Page 19 of The Nanny Tenure (Single Dads Club)

“You’re living in my house. I need to know what I should do if you have one.”

I stared down at my feet. “Put me on my side and make sure I’m not near anything that I could hurt myself with. Nothing sharp, nothing I could fall off, or near water.”

“Okay,” he said quietly. “And then?”

“And then I eventually wake back up. They’ve never lasted all that long. Usually less than a minute.”

“What would be the procedure if you have a seizure and Finn’s the only one around?”

“That won’t happen.”

“Humor me,” he said with a scowl.

I thought for a minute. “I guess I could make up a chart for emergencies. It would probably be good to have one anyway. Like how to dial 9-1-1.”

“That’s a good idea. There’s a first aid kit under the sink in the kitchen and one in every bathroom.”

“But it’s a really,reallyslim possibility I’ll have a seizure, even slimmer that he’s the only one around when it happens.” Liam still appeared unconvinced, so I tried again. “I wanted this job because I knew I was capable of it. Please, give me time to prove I am.”

He considered me for a few seconds and gave in with a terse nod. “Fine. But no more surprises, all right? I need to know I can trust you with my son. And you need to put the pills somewhere Finn can’t get to them.”

“Right. Of course. And no more surprises. I promise.” When I crossed the tip of my index finger over my chest, his gaze drifted down then he immediately blinked away. That was when I realized I’d accidentally shifted my peasant top over a bit, so my cleavage was on display.

He stood. “I, um, I’m gonna get Finn down to sleep and then try to get some work done, so…”

I gestured vaguely to the kitchen. “I’ll clean up a bit in here.”

He made his way downstairs, calling, “Come on, guy, time for a bath.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“No!”

“Yes.” Liam picked up Finn and tossed him over his shoulder. “Like a sack of lobsters.”

I bit back my laugh at his sudden accent on “lobsters” and waved to Finn as they passed me to head upstairs. “Night night!”

I spent about twenty minutes cleaning up the kitchen, learning where everything was in the cabinets, and taking stock of the food situation before scrolling through my social media while nibbling on animal crackers. Although I loved to cook, I had always lived with other people and was self-conscious about asking to take over. But since that was expected here, I found a few ideas for dinners and jotted down a grocery list while quiet voices upstairs filtered down to me.

At one point, when I figured Finn was supposed to be in bed, I heard a lot of quick stomps, and I smiled to myself, guessing he was dancing or trying to sneak out of bed. Then, finally, about a half hour later, Liam reappeared. “He’s asleep. I’ll be working in the dining room.”

“Will I wake him up if I go upstairs and in the bathroom?”

“No.” He waved his hand. “He’s got a sound machine and music on. He won’t hear a thing. The only time he’s quiet and still is when he’s asleep.”

“Okay, then I’ll be upstairs.”

He sat down at the dining room table, shifting his laptop around toys and clothes and mail. I would definitely need to come up with some kind of chores system. For myself and these two messy boys I lived with now.

“G’night,” he said, his attention already on his computer.

“Night.”

Upstairs, I finished putting all my things away and crept to the bathroom. Just in case.

I swallowed down my pills, put them in the closet on the top shelf, and changed into my pajamas. Even though it was still early, I wasn’t comfortable enough to help myself to hanging out downstairs, especially after our little confrontation. It seemed like everything was okay, but I didn’t want to push my luck. I needed this job, and I really liked Finn, so instead of stationing myself in front of the television in the living room, I did some research to see what kinds of local activities there were to do with toddlers.

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