Page 64 of The Nanny is Off Limits

“Yes.” I nod, hoping that will cheer her up some. Remembering that both Rowan and Margot are gone, I realize Isla will have to go with me to take Sawyer to school.

Rowan left before I was even awake this morning. He’d sent me a text calling me beautiful, that he couldn’t wait to see me later, to have a good day, and to let him know if we needed anything. “Honey, are you hungry?”

She shakes her head and rubs her eyes and I can see her fading fast. “Okay, we have to take Sawyer to school.” I grab a fresh pair of sweatpants for her and pull them up her legs. We’re going out in colder temperatures, so I swap her pajama shirt for a t-shirt and hoodie that I pull over her head.

“Are you going to be sick?” I ask, wondering if I should just let Sawyer stay home from school to avoid taking Isla out.

“No.”

“You sure? It’s okay if you are.”

“I’m okay.” She gets off the bed but looks like she’s about to pass out. I pick her up and she rests her head on my shoulder instantly. I rub soft circles on her back as I make my way down the stairs to see Sawyer playing on one of his portable video games.

“You know you can’t be on that before school.”

He puts it down and gives me a guilty look. “Sorry!” He frowns immediately when he sees Isla in my arms. “What’s wrong with Isla?”

“She’s sick, so she’s not going to school today, but we’re going to take you to school.”

“Oh, we can call Uncle River. Whenever one of us is sick, he usually comes to take the other one of us to school or I can text Margot.”

“Margot is in class!”

“So? I’ll text Uncle River first.” Sawyer snorts as he types away on his phone. “This way you don’t have to take Isla out.” He comes closer to me and reaches up to rub Isla’s back. “Isles, you, okay?” She nods slowly, not lifting her head from my shoulder and I notice her thumb has found her mouth which I’ve never seen her do before. “Can you just write me a note since I’m going to be late?” He picks up his phone. “Hey, Uncle Riv.”Damn, that was quick. Isn’t he a teacher? Maybe he doesn’t have a class right now.He leans over the counter. “Mmmhmm, okay hold on.” He hands me the phone.

“Hi. I was going to take her with me, but Sawyer said maybe you could come? It’s totally fine if—”

His voice—which I realize for the first time sounds so similar to Rowan’s but doesn’t have the same effect on me at all—comes through the phone. “No sweat. I have a free period now so I can be there in ten. Is she okay?”

“She has a fever, but she’ll be okay.”

“Did you call Rowan?”

“Not yet.”

Realizing I’m not going to take Isla out, I walk with her to the couch in the living room and lay her down on it, pulling her sweatshirt over her head so she doesn’t overheat.

“Let me talk to her real quick.”

I hand Isla the phone and she blinks up at me with sleepy eyes. “Is it Daddy?”

“No honey, it’s your uncle.” She nods and takes the phone from me. I walk back into the other room, grab a pad of paper from one of the drawers in the kitchen, and write Sawyer a note for his tardiness. “Is there anything specific I should know about her being sick?”

“She gets really clingy.”

“That’s normal.” I nod, knowing that most children that age are that way.

“She’ll want our mom,” he says sadly. “Or dad…” He sighs. “Maybe I should stay home. She really likes you and all but…you’re not either one of those people.”

While those words are true, they hit me harder than I anticipated, and I try to tell myself that I’m not hurt by them. “I get that,” I whisper.

“Ellie!” I hear her voice from the other room and unlike the loud exuberant voice I’m used to, she sounds soft and weak. Sawyer follows me into the living room and Isla holds Sawyer’s phone out for one of us to take.

“Isla, you want me to stay home with you?” he asks her and it warms my heart that he’s so protective of her. I was the same way when either of my sisters were sick and something tells me if Margot was aware of what was going on, she’d be the same way.

She blinks at us curiously. “Ellie, will you be here?”

I nod as I sit at the end of the couch and rub her leg gently. “Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

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