Chapter 3
3
AIDAN
My no-nonsense glare unsurprisingly doesn’t phase my friend through the small screen on my phone, but her too-innocent smile sure as hell grates my nerves. “So you’re telling me you invited a near stranger to my house to interview to be my son’s nanny? Did the cheese slide off your cracker since I last saw you?”
When Wren told me she had a crazy idea but didn’t clarify beyond “I might have a solution to your problem,” I idiotically assumed she meant keeping Crew with her in the offices or something during practices and games, not letting someone she’s known barely one year into my life and home.
Rolling her eyes, the meddling blonde pushes up her dark sunglasses and levels me with her own version of a glare. “ Near stranger is a stretch, Aidan. I’ve known her for a year and I am fully confident Lyla is the best person for the job, and from where I’m standing, you’re fresh out of options. Just meet with her and let Crew spend some time with her. I promise I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t think it was the best thing for both of y’all. ”
A deep chuckle comes from off-screen before Rhodes’s face enters the picture next to his fiancé’s. “I’ve met the girl dozens of times, dude. I really think you and the tiny terror are going to love her. Plus, she just graduated college and needs a job.”
I lift my middle finger with a sneer I don’t really mean. “Y’all owe me big if this blows up in my face.”
They share a look and Wren gets a calculated gleam in her eye. “You owe us big if it doesn’t.”
After saying our goodbyes and hanging up, I place my phone face down on the island with a thump and haul myself off the tall barstool, running my hand over the smooth white surface before making my way up the staircase.
My routine is the same every morning. I rise with the sun, make my coffee, and sit in the kitchen or on the porch so I can admire our home before I have to go wake Crew; a.k.a the sole reason I’m up at ungodly hours just so I can drink my coffee in peace. My whole body relaxes like it does every time I have my son in my sight and can see with my own eyes that he’s safe.
Mia has been gone for almost four years now, but that hasn’t stopped the constant worry about something happening to Crew, or of someone taking him from me.
I went back to therapy for about six months after she died, but it just felt redundant so I stopped, choosing instead to put all my time and energy into raising my boy.
I crouch down next to the bed, shoving a herd of small plastic dinosaurs aside so my knees don’t get shredded by horns. These things are all over the house, and I’m constantly stepping on them.
They might be tiny, but those little fuckers hurt worse than stepping on legos .
Brushing a few stray locks of soft blond hair out of my boy’s face, I kiss his nose, earning a grunt of annoyance. “Good morning, my little raptor.”
The nickname pulls a smile out of him as his eyes flutter open, revealing an icy blue the exact same shade as mine. “I’m a hungry dinosaur, Daddy.”
Chuckling, I widen my eyes at him in mock fear. “Oh no, we don’t want a hungry dinosaur on our hands! What does my ravenous raptor want for breakfast?”
He sits up and stretches with a huge yawn, showcasing his first loose tooth. My heart thumps painfully when I see it because it’s just another sign of how fast he’s growing up. I try not to focus on that too much because it makes me sad, but the little things like this remind me how alone I would be without Crew.
Sure, my Ma is still in town, but she’s getting older and spends most of her time catering to her favorite son. I mean, I live five miles away from her and only see her once or twice a month if I need an emergency sitter.
She travels a lot to be with my younger brother Wesley in Seattle and I try not to let it bother me, but after a lifetime of being the one who always had to be okay, it would be great to have someone who cares about how I’m doing.
Not someone who cares about me as Crew’s dad, not as catcher for the Charleston Raptors, not as the jokester friend who’s always happy to lighten the mood. Just Aidan Black, exhausted man and single father who wants nothing more than a safe space to not be okay sometimes.
A small finger pokes my cheek, and I blink out of my little reverie to see Crew’s concerned face. “Do you have the sads?”
His whispered question brings a smile to my face while I help him out of bed. “I’m only sad because you’re getting so big! Pretty soon, you’ll be as big as me.”
He giggles, wiggling out of my arms and skipping to the stairs. “And then I can play football! Right, Daddy?”
I hide a snicker behind my palm. He has been on this football kick since his third birthday, and Rhodes and Copeland see it as damn near a cardinal sin. “That’s right, little linebacker. You can play football. In fact, you can start this year if you want! A few months after you turn six.”
Childish squeals of joy bounce around the open concept of our kitchen and living room, echoing against the beams that stretch across the high ceilings. I’d been keeping that little fact a secret from him because I knew he would never stop talking about it once he found out, but his excitement bolsters mine.
Crew turns six in three weeks, just before baseball season starts, and Peewee football runs from mid-September to the end of January, so I should be able to make it to every practice and game, barring any mandatory off-season workouts. But Coach has always been really good about letting me do make-up workouts when I’ve needed to be with Crew.
I get to work making breakfast for the both of us while my energetic little boy hops around the kitchen pretending he’s an actual dinosaur, if the screeches and arm flaps are anything to go by. “Alright, wild one. Go sit down at the table, please. Food’s on.”
