Page 35 of Nanny I Want to Mate

I stood first, ready to leave and move on from the Jennifer O’Neal debacle. Sarah followed, linking her arm through mine, and my heart damn near exploded.

* * *

We ended up at the park, Charles and me sitting on a bench, watching the girls on the swings. The light breeze and early fall sun warmed me all over. I didn’t remember going to the park much when I was younger. I remembered watching a lot of television, being home a lot, and learning how to use the microwave at a very young age.

So, watching the girls jump from the swing and run from the monkey bars to the slide to do their self-made obstacle course gave me joy.

Charles bumped his shoulder against mine, breaking me from my thoughts. “Hey.”

I smiled up at him. “Hey.”

“Have you ever nannied before for kids? I mean, you mentioned that you watched that older kid before Patty’s mom, but have you ever watched younger kids, or were you around them a lot?”

I shook my head. “No. Why?”

His eyes flickered back to the girls, and a light smile touched his lips. “You could have fooled me. You handled that so well back there. Well, at the ice cream place. At the school …” He glanced down and let out a low laugh. “You have a temper on you, Miss Becky.”

I couldn’t deny that. After you’d been pushed and shoved and pushed some more for so long, you eventually snapped.

Just reliving the day and seeing Sarah’s sullen face when I had walked into the principal’s office tore at my insides. “I’m used to people like Jennifer. I’ve encountered them all my life—when I was younger and”—I took a long pause—“even when I was older.” My eyes moved to the girls. “I remember feeling helpless and angry. Just seeing Sarah sitting there, feeling as though she was guilty for something other than sticking up for herself, made me so …” I searched the air, trying to look for a word that would describe my anger and agitation and frustration at the principal for not even reprimanding the other kid. I came up short. “Mad!”

He laughed again and placed his hand on my arm. “I’m jealous, quite honestly.”

“Of my anger management issues?”

Humor danced in his eyes. “No. Of your ability to just connect with Sarah that way.”

“What way?”

“In a way that Natalie connected with her, in a way that sometimes Mason can connect with her. What she’s missing is that motherly touch.” His eyes teetered back to the girls, the smile slipping from his face.

I smirked. “Are you saying Mason has that motherly touch?”

We both laughed, and I savored the deep sound of his voice, a real, honest-to-goodness laugh.

Charles kicked the mulch on the ground, his stare firmly planted on his children on the swings. “Natalie always had a way of digging under the surface. As you know, Sarah is an introverted kid. She analyzes things a lot. Sometimes, I try to talk to her when I know something is bothering her, but she clams up.” He rubbed one hand against his jaw. “I wish I could click with her in a way that you did today. Where she’d just open up to me.” He shifted and pulled out his phone from his suit pocket. “Look at this. You can’t say I’m not trying.” His finger swiped at the screen, and he opened up the Kindle reading app.

How to Be a Cool Dad.

I couldn’t help it. I laughed out loud. Not a full-on belly laugh, but a good chuckle.

“What?” he said, sheepish. “I’m trying.”

I grabbed his phone out of his hand. “Let me see this.” As I scrolled through the chapters, I saw there was everything from kid conversation starters to dad jokes. “Seriously?” My finger swiped at the screen as I read fast. “Let us see here.” Good gosh, some of these were bad. “Okay, how do you get a squirrel to like you?”

Charles’s eyebrows pulled together. “I don’t know.”

“Act like a nut.” I shook my head. That was bad, but it got worse. “Okay, next one. Why don’t eggs tell jokes?”

A laugh fell out of Charles’s mouth.

“They’d crack each other up.” I shook my head.

He reached for the phone, and he continued to scroll. “Did you hear the rumor about butter?”

“Oh gosh. No, what?”

“Well, I’m going to spread it.” He shook his head, grimacing and laughing at the same time.

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