Page 14 of Nanny for the Wolf Daddy

“Not really. We haven’t found Archie, but we suspect he is hiding in Virginia or West Virginia. We will keep you posted if anything new comes up.”

He heard his door open and turned to find Kelli walking with Violet. The child was dressed and clean as a button. She plopped Violet into his lap.

“I’ll call you back with more details.” The line ended, and he tossed his phone onto his desk.

Kelli crossed her arms, giving him a stern expression. “While I know this is your first time doing this, you can’t leave Violet in the tub when you get frustrated.”

He frowned, shaking his head. “Why does it matter? I shouldn’t even have kids because it’s clear that I can’t handle them. That’s why I hired you. I’m not meant to do this.”

He was honestly starting to believe it too. Violet was making it clear he wasn’t cut out for fatherhood. Kelli frowned at him. “You don’t honestly believe that.”

“Yes, I do. It’s a good thing I hired you because this place would be a damn disaster without you.”

She took a seat in the opposite chair and tilted her head. “Do you honestly believe raising children is clean and organized? Because it isn’t. What happened all day was normal. You handled everything well, and I think you will do better next time.”

“I’m not seeing it.”

She smiled. “Believe me. I’ve done this a while, and you are good at this. You’ll make an amazing dad someday.”

TEN

KELLI

She couldn’t deny that there were definitely qualities to Nox that she did like. He’d tried hard to learn to be a good caretaker for Violet. Even with the things he wasn’t good at, he was still trying to learn.

She also knew that he was rather hard on himself. People always suspected that taking care of a child was like unicorns and rainbows all the time. People never imagined it to be shit splattering the wall and the kid crying nonstop because you took their favorite blanket.

Nox cared about Violet a great deal. He hired a nanny right away to ensure she was taken care of at all times. He was even willing to pay so much extra to get the best he could. He tried to offer a helping hand, and when he knew he couldn’t handle the situation, he asked for help.

She heard Nox coming down the hall where she and Violet were sitting. He poked his head into the room and looked at them. “I’m going to head out in a little bit for the search party. I think you have this handled.”

“You mind if I shower first?” she asked, pulling at her shirt. “I’m getting rather ripe.”

“Yeah.” He stepped into the room, and she slipped past him down to her room. She just needed a quick shower and to change, and then she could focus on Violet again. She would be lying if she said she hadn’t become her favorite child.

She stepped into a steaming hot shower and tried to be quick. She didn’t think anything could go wrong, but she didn’t want to risk it. While Nox had gotten better at cleaning up poopy diapers, he still wasn’t hopping on the idea, either.

She quickly pulled on a loose shirt and scroungy shorts that had seen better days. She found Nox sitting with Violet on the ground, flipping through a book. He would point at pictures, make the animal sounds, and then ask Violet to do the same. She would scrunch her little lips together and try, but all she accomplished was showering the area around her with spit. Kelli leaned into the doorway and smiled.

She couldn’t understand why he didn’t think he was good at this because he was. She could give him a handful of fathers she knew who did less. He wasn’t even the father.

She stepped in, taking over and allowing him to go about his work. She read through the book, and once Violet drifted off, she tucked her in for the night. She flipped on the noise machine and shut the door behind her. She took a deep breath in and made for the kitchen, surprised to see Nox was still there.

“I thought you were heading out?” she said, throwing herself onto the couch. She couldn’t stand on her feet a moment longer. She’d had a long day.

“It’s going to be in half an hour.”

“Anything new?” she asked, knowing everything was a large weight on his shoulders. She couldn’t imagine what it must’ve felt like not to know where part of his family was. It would drive her up a wall.

“ Nothing much. My guys think that they were taken to West Virginia or Virginia. I was hoping the search party would shed a little more light on everything.”

She frowned, twisting her fingers together. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you think they were abducted?”

He remained silent for a moment, and she swallowed. Maybe she shouldn’t have asked.

“Honestly, there are many possibilities. To get back at me, to get money out of me, to somehow get my spot as alpha. There are too many reasons for us to know exactly what they want.”

She nodded with a sigh, and he gave her a chuckle. “Long day?” he asked, sitting beside her.

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