Page 12 of Nanny for the Firefighter

I stop, my brows raising. “Well, actually, I might. My buddy’s sister is back in town. She may be a good fit.”

With a sigh, Amy folds her arms over her chest and nods. “I certainly hope so. I know finding someone for her at night hasbeen a challenge. I still can’t believe that other woman tried to steal from you.”

Wincing slightly, I remember catching Tina in the act when I got home from work and having to fire her on the spot two weeks ago.

“Yeah, that was less than fun. Hopefully, this does work out. I’ve known Bridget for a while, and at the very least, I know she won’t steal from me.”

“Well, good,” Amy says, offering a warm smile. “I know it’s been hard, and you deserve to get the help you need.”

Mia starts to fidget in my arms, and I know she’s getting antsy. “I appreciate that. A lot.”

“Any time, Mason. We’re happy to have Mia here. She’s a great kid.”

The words matter more to me than I can vocalize, and all I can do is nod. After a moment, I hike Mia up further into my arms and head for the door.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see. I know Mia loves it here too, so I won’t keep her away all the time just because of the nanny.”

“Sounds excellent, Mason.” Amy waves. “See you later, Mia! Drive safe.”

Mia waves back happily, and I leave the room to take her back to the truck.

Back home, I bring Mia inside and get us set up for the evening. With her shoes off and a milk in hand, I let her plop down in front of the TV for a bit.

I try to get her watching “Ms. Rachel,” but she just points at the screen and says, “Tru, Tru!”

“Okay, okay. Tru it is. Little devil.”

Switching over to Netflix, I put onTru and the Magic Kingdom, which has been her favorite as of late. Mia squeals happily and then sits down on the padded rug in the middle of the floor.

It’s not particularly educational as far as TV shows go, but it’s not bad. It shows problem-solving skills in action with bright color palettes and cute talking animals and objects, so I get why she likes it.

“Don’t rot your brain, kiddo.”

Mia pays me no attention, and I get my laptop out of my briefcase from where I set it on the island. Pulling it out, I take a seat on the couch to get a little work done while Mia relaxes with Tru.

Part of me realizes that it’s Friday night, and I should be doing something that isn’t working.

Still, the company won’t run itself, and weekends aren’t really a thing when you’re running your own real estate business in one of the biggest tourist destinations in Montana.

Managing the workload for the several lodges and luxury properties that I’ve purchased in town is no small task. But it’s been successful and provides the life I want to give Mia.

Looking over the laptop screen toward her, I see Mia take another big gulp of her milk, munching on the bowl of grapes and cut-up PB & J sandwich I got for her.

“Little cutie muffin.”

I turn back to my computer and answer a few emails before I can’t focus on work anymore. A notification pops up that I have a Facebook memory to see for the day, and I can’t stop myself from clicking on it.

Unsure what it could be, I’m surprised when I see a photo of Hudson, Bridget, and me from when we were teens.

We were so young and carefree, and my chest pinches as I roam my eyes over the details of the mountains and lake behind us.

Five fucking years.

I still can’t believe it’s been that long or that Bridget is suddenly back in town now. So much of her life is a mystery and has been ever since she left.

Jai looks to be out of the picture, but I can’t really tell. I know that he screamed at me over the phone when they first left, basically forcing me to block Bridget on social.

I took it off ages ago, but I wasn’t surprised to see that Jai had made her do the same.

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