Page 59 of Nanny for the Doctor

“You’re on time! No work today?” And then Henry’s eyes land on me. “Mae! You’re back!”

He tears out through the doorway and launches himself into our arms, doing his best to hug us both simultaneously. It’s enough to make my heart swell and it warms me from the inside out.

A woman comes out after him, and I have to assume it’s Heather.

“Why, hello there. You must be Mae.” She looks to Reed. “And that must mean she accepted your apology.”

I smile, offering my hand for a shake, which Heather accepts. “Hi, nice to meet you. I am, in fact, Mae, and I did accept his apology. There was sufficient groveling.”

“Oh, I would have paid to see that. Well, nice to meet you, too. I’m Heather.”

We step back from the shake cordially, and I look between Reed and her. “So, Heather is Henry’s aunt. Your sister, or…”

Heather seems to freeze, her eyes going to Reed, who quickly swallows and then puts on a smile.

“No.” He shakes his head. “Henry’s mom’s.”

“Oh!” My eyebrows shoot to my hairline, and I feel my cheeks go pink. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

“You’re fine, Mae. We should all be comfortable talking about my sister.”

She glares ever so slightly at Reed, and I have a feeling she’s been another person in his life to challenge him. I like that.

“Thank you, Heather, for watching Henry. You’re always there when I need you, and I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate that.”

Heather and I stand there in shock for a moment, but then Henry is over having to stand around and quickly snaps us all out of it with an adorable sigh.

“Can we go now?”

Reed looks over, squeezing the boy in a quick hug. “Of course, bud. What would you like to do? We have the whole day.”

“Really!?” Henry bounces up and down with glee. “Can we go to the movies? I want to see that new one with the kid spies.”

Reed glances at me before nodding. “Sure. Did you want Mae to come, too?”

“Um, duh.”

We all laugh, and then Reed, Henry, and I pack ourselves into the car. We stop off at my place to grab a change of clothes and head off to the nearest theater. It’s not a long drive, and Henry keeps us thoroughly entertained with his stories about subjecting Heather to science experiments.

I have a feeling Reed’s going to owe his sister-in-law a new set of pans.

“Thanks for coming, Mae. I know you probably had plans, but I had a feeling Henry would want you to tag along.” He glances over as he drives. “Plus, I really didn’t want to have to endure this movie without another adult.”

Laughing, I shake my head, and Henry squints at us, confused.

“So, what’s your go-to movie snack? I’m, of course, a popcorn with ridiculous amounts of butter kind of girl, but I’m also a fan of Sour Patch Kids.”

With a grimace, Reed frowns. “Ugh. That sounds like a recipe for a stomach ulcer.”

“And I would still die happy. What about you, Henry?”

“I like Reese’s Pieces and popcorn.”

“Ooh, salty and sweet. Good combo.”

The laugh that ripples through Reed is genuine and unforced, and my heart positively sings as the sound fills the car.

“Well, I guess I’m the weirdo, then.”

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