunately, all I could seem to manage was,You can do this, you can do this.
Which sucked, because Iwasn’tsure I could do this.
My boss had made it clear I needed to lead the meeting with Butch Holdings. Honestly, the portfolio was my personal responsibility; I’d been the one to liase with them since they won the contract to build the condo development down by the docks. The bankneededthis meeting tobe successful, and more than that, Iwantedthem to succeed.
I had twenty minutes before they showed up.
But could I just…hand Joshy off to a complete stranger? Iknowif I called up my mother, she’d badger Dad into driving over to pick up their youngest grandbaby so she could pamper him with homemade chicken noodle soup and cuddles…but I couldnotafford her to catch whatever he had. I mean, I could already feel my nose clogging and my head aching, likely from all those open-mouth sneezes Joshua managed this morning.
