Page 10 of Claim Me

“I don’t need a sitter,” Farmer says immediately. “I’m old enough to drive.”

“Of course, you are,” Dot lies and hands me a cup of coffee. “But the house needs supervision with the smaller kids and the pets. Most nights, Caveman is busy yelling at people and playing darts at the clubhouse.”

“So, you want me to stay here in the evenings and watch these little kids, except for Farmer who is old enough to be on his own?”

“Exactly. I had a girl who was supposed to do it. The barely legal doll would come around in the evenings. But she recently learned men have different parts than women, and that’s quickly changed her priorities. Now, she’s always at the clubhouse, scenting every man she meets.”

“I can stay here and watch them.”

“You’re not weird, right?” Vanilla asks and narrows his eyes. The boy leans closer as if searching for any sign of my weirdness. “Men wanting to babysit my sister are usually weird.”

“That one man was weird about you, too,” Chef says happily as she flips a flapjack. “I’m going to own a restaurant one day. I’ll be rich.”

“Of course, darling,” Dot says and strokes the child’s head before smiling at me. “I’m glad you’re sticking around, Indigo. I don’t need to know why you’re hiding out. I think it’ll be good for everyone.”

That’s how the rest of my day goes. Dot leaves the house for a few hours before returning for dinner. Caveman’s permanent kids give me a wide berth. His daughters are going through a “men suck” phase. His sons are going through an “everyone sucks” phase.

“Sullen little shits,” Caveman says when his permanent kids take their meals and retreat to their rooms in the massive old house. “I was only moody for three weeks at the age of fourteen. I suspect I might have just had the flu. No idea why you’re all so grumpy.”

“Uh-huh,” Pinkie says and rolls her eyes with great flair. “You’re perfect. We know.”

Caveman smirks. “It’s true. I am perfect. Never has a better man existed. But I still think you’re melodramatic.”

“No,” Mouse insists before scurrying up the stairs to her room.

Shaking his head, Caveman looks at me. “You’ll watch the little ones tonight, yes?”

“Not me,” Farmer insists, having spent the entire afternoon explaining to me how he is a grownup in a child’s body. I assume his parents left him to raise himself a lot. “I will supervise him supervising them.”

“Good man,” Caveman says and pats the child’s shoulder. “Gotta have everyone keeping an eye on everyone else. That’s how we keep people in line.”

For most of the day, I barely have the time to nurse bad feelings over how I fucked up with Siobhan. The kids are distracting. Chef talks endlessly about her future restaurant. Farmer has big plans for three cows.

“If I save up enough, I might get four,” he tells me before going to bed.

Vanilla just agrees with everything. He reminds me of Tack when we were kids. Of course, under my friend’s easygoing exterior beats the heart of a broken child. I can’t be sure if Vanilla is that complicated.

At the end of the evening, I watch them brush their teeth and get in bed. I worry they’ll want me to read them a story. Bubby used to like those The Berenstain Bears books. I’d hated school and never cared if I could read until the day my brother wanted me to read him the stories.

These kids have zero interest in books. They get thirty minutes on their tablets before bed. I guess they might read to themselves, but they probably play games or watch videos. I wait around by the stairs until the alarm goes off and then check to see if they turned off the devices.

“Don’t be sad,” Chef tells me when I start to shut the door to the room where she and Vanilla sleep. “You did good today.”

Though I smile at her comment, her words can’t save me from what’s coming. As soon as the house is quiet, I sink into regret. I end up watching a video of Siobhan with her girls last Christmas. Resigned to my unhappiness, I fall asleep curled up under a blanket and pretend I exist in an emotionless void.

Tangina wakes me the next morning. I open my eyes to find Tack and Bear leaning over me rather than the kids.

“You sleep like an angel,” Bear taunts, and his blue eyes shine with amusement.

Tack smirks at our friend’s comment while I sit up and frown at them. Bear’s brown hair and Tack’s blond hair are wild from the ride up to the hills. I think of them hearing negative shit about me from their women.Has Siobhan ratted me out to her besties yet?

“Did you bring my dogs?” I ask despite knowing they rode their motorcycles here.

“As Sleepy’s legal owner,” Tack replies immediately, “I’m not sure how I feel about him relocating to this untamed land. Will he get bullied by Tangina over here?”

The pig hears her name and shuffles over for affection. We take turns petting her before she decides she’d prefer smaller hands. Once the pig trots off to find the kids, my friends turn their gazes to me.

“What’s this about?” Bear asks as he stretches out in a nearby recliner and rubs at his bearded jaw. “Why are you hiding out here?”

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