Chapter 5
COOPER
Dad Joke Of The Day:
How many apples grow on an apple tree?
All of them.
I’ve always been an early riser. To my parents’ dismay, this started when I was just a kid. It didn’t matter what they did—and they tried it all—I would not sleep past six in the morning.
And when I say they tried it all, I mean it. They tried black out curtains, sleepy time tea, and sound machines. Hell, my mom even resorted to begging, but she was just never a morning person.
Still isn’t. She required at least an hour in the morning to wake up, and in that hour, you shouldn’t exist. Don’t talk to her; don’t breathe.
Just let her wake up with her coffee and then she’d be a peach.
She’s the same way to this day, which means it’s good that she lives in Florida because she’s already ahead of my time.
But today I couldn’t stay in bed any later than five, and even that was a chore. It’s weird. I’ve only ever had my family watch Lucas, and it was usually Kenna. She knew my routine, knew our lives, and I never worried if the house was perfectly clean when she was coming over.
But here I am, vacuuming the house again after deep cleaning the bathrooms and mowing the front lawn because I didn’t want it to look bad.
Even though I had just done both of those two days ago. It’s not rational, but I feel like if Ally comes here and it’s not up to standards, she’s going to judge me.
It’s not even that I think Ally is a judgmental person.
I mean maybe a little bit, but aren’t we all?
It’s more just that she seems to have her shit together.
She wears these outfits that don’t always make sense, but they work for her, appearing so put together and confident in herself.
Over the years that I’ve been around her, she’s never outright judged me, so, I mean, I guess I just want to make a good impression, make her think I’m a little more put together than the messy house makes it appear.
But that shouldn’t be why I’m cleaning. I should be cleaning because she’s coming to work for me, and my son’s nanny deserves to know the house she’s working in is clean and safe for the kid.
Then why did I make sure to clean my sheets and make my bed like she’d even see it.
“Daddy, when is Miss Ally coming? I want her to paint with me. Do you think she will?”
“I don’t know, bud. You’ll have to ask her.
” I smile as I take one last look at my room and walk out with him.
“She’s coming over any time now, but remember—first, we have to go over everything, and you said you’d help me.
You’ll show her where things are and help me remember all the important details, right?
She’s never been a nanny before, so you’ll have to help her. ”
“Right, Daddy, of course,” Lucas says, standing a little taller with the cutest proud smile I’ve ever seen. “I’m your helper boy, so of course I’ll help! But can we please tell her I can have waffles? I love waffles.”
“Bud, I’ll even show her where the sprinkles and chocolate chips are! Of course you’ll get your waffles. We don’t live in a home that forbids all that deliciousness—that sounds like misery.”
“Thank goodness! It was misery,” he says dramatically, and I laugh because that’s one trait he definitely got from me.
Not that I’d admit that willingly.
“DADDY! She’s here!” I hear Lucas shout from the living room as I wipe down the kitchen counters again, giving it another once over before throwing the towel into the garbage.
It’s as good as it’s going to get for a busy single dad of a four-year-old. Especially when I would prefer to be out hanging with my kid rather than cleaning my house.
Opening the door, I have Lucas right behind me pretending to be shy despite the fact that I’ve heard him listing the things he wants to show her for the last twenty minutes, explaining first and foremost the sprinkles.
Then he wants to take her by the pool and point out the code for the cover—because safety first.
That cover is on unless an adult is out there, a hard and fast rule that I am a little crazy about, but when I bought this house years ago, I knew that would always be my sticking point.
Not even just for Lucas, but it was important to me that my backyard was safe and that no kid or even animal would wander into my yard and get hurt—let alone fall into a pool and not know how to save themselves.
Thankfully, Lucas takes his job of making sure we close the pool every single time very seriously because he’s never allowed me to forget, even for a few minutes, and the way he’s already mentioned the pool three times today…I don’t think he will let either of us forget that little fact.
“Hi, Miss Ally,” Lucas says as he peers around my legs, immediately shy now that she’s here.
It’s okay, bud, I get it. Pretty girls make me nervous too.
“Hi, Lucas,” she says with a smile before looking up at me. “Hey,” she adds with a little wave as I take a step back to allow her in.
“Welcome,” I say as Lucas sees the opening, and before she even knows what’s happening, he’s grabbing her hand and the tour has begun.
She looks almost shell shocked as she follows Lucas around as he points out all the “important things,” obviously starting in the kitchen with the sprinkles and chocolate chips.
I follow behind the two of them as we make our way through the house until finally, we end up in the backyard. There, Lucas gives his little spiel on the pool and safety—with me hopping in to make sure she’s getting all the information, especially the code that I still haven’t told Lucas.
“You have a beautiful home,” Ally says with a smile, sitting down on the lawn chair next to me, watching Lucas run through the splash pad, giggling like it’s the best thing he’s ever done.
The second Lucas showed Ally his room, he looked out the window and saw the splash pad in the backyard and immediately started begging to go play.
That was an easy yes to allow me time with Ally to go over some of the concerns I have, ones I don’t necessarily need him listening in on. He doesn’t quite get why I’m such a nutcase about safety, but I’m not willing to risk something happening to him if it can be avoided.
“Thank you. It hasn’t always looked like this, but over the years I’ve done some work on it, and it’s turning into my favorite place. We put in the deck around the house a few years ago, when we were building the fence in the backyard.”
