Jordy loved how his daughter took so much conversational pressure off him. For several minutes Kaira expounded on her plans for the day—getting more books form the library—and then detailed her expectations for their upcoming trip to the zoo.
“We’re going to go see armadillos.”
“Ah, of course. You can’t go to the zoo and not see armadillos.” Rowan nodded seriously.
“No, you can’t.”
“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a zoo that had armadillos, because I’ve never seen one up close and personal.”
Kaira looked horrified. “What?”
“Nope. I’ve only ever seen them in pictures or on TV.”
“But armadillos are the best!”
“I know,” Rowan agreed sadly.
“You need to go see them. At the zoo. You should come to the zoo with us!”
“Oh, uh….” Rowan froze.
Jordy took pity on him. Also, he needed to remind someone of basic manners. “Kaira, you can’t just order Mr. Rowan to come to the zoo with us. He might be busy or have to work. Remember, not everyone gets the summers off. Lots of adults still work every day, even in July.”
Kaira pouted. “But… armadillos.”
Jordy did not melt at the sight of those wide eyes or bottom lip. “If you want Rowan to come with us, then you can ask him. But remember, he might have to say no, and that’s okay too.”
She whirled to Rowan and said in one breath, “Will you come with us to the zoo tomorrow?”
“Um.”
“Oh. Do you have to work?” She looked heartbroken at the thought.
“Well, no,” Rowan said slowly. Jordy wished he could have told him that lying would have been acceptable.
Kaira brightened. “So you can come with us?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to intrude….” Kaira frowned at the new word. “It sounds like you and your daddy have a nice day planned, and I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”
“But Daddy doesn’t have a friend coming with us. But if you came, then he would have a friend. And I would have a friend, and then everyone would have a friend at the zoo!”
It was hard to argue against such sincere and simple logic. Judging by Rowan’s softening expression, he felt the same.
It looked like Jordy was bringing a friend to the zoo after all.
THE LASTthing Rowan expected in his mailbox was a letter from the library board. Now it lay on his kitchen table, taunting him.
“I don’t have time for this,” Rowan told it.
“For real, Rowan, I have to wrangle eleven six-year-olds in an hour.Ido not have time for this,” Taylor answered through his phone’s speaker. “Just open the letter.”
“I can’t. Jordy is picking me up togo to the zooin twenty minutes. What if it’s bad? What if it ruins my mood for the rest of the day?”
There was an ominous pause. “Okay, first of all, can we rewind to the bit where you have a date with the DILF?”
“No,” Rowan said reasonably, “because it is not a date. Jordy does not date. And I have sworn off men. I’m going to the zoo with him and Kaira and her friend because she made puppy eyes at me in a café after maligning pineapple upside-down cupcakes. Let’s focus on my financial and professional future, please.”
Taylor made a derisive noise. “We can do that later. Right now let’s focus on how you got parent trapped into looking after children on your day off.”
