6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
IZZY
I leaned my elbows on the kitchen island and swiped open the text thread with my sister.
Angie: So any update on the Logan situation?
Me: Not really. I’ve been at Maggie’s since yesterday afternoon.
I wasn’t telling her how my traitorous body responded to him when he growled my name. Or when he came so close, I had to remind myself to breathe.
Angie: When do you see him again?
Me: Tomorrow night.
I couldn’t help but wonder how things would end up being between us. Would he get used to me? Chat with me like Maggie did when she got home. It was hard to compare the two since I only had that one weird night and following morning at his house to compare anything to. But so far, he was growly and grumpy, while Maggie was friendly and chatty. The differences were drastic.
“Can we have three snacks?” Alice held up fruit snacks, a Little Debbie cake, and a bag of chips.
After that first night at Logan's, and now two at Maggie's, I had the evening routine down pretty well. The girls did their homework and then helped me make dinner, and they both did a great job. They would color or play with toys while I cleaned up, then they’d help me pack lunches before starting the bedtime stuff.
I shook my head. “Your mom said one healthy snack and two not-so-healthy snacks. So what fruit or vegetable do you want?”
“Okay.” Alice's lips turned down in a pout. “Grapes, I guess.”
Nikki turned toward the fridge and pulled out a yogurt smoothie. “Mom says these are healthy.”
I nodded. “Yep, that's fine.” Finished packing the lunches for tomorrow, they headed back to the table to resume their coloring. “Ten minutes and then we need to get ready for bed.”
They both looked up with matching pouts. “Do we have to?” Nikki whined.
I raised a brow at them.
They giggled and went back to coloring while I finished cleaning up the kitchen. It didn't take long to go through the routine and get them both in bed once we were upstairs.
“One more, please?” Alice brought her hands up, pressing them together in a prayer pose.
I sighed. It was hard to tell either of them no. For the most part, they were extremely well-behaved. Although I sensed a little bit of orneriness bubbling below the surface at times.
I picked up one more book. “Just one more.”
Alice launched forward, wrapping her arms around me. “You're the bestest nanny ever.”
I chuckled.
“You do all the voices so good.” Nikki smiled from her spot on her bed.
Alice pulled back, looking up at me with a huge smile. I swallowed hard. It'd only been a few days, but I was already loving this. Maybe it had something to do with someone actually needing me. Being able to take care of someone else.
I was the youngest of three siblings. The baby. Jay was six years older than me, Angie three. They never needed me, and my parents always went to one of them if they needed something. At least when Angie lived here, she appreciated my baking. I didn’t even have that anymore.
I glanced back and forth between two identical faces, looking at me like I'd hung the moon, and picked up another book to read.