“You did all of this yourself?” she asks as she turns around and looks back at the house, obviously admiring the deck that I’m still so fucking proud of.
“I did,” I tell her, grinning, unable to act cool. “I obviously had some help. I had just bought the house, so there was a lot to be done. My family came out, and so did some of the guys on the team. Levi and Nash helped a lot.”
“Levi?” she says with a little laugh.
“I mean, yeah, he’s my best friend, so he had to help.
” I laugh, knowing it was less that he had to and more that he volunteered and really enjoyed it.
“He’s actually really handy, and he’s really good at building things—not so much with the finishing work, but that’s truthfully my favorite.
I love to take the time to sand and stain and make things beautiful.
So I stained the deck then built these Adirondack chairs to go out here as well.
They’re sturdy, and I love sitting out here knowing I made them. ”
She looks down at the chair she’s sitting in, her long pink nails trailing along the edge of the chair, noticing the curves I routed in the edges, and all I can imagine is what those nails would feel like against my skin, trailing down my abs.
No. No. No.
Bad Cooper.
“I can see that…well, I can kind of imagine that. I mean, I never knew that side of Levi, but I never really knew Levi all that well in the end, but I guess we all know that.”
“What?” I ask, surprised by her response because I was always under the impression that she never really wanted to know him.
“Nothing,” she says, waving me off. “Can you remind me of the code one more time?”
“1206. It’s Lucas’s birthday, so if you ever forget the numbers, you can always just ask him what his birthday is.”
“That’ll be easy to remember. I’m good with birthdays,” she says before looking back down and fidgeting with something on her clothes before looking back up at me.
“And I promise that if we decide to have a pool day that I text you to tell you, and I’ll make sure he’s never out here alone.
It might also make you feel a little better to know that I was a lifeguard when I was growing up, so I really do understand the importance of water safety. ”
She says it so casually that it’s like it doesn’t matter how much the relief hits with that one statement. It’s damn near orgasmic.
“I won’t lie; I really do like hearing that.
Our family always gives me a hard time because I’m pretty anal about a few things.
It’s just…I don’t know, I think a lot of it has to do with it being just me.
I’m the one in charge of his safety, and I don’t share the responsibility with anyone else, so I feel like sometimes I’m a little overbearing in trying to make sure I’m not forgetting anything or overlooking something. ”
“That makes sense, Cooper. I don’t think that’s being overbearing.
I think that’s being a good dad. All the little things you worry about, that’s your job, so don’t let someone make you feel silly over that,” Ally says, and she holds my gaze as she says it like she’s trying to make sure I’m listening, but it’s hard to wrap my brain around the fact that Ally just gave me a compliment.
Or the fact that, for the first time, she’s making me feel like I’m not crazy. That maybe the little precautions I take around the pool or the fire pit might be warranted, even if everyone else says I should just let him be a kid.
He can be a kid…just safely.
“Do you have any questions for me?” I ask nervously as we both sit in a somewhat awkward silence, but I’m sure this is as weird for her as it is for me.
Pretty sure this is the first time she’s ever been a nanny, and it’s the first time I’ve ever had to hire one, so it’s unknown territory for both of us, but damn, seeing her quiet, her face almost passive as she looks around—unsure of herself—I don’t like it.
I don’t like it one bit.
Which is fucking weird because usually it’s her attitude that I don’t like.
Well, most of the time. Sometimes it’s the opposite.
Sometimes it’s her attitude that gets me going.
Like when she talks back and is a little mean.
Fuck…it both pisses me off and makes me hard at the same time, not that I’ve ever been able to admit that before.
Now with her becoming Lucas’s nanny, it’s like the triple threat for why I could never go for it.
“I don’t think so. I mean, you’ve gone over the important things, and it seems like your kid also knows the rules pretty damn well.
I have your number, so even if I did have a question, I know how to get ahold of you.
Plus, if you’re at practice or a game—I know the direct line to your coach,” she says with a grin, and I forgot just how pretty this girl is when she’s not making everyone’s life more difficult.
“Awesome. At the end of the day…just try to have fun. I know this isn’t ideal for you, but I do appreciate the help.
Lucas is an amazing kid, and he’s really excited.
It’s thirty days, and then you’ll be free,” I say, remembering how Kenna told me she’d be back in a month, and although it’s a relief knowing she’ll be back, she started to get a little overbearing with Lucas, and I’m not going to lie—it pissed me off a bit.
Which reminds me that I should probably text her back later. She messaged me earlier to let me know that she made it to her parents’ house safely, but that was right when Ally got here, so I didn’t respond.
“I will. And it’s not that I don’t like your kid; I guess it’s just been a long time since I’ve been around kids in general, so I guess I’m prepared for it to be a challenge.
I’m not good with kids in general. You know how some people aren’t good with cats, like the cats just don’t seem to be a fan?
Yeah, I’m the opposite. Cats love me, but kids on the other hand?
I never seem to be their favorite, and I guess I’ve kind of accepted it. ”
“Well, I think it’s safe to say Lucas isn’t going to avoid you seeing as he’s already told me that you have to stay for dinner at least three times this week, although I told him I’d shoot for once this week to let you get situated. Would you be down?”
She looks at her feet for a moment, something I’m already noticing is one of her nervous ticks, before looking back up at me and nodding. “That sounds good,” she says, and regardless of if she really wants to, I appreciate her making the effort.
Maybe, just maybe, this won’t be as bad as I thought it would.