Page 49 of Military Daddies' Nanny

I glance at the clock. It’s just after five and I squeal in excitement. It’s almost time for our date. Drew had gone to work after all, but he should be back any minute now.

I still have two hours before seven rolls around to doll up for the date, so I busy myself with mundane chores like loading the dishwasher, throwing in a load of laundry, and straightening up the living room. They are familiar tasks, grounding me here in this moment of domestic bliss.

Has it really only been four months since I stepped into this gloriously chaotic household? In some ways it feels like I've been here forever, enveloped by the easy camaraderie and unconditional love. In others, my arrival seems like a distant dream, one I'm still half-convinced I'll wake from at any moment.

Thirty minutes pass by, and the front door bangs open, and I smile in anticipation. Until a voice that most certainly does not belong to Drew, Nathan, or Carlos rings out.

"Hello? Is anyone home?"

My heart stutters in my chest as I turn toward the foyer. Because standing there, just inside the doorway, is a woman and I think I know who she is.

Karen?

My gaze darts instinctively over her features, taking in the sharp cheekbones and platinum blonde pixie cut. Even after all this time, the resemblance to Bella is unmistakable. Her eyes are the same clear hazel as her daughter's. They find mine, narrowing in polite confusion.

"Oh! I didn't realize...you must be the nanny?"

Before I can respond, the sound of small feet precedes Bella and Jason's arrival as they come to see who came in, obviously expecting their dad or uncles just like I had. At the sight of the strange woman, Jason freezes, gaze darting between her and me uncertainly. But Bella…

"Mom?" she whispers, sounding impossibly young.

My heart clenches at the naked hope in that single syllable. Because even after all this time, even after everything...some small part of this little girl still yearns for her mother's love and acceptance.

Drew appears in the foyer behind Karen, his face creased with some unreadable emotion, and nods once, heavily. "Yeah, baby. It's your mom."

And just like that, the spell is broken. Karen—for it is undeniably her—is across the room in three strides, hauling Bella into her arms with a muffled cry. Jason hovers nearby, eyes wide and mystified.

"My sweet girl," Karen murmurs, voice thick with tears. "You've gotten so big."

Numbly, I watch as she releases Bella in favor of gathering up Jason, who allows the embrace with bewildered passivity. Drew's gaze meets mine over the top of his ex-wife's bowed head, and the apology is plain in the tightness around his eyes.

My mind whirls, trying to make sense of what's happening. Part of me understands, on a rational level, anyway. Karen is the kids' mother, after all. They've spent years longing for her return, spinning fantasy scenarios of a happy family reunion.

And yet...another part of me howls in anguish at this sudden upheaval. Because I have come to love these kids like they’re mine and now, it seems like I’m about to lose them.

Minutes or hours could have passed—I'm not sure. Eventually, Karen sets the children back, straightening to face Drew with shining eyes. "Can we...I'd like to speak to you privately, if that's all right?"

Drew's lashes sweep down in affirmation, and he turns to me at last. "Nancy? Could you…" His voice catches, but not before I see the turbulence roiling in those beloved whiskey eyes.

I open my mouth, fighting to keep my tone even around the vise constricting my airway. "Of course. I'll just...give you three some space."

Grabbing my purse from the side table, I force my leaden limbs in the direction of the front door.I need to get out of here—to breathe, to think…

"Nancy, wait!" Drew's hand closes around my elbow, and I dimly register him tugging me into the hall, out of earshot. "I'm so sorry," he murmurs low and urgent when we're alone. "I had no idea Karen was going to show up like this, I swear."

A hysterical bubble of laughter builds in my chest, which I only just manage to choke back. Of course, he didn't know. None of us could have seen this coming.Because who the hell actually expects their runaway ex to reappear out of the ether six years down the line?

When I manage to speak, my voice trembles despite my best efforts. "What...does this mean for us, Drew?"Because I already know the answer, don't I? As soon as I laid eyes on the woman, the truth became inescapable.

Drew's fingers tighten infinitesimally around my arm before falling away. “I think…we will need to have to cancel our date tonight.”

“Were you planning on telling me about Karen’s return?” I ask, willing him to say that she won’t be returning and that he wants nothing to do with her.

His expression is apologetic. He opens his mouth as though to say something, but closes it again when I glare at him.

He doesn't say he owes it to Karen. Doesn't say he still has feelings for her, or that I was just a temporary diversion from his loneliness. The words don't need to be spoken aloud. I already knew the score, from the moment I watched his expression crumble while Karen embraced the children he cherished.

I was a convenience for his fractured family, nothing more. I’m just an employee.

---