Page 54 of Nanny for the Athletes

“Logan told me you had that for breakfast yesterday,” I replied. “And the day before that. And the day beforethat.”

“It’s what I like. Have youhadMcDonald’s before, Uncle Chrissy?”

“You should call me Uncle Christian.”

“Why? Uncle Braden calls you Uncle Chrissy.”

“If you call me Uncle Christian, then I promise we can get McDonald’s.”

She concentrated as if this was a crucial diplomatic decision. “Okay, Uncle Chris… tian.”

I thought about what it must have been like growing up on a hippie farm, completely disconnected from the real world. The first time she’d had McDonalds, or any fast food for that matter, was when the social worker picked her up. When she had revealed to me that she didn’t know her birthday, because nobody on her farm celebrated birthdays, my heart felt like it was being ripped in two.

I’ll get you McDonald’s every morning. I don’t even care if I’m spoiling you.

We got dressed, took the dogs for a walk in the park across the street, and then drove to get breakfast. She insisted we eat inside so she could play in the McDonald’s Playpen while we waited for our order. I watched her go down the slide over and over, squealing happily every time. She had probably never been on a slide before a week ago.

“When are we going to play with the dogs?” she asked while we ate.

“We can take them to the dog park when we get home. Heidi likes to catch the Frisbee.” I paused. “Wait. Do you know what a Frisbee is?”

“Of course I do,” she replied in her high-pitched voice. “But I’m nottalkingabout Heidi and Pickles. I’mtalkingabout all theotherdogs.”

I frowned. “The dogs at Beth’s kennel?”

“I want to go play with them. And clean up their poop. It’s calledpoop scooping,and it’s very important.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the park? Or watch a movie? I don’t have to be at football practice until tomorrow, so we have the whole day free…”

“No! I want to play with the dogs! And Beth! Don’t you want to seeBeth?”

Since she had come into Logan’s life, Claire hadn’t shown much interest in anything. Not surprising since the poor girl had lost her mother, the only family she had ever known. Seeing her suddenly excited aboutanythingseemed like a step in the right direction.

“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s go see Beth.”

I tried texting Beth to make sure it was okay that we stop by, but she didn’t respond. It was seven-thirty by the time we got to Lizzy’s Dog Boarding, and her business didn’ttechnicallyopen to customers until nine. Hopefully, she wouldn’t mind.

The first thing I noticed was that Braden’s cherry red Mazda Miata was still parked in the driveway. That didn’t surprise me, but it caused a little pang of jealousy. Not in a bad way, though; I was glad their date went well, and I was used to sharing. I was looking forward to it, if this whole thing worked out.

As long as I get my own private time with Beth.

Beth came walking out of the kennel building on the left. She frowned in our direction, then grinned when she recognized me and Claire. Behind her, the herd of dogs came pouring out of the building and went running across the field to play.

Before I could wave to her, Braden came walking out of the house in front of us with a pot of coffee in one hand and two mugs in the other. He was shirtless, and wearing only gray sweatpants. Even his feet were bare.

Claire squealed when she saw him. “Uncle Braden!”

“Morning!” he said.

“It’s fifty degrees out,” I said, breath misting in front of me.

Braden beamed. “I know, right? I love this time of year. Feels great!”

“What are you doing here, Uncle Braden?” Claire asked. “Did you and Beth have a sleepover like Uncle Chrissy and me did?”

Braden chuckled. “We had a sleepover, butnotlike you and Chrissy.”

I shot him a glare. “Dude…”

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