Page 3 of Night of the Living Manny
“Thanks. Down, Moose.” Brenden held out a hand, palm down, and Moose dropped his paws to the floor, no longer sitting on Brittany’s chest. “This is Moose. The agency said you’d be willing to give him a chance.”
“I’m not opposed to dogs. Not at all.”
“Daddy says I can have a puppy when I can take care of one!” Brittany’s eyes went wide.
“Well, there you go. If I come work here, you can practice on Moose.” Brenden waited by the couch for everyone to settle before he sat down. Polite too.
“Work? Dad?” Peter stared at him accusingly. “Not a babysitter. Seriously? We don’t need a babysitter.”
“No. We totally don’t.” Susanna crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes flashing gold, just like her mom’s had. That hazel was unmistakable.
Brittany looked longingly at Moose. “We could use some help.”
“That’s what I think too,” Liam said. “When I wasn’t working double-overtime all the time, I didn’t worry, but you guys are alone too much, and Lisa can’t drive you everywhere.” He glanced at Brenden. “Lisa is a colleague of mine. She was a good friend of—”
“We’re fine! We can do it.” Susanna was sixteen going on thirty-five and all belligerence.
“Hey, I’m a pretty easy guy. I would just take the pressure off you…. Susanna, right? I can cook dinner and clean the house and stuff.” That little smile was back, Brenden as charming as could be.
“I need help. This project is killing me and everyone working on it.” Liam worked at a private lab, and they were trying to find a way to stop sepsis, to keep gangrene from taking over. It was a virus, though, and he was terrified it would become a weapon instead of a cure. Especially since his lab also contracted with the government.
“Dad!” Susanna was hitting strident.
“No.” Liam kept his voice even, which was when the kids knew to shut it down. “I can’t be here. I need to know you’re safe.”
Moose plopped his butt down on the floor. Everyone else stared at him silently until Brenden cleared his throat.
“I have references,” he said quietly.
“I trust Hopscotch,” Liam murmured. “My wife worked for them before we met.”
Brenden’s expression changed to something with real sympathy. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Yeah. Me too.” Sometimes he felt like she’d died yesterday; sometimes he felt like he hadn’t seen her in decades.
Brittany’s lower lip quivered. She’d only been five when her mom had passed away.
“Anyway, with Lisa pregnant and getting married, we all need more assistance.”
“I can definitely take that load off. I’m a safe driver, and I have a Land Rover, not a mom-mobile.”
“Cool!” Peter actually looked like he might change sides.
“What’s your favorite part about this type of work?” How the fuck did someone interview a nanny? Liam had no idea, but he wanted to do this right.
“It’s twofold. I love kids. I really do. But what I like about this job is helping facilitate more family time between kids and parents. If I can handle some of the mundane stuff, you can spend more time with them when you’re home, and they can have all their stuff done so they can be with you.”
Right. Like the older two cared about that. Still, he didn’t need any more fires. Or explosions.
“Why don’t you tell me what kind of help you’re looking for?” Brenden asked.
“I need supervision. For them. I’m working sixteen hours a day. I’m tired. There have been fires.”
“Literally?” Those dark blond eyebrows went up. Liam wasn’t sure if it was alarm or simple curiosity.
“Dad! You can’t—”
Brenden held up a hand. “Fires can be considered criminal, Susanna. You’re lucky your dad didn’t call the police. Can we talk alone for a few minutes, please, Liam?”
