Page 36 of The Widower's Nanny

“I’ll go make some more coffee.”

“I’ll set up the game.”

We go inside and I go to make coffee while Preston checks on Lilly. He comes up next to me. “She’s sound asleep.”

“It was a pretty adventurous day.”

“Yeah. It’s going to be hard to top it next Saturday.”

“If the rain doesn’t stop, we may still be here.” I laugh.

“Don’t say that. I do have a business to run.”

“And you said no one would miss you.”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said about Lilly only being young for such a short time.”

“It wasn’t my place to say anything. The time you spend with Lilly, you are with her one hundred percent.”

“I know. But still, you’re right. I need to think about cutting back a little. Even if I could just get one extra day.”

I nudge him. “Does that mean I’d lose a day’s pay?”

“No. It just means that you’ll need to be ready for two days of adventure a week.”

“I think I can handle that. But next time we hike to the cabin, we’re bringing an overnight bag just in case.”

10

Preston

Iwin our game of Sorry, though Rachel makes it tough. And afterwards, we say goodnight without any further discussion about our conversation on the porch. She takes the bed, and I sleep on the couch. Although sleeping really isn’t what I’m doing. I toss and turn all night, thinking about Rachel and what our conversation had meant.

At some point during the night, Lilly climbed onto the couch with me. Because when I wake up, she is curled up beside me. The sun is shining through the windows, which is a good sign. We’ll be able to go home today. I’m not all that happy about it, though.

I don’t want to wake Lilly, but I have a crick in my back and have to sit up. She mumbles in her sleep when I move next to her, then she wakes up with a smile.

“Daddy.”

“Hi, baby. Did you get scared in the middle of the night?”

She shakes her head. “No. I got cold.”

“I guess I’m good for something.” I sit up and glance at the bed. Rachel isn’t in it. In fact, she isn’t in the cabin at all. I can smell coffee, though, so she’s been up long enough to do that. Lilly is sitting next to me. “Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

She nods.

I stretch, then get to my feet. “Okay. I’ll take you.”

We put on shoes and jackets then go onto the porch. Rachel is sitting in one of the chairs with a cup of coffee. The rain has stopped, and the sun is shining.

She smiles. “Good morning.”

“Morning. How long have you been up?”

“About a half hour. I didn’t want to wake you guys up. You looked so cute snuggled up on the couch.”

I smile. “I’m going to take Lilly to the outhouse. We’ll be right back.”

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