One thing I’m grateful for is that, overall, he’s a fantastic kid. I won’t say easy because I don’t think kids are ever truly easy, but for the most part, he’s great at listening and doesn’t pitch a fit over too many things.
Just as I move to sit at the table the doorbell rings, which has me on edge. It’s eight a.m. on a Saturday, and everybody close enough to know our address would text first. Checking the doorbell camera, all I see is a head of ridiculously long brown hair tucked into a pink baseball cap.
Suspicion worms its way through me, tensing my shoulders as I pull open the tall front door to what looks to be a young girl standing with her back to the door. I clear my throat loudly, and she whips around with a hand on her chest, a startled expression on her face.
Holy shit.
“Oh! I’m so sorry. I hope I didn’t wake you. Wren said it would be alright to come over early and meet y’all, but she also said she cleared it with you… Maybe I misunderstood? I can come back another time! I don’t want to impose.” Her soft voice is in direct opposition to the frantic movements of her hands, and I want to reassure her, but I’m too stunned to speak.
The woman standing in front of me is shockingly pretty, with long, dark brown hair hanging thick and straight down past her waist and wide, mossy green eyes. Taking a closer look at her face, I see a prominent pink scar across the bridge of her nose, making me wonder how it got there.
She clears her throat quietly, spooking me and making me realize I’ve been ogling her like a creep while she stands on my front porch. “Sorry.” My words are a gruff rumble. “Who are you?”
Her cheeks flush a pretty pink color that almost matches her hat, and I force myself to hold back a chuckle. Sure, she’s all kinds of adorable, but she’s still a strange woman on my porch. “Oh, um… I’m Lyla Taylor? Wren said you were expecting me?” Her name isn’t ri nging a bell, so I keep my face blank and lift my eyebrows for her to explain.
Lyla’s eyebrows furrow in response, and a flash of irritation crosses her face before her eyes widen minutely, and she settles her expression into something… passive. I don’t know why, but the quick change has me more on edge than I already was.
“Wren said you needed a live-in nanny for your son and that she mentioned setting up a time for us to meet…”
All at once a lightbulb goes off in my mind, and I feel like an ass. “Dagummit, I’m sorry. I completely forgot she had set this up for today.” Offering her a chagrined smile, I turn to the open door and hold out a hand to welcome her in.
“My mama would tan my hide if she knew I answered the door like that. Crew and I are just eating breakfast if you want to join us. I made chocolate chip pancakes.” I shake my head in embarrassment. “Sorry again. Crew is my son.”
If she thinks I’m an idiot with all the rambling I’m doing, she doesn’t show it. Instead, the woman, Lyla , I remind myself, offers me a stunning smile and cautiously skirts past me, avoiding all physical contact as she does. “Chocolate chip pancakes are actually my favorite food, so I’d love to join you and meet Crew if it’s not too much trouble.”
I shake my head at her and lead her to the kitchen after locking up. “It’s no trouble at all. I always make too much because I never know how hungry he’ll be on any given day. He’ll be six in just a few weeks and is growin’ like a weed.”
Her laugh is light and melodious, reminding me of a Disney movie Crew made me watch with him last week where the fairy voices sounded like bells or something. Honestly between the pink hat, the hair, and the fact that she’s at least a foot shorter than me, she kind of reminds me of a Disney character.
Focusing on her laugh distracts me from the way my palms slick with sweat and my heart races. I know we’ve gone through plenty of nannies, but never one that came recommended from one of my best friends or one whose looks made my breath catch the way hers do. My mind knows she’s off limits in so many ways, but my body doesn’t seem to be getting the memo.
Not to mention, if she doesn’t work out as Crew’s nanny, I’m completely screwed this season. I can’t find another travel nanny on such short notice, which means I would have to trust someone I barely know to watch Crew for days on end while I’m out of the state and can’t get to him in minutes if I need to. And I can’t keep burdening my friend’s parents just because I’m not able to get my shit together enough to find regular childcare.
“Daddy, can I eat now?” Crew shouts, making me chuckle.
“Yeah, kiddo. We’re gonna have a new friend eat with us, too, okay?”
His squeals turn my chuckle into a full-blown laugh, but a glance to my right shows me my latest potential employee isn’t laughing. Her shoulders are hunched up by her ears, and her eyes are wide and unblinking, pupils dilating further by the second.
My heartbeat skips for a whole new reason, and I take the smallest step closer to check on her, but she flinches back. That minuscule movement seems to bring her back to the present, even as it sends my thoughts spiraling back to a time when I flinched like that at sudden contact.
Lyla offers me a brittle smile that doesn’t reach her eyes as she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “Sorry about that. I guess I’m just a little nervous.”
I don’t believe her, but I figure if she’s going to be Crew’s new nanny, we’ll be spending a lot of time together soon, so I’ll have plenty of time to figure out why this little lady seems so skittish.