Chapter 4 #2
Daniel fastened him with a glare. “They’re more like lizards. Besides, dragons are amazing and magical. Snakes are scary and they bite.”
“So do dragons,” he shot back.
“The chances of me getting bitten by a dragon, especially right now, are considerably less than the chances of getting bitten by that snake. Will you please pick it up?”
Picking it up, he gently lifted it by the head and middle, keeping his grip gentle and careful.
Please. I mean you no harm. Just relax, and we’ll get you somewhere safe and warm. There are plenty of mice around here, and some lizards, and the garage would be a perfect place to winter in.
The snake stayed relaxed and easy in his hands, and he headed downstairs, chuckling softly in his chest. Poor Daniel.
Of course, they were more likely to get a marmot, a mule deer, or an elk than they were a snake up here. They’d even had a moose in the garden one summer, and bears tried to get into the pool room a lot.
Jacks looked at the snake when Hayden walked through, waved at it, and then Hayden took it out to the garage.
Daniel may never leave his room again. To be honest, he hadn’t expected a terrified nanny over something as simple as a snake. They were going to have to discuss this.
Snakes happened.
Although, they didn’t happen upstairs often.
“How did you get upstairs anyway?”
The snake seemed confused. I’m not really sure, my lord dragon.
“Well, be careful. If you need anything here in the garage, just let someone know. I’ll make sure that someone leaves water easily accessible.”
The snake made a soft sound, almost a purr, and immediately slid away into a dark corner as soon they got to the garage and it was set down.
Hayden put out a saucer of water and made a note for someone to bring out a saucer of milk every now and again. He also moved a couple of things over near the corner and dropped a few clean rags down there. That way, the snake would be warm and protected. Maybe he wouldn’t feel quite so exposed.
It would be amazing to have something to take care of the mouse population.
Hayden headed back in, humming low in his chest. He liked to help the animals out when he could. He had a talent for talking to them, which was, apparently quite rare, even among his kind.
Then he grabbed Jacks, thanking the ladies for helping out, and went to check on Daniel.
Who had disappeared.
He knocked softly on Daniel’s bedroom door.
“Just a sec!” There was a great rustling, and then Daniel answered the door wearing a robe. His hair was sticking up all over the place and it was wet. He’d probably been in the shower, and it hadn’t even occurred to Hayden to think that.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Goddess that was amazing.
Daniel smelled like heaven, and he looked completely different just wearing a robe.
Before, when he’d left the pool, he’d had on a pair of swim trunks and a towel.
There was something incredibly intimate about the robe, and it made him want things that he shouldn’t even be thinking about with his new nanny.
Hayden swallowed his own spit, which was trying to come out as drool, and blinked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m all right. Not a dozen kinds of snakes up here, though.”
“No, that’s the only variety that really lives up here unless somebody has introduced it as a pet, and then they generally don’t survive the winter.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I put him in the garage, so just be aware of it.”
Daniel shuddered. “I really don’t like snakes, and you said that he was mostly harmless? What does that mean? Mostly?”
“It means that that kind of garter snake is mildly venomous, mostly for use when he’s constricting a mouse or a lizard. The Colorado version of the terrestrial garter does have a pretty decent form of constriction. The worst it would give a human or anything, though, would be edema.”
Might as well go for honest because it wasn’t like Daniel couldn’t do some research and figure that shit out for himself.
He was not averse to keeping things like, oh, dragons from Daniel, but in general, Hayden found it better not to lie. Trying to keep track of what someone had told someone else was just too much trouble.
“Okay, well thank you for rescuing me, and I’m sorry I interrupted your day with Jacks.”
“Oh, I’m totally going back down and having a nap with him like I was planning. Although if you decide to join us this time, we’ll be in the family room on the big fancy leather couches rather than in the sun room.”
Daniel smiled, his lips curving in a most intriguing way. “Duly noted.”
“I should let you get back to your grooming.” He squeezed his eyes shut for a second because that was a stupid way to put it. “I mean, cleaning up after your pool experience.”
Ugh, that wasn’t any better. He finally just turned on his heel and walked away because his cheeks were on fire.
He just needed to go get his baby and go hide.
Obviously Daniel made him frustrated.
Rita was in the kitchen, Jacks on her hip.
She stirred a big pot of soup, and she smiled up as he stalked in.
“Tomato soup. There’s enough for today and tomorrow.
Or Monday, however we want to work it. There’s green chile pork enchiladas for supper.
You can just pop them in the oven. It’s been pre-programmed for you. ”
“Thank you.” Jacks reached for him and he took his son, nuzzling him gently. “Sorry about that, little one. Apparently your nanny is scared of snakes.”
“Well, that was kind of a big one, from the sound of it.” She winked at him. “That was kind of adorable, though.”
He had to nod. It sort of was. “He’ll get used to things. Just wait till he sees a bear in the pool.”
“Right? Or when the mountain lion pair out there is teaching their babies how to pounce? So cute.”
“Can we have grilled cheese too?” he asked, and she smiled at him.
“You can have anything you want.”
“Where’s Denise?”
“She’s making popcorn; we’re having a movie night. So, yeah, she’s making popcorn, and we’re going to be wicked and eat that and candy and just enjoy one another.”
Goddess, they were sweet together. “Oh, what movies are you watching?”
“We’re going to revisit the old Lara Croft. So much pretty in that first movie.”
He chuckled softly. “Dirty old women.”
“You know it, boss.” She winked at him. “Is Daniel coming down for lunch?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But if he doesn’t, then he doesn’t.”
“Well, I’ll ring the bell just so that he knows that lunch is available. I made some little toasts with cheese on them. Not grilled cheese, but little melty cheese toasts.”
Oh, he loved those.
“You should have told me when I asked about the grilled cheese. That’s perfect.” He hated that she was making lunch on her day off, but he was grateful because that made things easier when he had Jacks to deal with.
Not that he hated his baby day because he didn’t. In fact, it was perfect most of the time, but Jacks could be a handful. Evidenced by the fact that he had just grabbed Hayden’s ear and pulled.
“Ow buddy, that’s not nice. We don’t do that.” He took Jacks’s little hand and held it.
Jacks babbled at him aloud, but in his head, he heard, “ Want Daniel. ”
“I know, Sweet Pea, but it’s his day off. He doesn’t have to come be with us if he doesn’t want to.”
Waaaant.
“Well, I want you to be a good boy.”
Jacks leaned against his chest and sniffled as if he was going to start crying. That killed him, but he also knew it was patently fake.
“We’ll have some lunch, and we’ll see what happens, okay?” If Daniel didn’t show up, he would let Jacks gnaw on some cheese toast. He didn’t like to let Daniel see how advanced Jacks was.
Yes, he needed the bottles for nutrition, but he was really interested in food already, and that was too fast for a human child, and he knew it.
Jacks nodded against his chest, his little head bobbing up and down. So that was good.
Rita hummed and sang to herself and finally served up lunch before patting him on the back and leaving. He had all the stuff he needed for the rest of the day, so he guessed he could just take that with equanimity.
He could hear the snake settling in his new home. The rags that Hayden had provided were the perfect thing for his little den.
Hayden took a deep breath and reminded himself that this was a happy house, it was a good place, and that Daniel would figure that out.
He hoped.