Page 9 of A Package Deal

“Not every day, of course,” he said, as the last piece of paper settled in front of him.

“Of course.” Nelie said in a sweetly acidic tone. Her bright smile didn’t reach her eyes, and Chet knew this was going to be worse than he’d imagined. Where was his helpful Nelie? The one that helped everyone. Chet worried she’d listened to more than hisyou need to separate work from personal lifelectures. She may have also taken hisyou need to set boundaries and stop helping everyonelecture to heart. She was supposed to set boundaries for other people, not him.

“Just on Mondays and Fridays. They have scouts on Tuesday and Arts and Crafts on Wednesday. I’ll get them on Thursday.”

“And you want me to take Monday, which is my day off, and Friday one of my busiest days?” Nelie’s eyes flashed, and he almost saw steam coming out her ears.

“Since when do you take a day off?”

“New Year’s resolution.” She looked at him like he was an idiot.Dammit! Why did she listen to me?

“But does it have to be Monday?” He cringed at his whiny, begging tone. He sounded like Ava when she wanted to stay up past her bedtime.

“What do you want from me, Chet?” Nelie sounded impatient as she gathered the loose papers on her desk.

“I need help. Having them every day is not the same as seeing them every other weekend. Sisi is missing. And Ava’s brave face is showing cracks. They loved spending time with you, and I trust you. Please, Nelie.” Chet sounded desperate, and he didn’t care, because he was, and he prayed she’d take pity on him.

“Who’s Sisi?” Her hands stilled, and she looked at him, concerned.Finally, he thought.

“Piper’s stuffed snake from the Saint Louis Zoo. She’s slept with it since she was three.”

“Astuffedsnake?”

“Better than a live one.” The corner of Nelie’s mouth twitched, and Chet sensed her mood softening.

“Have you gotten them into anything else? So, they can make friends, and you can meet other parents?”

“Piper has swim team on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday morning. Ava is trying biathlon on Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings. She likes being outside, and if she can handle the cold, I think she’ll like it. I’m trying Nelie, I really am.” Chet put his hands on her desk and leaned toward her, like a commoner bowing before his queen, asking for a favor. Nelie sighed.

“I can’t do Friday, but I could do Thursday,” she said. Chet stood taller, ready to negotiate. Nelie wasn’t making this easy on him, which was a disappointment and a turn-on, but he could swap the days. He’d need to move theHaven Timesstaff meeting and probably work Thursday nights after the girls had gone to bed to get ahead of things.

“Can you do Monday? Just for a few hours? I’ll be home as quickly as I can.” Mondays were the craziest day for him. He couldn’t bug out of work early.

“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll pick them up from school Monday afternoons and either go back to your house or they’ll run errands with me. But the school bus needs to drop them off here on Thursday, and you need to get them before the dinner rush.”

“Done,” he said as relief washed over him. He thought it would be an easyyes, but when Nelie had stood her ground, his hopes had crashed and burned. He didn’t know what had changed her mind, but the missing stuffed snake story had deflated her combative mood. If they found Sisi, he’d never begrudge mending her split seams again.

He’d negotiated a solution that was a win for the girls, and it guaranteed he’d see Nelie at least twice a week. By agreeing to take the girls, she’d given them a second chance, too. She just didn’t know it.

“And Chet, I’m doing this for them, not you.” Her bright blue eyes held his, and he nodded.

Keep telling yourself that, he thought.

“Not even a little bit for me, Nelie?” he asked, pushing his luck.

“Your coffee’s getting cold. Get back to your daughters so Eric can focus on his job.” Nelie sounded stern, as she put on her tough-boss act, but she wasn’t fooling him.And she didn’t answer my question,he thought as he whistled through the kitchen, careful to stay out of everyone’s way.

He was playing with fire. In theory, Nelie reciprocating his feelings was great. But in reality? It could be a disaster, no matter how badly he wanted it. Piper had already said she didn’t want them to bekissing friends. And if he and Nelie got back together, what would happen when he did something stupid again, and Nelie ran for the hills? What would happen to the girls? And him? Chet wasn’t a loner. He liked people, and he thrived as being part of a pair. As a couple. Anus.

It was cleaner when he’d thought Nelie didn’t care for him anymore. One sided attraction was easier to handle than mutual. There wasn’t an easy solution if they were both attracted.One day at a time,he thought as he pushed through the kitchen doors and walked toward his giggling daughters.

Chapter 6

Ithadbeenalittle over two weeks since she’d agreed to Chet’s scheme, and she hated to admit it, but she didn’t hate it. She enjoyed being with the girls, and Chet was very appreciative and respectful of her time. He’d even moved his cleaning service from Wednesday to Monday, so she would come home to a clean house. It was her day off, and he knew if she saw any chores that needed doing, hislittle Energizer bunny—his words, not hers—wouldn’t rest until they were done.

On the previous Mondays, the slow cooker had been working its magic when they’d walked in the door. Chet had even left a list of afternoon snack ideas on the refrigerator, so she didn’t need to think about that. “Your only job is to keep them safe,” he’d said. But he’d forgotten to warn her to guard her heart. Ava and Piper had quickly become two of her favorite people.

Before Chet’s crazy proposal, Nelie had struggled with her Mondays off. But now being with the girls gave her a purpose, and she made better use of her time, like scheduling a long overdue lunch with her friend, Josie. Without a deadline, Nelie was a procrastinator in her personal life. Her logic was twisted, but to get her poop in a group, she needed to be needed. And the girls needed her.

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