Page 120 of Nanny for the Firefighter

Mia shakes her head, pointing at the screen when I pull up Netflix.

“That one!”

I look at what she’s found, and it appears they’ve added a new mermaid movie.

“Oh, of course. Mermaids. Okay, here we go.”

Right as I hit play for Mia, there’s a knock at the door, and I jump. I’ve been very attached to not opening the door for anyone or anything, and there’s a part of me that just wants to ignore it.

And then I remember the security app. I downloaded it this morning, and I’ll be able to see and talk to whoever is at the door.

When I pull it up, the older delivery man is there with the groceries again.

Shit, of course. We’re at the end of the week.

I look over at the pantry, knowing how sparse things are in there, and we have to have food. Mia can’t survive on pretzels, and getting the delivery here is at least safer than going to the store.

Clicking the intercom button, I answer the man’s ring. “Hi, Saul. I have my hands full right now. Would you be able to leave them on the porch?”

There’s a pause, and I can see Saul look around for the source of my voice until he finds the video doorbell.

“Oh, well, hello there, Bridget.” He waves, and I have to smile. “Be happy to leave them here, but don’t take too long. There’s chicken in there, and it can’t sit out in the heat.”

My stomach clenches. “Right. Of course. Yeah, I’ll be there in just a second, but you’re good to go.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Bridget. I’ll see you at your mother’s later.”

I nod even though he can’t see me. “See you later, Saul.”

Watching him set the bags near the door, I keep an eye out for anything else that’s out of the ordinary. I don’t see anything, and then Saul is walking back to his car.

Mia is still watching the mermaid show, happily munching on pretzels when I look at her, and I stare down at the screen for a few more moments.

Still nothing.

I check the time. Mason said he’d grab what he needed at the office and then turn right back around. If he did, that means he’ll be back in roughly fifteen minutes.

You can’t leave the chicken out there for that long.

I’m still torn about whether that would be so bad, though. If I just threw the chicken out, it would be a waste, sure, but we could always get more.

“No, come on. This is ridiculous.” I watch the front door for a few more seconds. “There’s no one there, and it’s just to grab the groceries. Just do it quick.”

Setting my phone down on the coffee table, I walk over to the door. My heart is beating too hard for my liking, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

I poise my hand over the lock on the door. It takes a good thirty seconds before I can bring myself to flip it over.

The security panel by the door is just to my left. I disarm the system to immediately arm it again. It’s set to “stay,” so there’s two minutes before it comes online again.

I just need to get all the groceries inside and lock things back up by then. That’s it.

It’s another few seconds before I can pull open the door, and even then, it’s just a crack. I peek through the opening.

Still nothing.

Sinking down, I snake my hand out through the door to grab one of the three bags. I reach for the paper handles and quickly yank the thing back inside.

One bag down, two to go.

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