Page 5 of Royally Benevolent

“I’ve noticed.” Wyatt pointed. “A curb bump out could solve problems by slowing cars down.”

“I guess, yeah.”

I had no idea what he was talking about, butheseemed to.

I took off, swinging my leg over the bike and leaving the brave stranger behind me. As I rode, I thought about his kindness. The short, handsome man in a suit had been my knight in shining armour.

I returned my bike to the storage shed and carried Grieg into the house. As I passed Alexandra’s office, I mentioned nothing. I didn’t want her to worry too much and ground me. Ingrid, my littlest sister and closest confidante, appeared in my bedroom doorway with questions. She sensed something was off.

“What’s up? How was therapy?”

“It was fine,” I said, dwelling on what happened would do me no good.

“I sort of lost Grieg for a moment, but a kind stranger helped me find him—a cute one.”

“A cute one? Tell me more.”

Ingrid was the pretty one—boy crazy as they came. She’d want to dish.

“I dunno. He was lovely and found my baby.”

Grieg sighed long, having no time for this retelling.

“Did you get the name of your Prince Charming?” Ingrid giggled.

“Wyatt,” I answered. “He’s American.”

“Hotter still. You’ll have to try to find him again, Odie. And,if so, I need deets.”

I smiled, then fought a pang of sadness. Ingrid was off to compete abroad. No longer would my best friend be here. I sensed she would not return under her own volition once she flew the coop. It meant the end of an era.

“Oh, stop it!” Ingrid sensed my worry. “We will have more stories to share. Hotter stories.Excitingones. Everything is going to be bigger. Now, where did you see him?”

“By the coffee shop,” I answered.

“Go back there! Look hot! Go get your prince, girl!” Ingrid said.

I vowed to return there sometime soon. Maybe she was right? Perhaps I’d run into him. It’s not like Neandia was abigplace, after all.

4

BACK OUT THE TOWN

WYATT

“So, bedtime is at eight,” I said. “Start winding him down with a cuddle and a book at seven-thirty. He needs time with some lower lights. We struggle with sleep otherwise. He may need you to stay in there with him for a bit. I usually sit with him for ten minutes until he nods off.”

Janette, the new nanny, looked at me like I had two heads. She was younger than the others I’d hired but similar to all the stiff-upper-lip German and British nannies filling the books of Neandian childcare agencies. I gathered that Neandians found their fancy credentials too attractive to ignore. Theo struggled without me. To date, these caregivers called him “whiny” and “ill-adjusted.” Without compassion, Theo returned to introversion. I’d have to rebuild him every time. He was four. He didn’t need to qualify his needs beyond that he was a child and necessitated love and comfort.

I bent to eye level with Theo. His blonde curls were a disaster from running around like a madman upstairs while I got ready. He used the hallway like a track. He recently learned how to somersault and now did them all the time.

I hugged and kissed him. “Be good for Janette, alright?”

Theo nodded, unconvinced and slightlysuspicious.

“I love you, little man. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Love you, too, Papa,” Theo said.

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