Page 44 of Marrying the Nanny

“Rhymes with ‘pram it,’” Trystan responded pleasantly.

“If you wore the sling, we wouldn’t need it. She’s too heavy for me to go far with her like that. It hurts my shoulders, but I’ve never had time to explore the hiking trails and I’d love to. I’m afraid of getting lost, and what about bears?”

“Bear spray,” Trystan said with a careless shrug. “I’m game if you are.”

“Really?” She felt a little giddy.

“Don’t forget your basket of breadcrumbs,” Logan advised her.

Reid’s stiff expression remained focused on his plate.

Emma would have asked him if he disapproved, but he was tied up with Trystan all evening, installing the light fixtures, removing all the living room furniture to refinish the floor. Once Logan had Storm down for the night, Emma stayed in her bedroom, out of the way, reading until she fell asleep.

She was practically skipping the next morning, though. Logan handed off Storm to Trystan with, “Clean, dry, fed. I expect her back in the same condition.”

Trystan made their lunch while Emma gathered diapers and extra clothes, then joined him in the kitchen to prepare bottles. “What about warming them?”

“I usually purify water as I go, but we won’t take chances with her. Make them here and I’ll bring my stove so we can boil water to warm them.”

His “stove” was a tiny contraption the size of a pacifier that went onto a small canister of propane. It fit inside the tin cup she’d seen him use on his show to make soup.

In the basement, he began weighing everything.

“It’s just a day hike. Why are you bringing a tent?” she asked.

“You survive by planning to survive. How much does she weigh?”

“Just over a stone. Seven and a half kilos.”

“That’s sixteenish pounds? She’s the real problem. Twenty percent of your body weight is the rule of thumb for how much to carry. Her paraphernalia weighs more than her allotted two and a half pounds and she also has to be part of my forty pounds. I’m usually gone at least a week and take fifteen to twenty pounds of food so… I guess we eat her if we get lost. Problem solved.”

“He doesn’t mean it,” Emma assured Storm as she closed the Velcro straps on her shoes. “He’ll eat bugs. I’ve seen him do it.” She glanced at Trystan. “And I will happily starve to death.”

“Coward. At least this is engineered decently.” Trystan adjusted the padded straps of the sling to fit his broad shoulders and around his waist. He explored the pouches and pockets, stuck a few items in here and there, then put the rest of his supplies in a small day pack. “Okay, kid. Let’s walk.”

He stuck Storm to his chest facing out. She loved it. She kicked and crowed, not growing fussy until almost a full hour had passed. They paused where moss-covered boulders formed stepping stones across a burbling creek.

“Hungry, I think,” Emma said. “Although, she’s rubbing her eyes.”

“It’s early for a bottle.” Trystan glanced at his watch. “Logan said she slept okay. She shouldn’t need her nap yet.”

“She hasn’t stopped moving since you put her in that thing, though. She’s probably burned a million calories.”

“True. I feel like I’m smuggling a nest of squirrels. Can she eat while we walk?”

“You don’t want to rest?”

“Only if you need to. Or she does.”

“Give it a try. She’ll let you know if she doesn’t like it.”

The bottle was still tepid from Emma making it at home. Storm drank it and dozed off. They continued along the trail. Emma was following Trystan, thinking about asking for a rest as they cut across a plateau, especially as a gorgeous vista opened before them.

Below them, sparse, stunted trees were attempting to survive the brown, boggy ground. The grass was greening up with spring shoots, though, poking up along with purple and white wildflowers. In the distance, the humps of tree-covered islands sat as a collection of turtle shells amid ribbons of blue ocean. Cotton clouds scudded the sky.

She halted next to Trystan. “It’s so beautiful,” she said breathlessly.

He nudged her elbow and nodded.

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