Page 37 of Raven's Instinct
“So glad,” Addison said, rubbing her side. “My due date is next week, so Friday will probably be my last day for a while. We’ve got Alan well-trained now. Amy will be in good hands.”
“AWAN!” Amy squawked agreeable.
“I’m sure she will.”
Addison gave her a slow, knowing smile and Kendra caught herself blushing. “You know,” Addison said gravely, “I think that Alan had a lunch report for you. I’ll get him.”
“Addison…”
“I know you areinvestedin keeping tabs on Amy’s eating habits,” Addison teased as she gestured to Alan where he was sitting on the floor pretending to eat with one of the older kids while being mobbed by the younger ones.
“Addison…!”
But Alan had already caught sight of Addison’s hand flap and bounced obediently to his feet, shedding children from his lap.
“Did you need something?” he asked as he approached.
Addison had unhelpfully waddled away and was pretending to be out of earshot, even though she clearly wasn’t.
“Addison said something about food?” Kendra said. She knew when she was being set up.
“Would you like to get dinner?”
Kendra blinked at him. “I think she meant Amy’s food. Her lunch?”
“She loves raisins and hates things that crunch too much. A very normal sweet tooth for any age, and strong opinions about oranges. We are working very hard on not throwing food we don’t like at other kids or at Mister Alan.”
Kendra’s mouth curved up into a smile. He really did know Amy. “Are they calling you Mister Alan now?”
Alan put on an expression of relief. “Yes, thank all my ancestors. Now, about dinner! Amy is invited, of course. We can pick a place that will give her crayons. She is partial to red. We are working on not throwing those, too.”
“You don’t have to take us out to dinner,” Kendra laughed, though she rather liked the idea. “My daughter is a disaster ofmanners that I wouldn’t inflict on anyone.” Amy was making a lie out of her statement by snuggling patiently in her arms, every so often reaching up to pat Kendra’s face fondly.
“You’d be welcome to come to my place instead,” Alan said with endearing hopefulness. “But I don’t have any crayons.”
“That’s a shocking oversight,” Kendra chided him. “You call yourself a nanny. Well, no you probably don’t. What do you call yourself?”
“Anything but late to dinner.”
“Mister P?—”
“Or that.”
“—etrov,” Kendra finished.
“That works.” It wasn’t just that he was handsome. He was wholesome and cheerful and forward and Kendra didn’t feel like she had to do most of the work in a conversation or wait for him to keep up with her. He’d looked her up online, but Kendra had considered doing the same in return. And underneath his nurturing and kindness was an exciting double life that Kendra was dying to know more about. She wanted to coax all the stories out of him that she could…and she unexpectedly wanted to share hers with him.
“Dinner?” he prodded, because she’d fallen silent.
“Yes,” Kendra decided. “Your place.” Her owl hooted in approval and Alan’s face lit up. “But I’ll bring take-out. Do you like Thai?”
“TIE!” Amy said, sitting upright in Kendra’s arms. “TIE SHOES!”
“Love it,” Alan said, not offering any argument to her proposal. “The hotter, the better.”
“Be careful what you ask for,” Kendra teased.
“Bring on the heat!” Alan replied slyly.
