Nanny for the Army Rangers by Krista Wolf

 

Ten

 

 

DELILAH

They’d told me not to overdress, and they certainly weren’t kidding. The ‘restaurant’ wasn’t a restaurant at all, but the Greenport Harbor Brewing Company. The tables were nothing but long, lacquered wood planks, and the chairs were stained with the spillage of a thousand beers, much like the flight of multi-colored lagers and pilsners set out before us.

But damn, if this place wasn’t right up my alley.

“You want a burger?”

They’d hugged me tightly upon greeting me at the door, each of them squeezing me just a little bit more than the last. It was like a competition to them. I had a feeling a lot of things were.

“What are my other options?”

“Well, you can have a kickass burger or one of those amazing-smelling pretzels,” said Liam, pointing to a dish at another table. “They’ve also got some sort of salad here, but it has raisins in it and it looks like ass.”

“A raisin-ass salad, huh?” I smirked.

“That’s right.”

“I think I’ll take a burger, then.”

“Good choice,” Duncan chuckled, pushing the flight of beers my way. “Because that’s what we ordered you.”

The invitation had come about a week after our last meeting, starting with a cryptic text-message from out of nowhere:

 

HI AGAIN DELILAH! WE HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU.

 

That was it; no other explanation. When I called them back, they gave me little in the way of details. I was told “they” were taking me on a date to discuss things, which I assumed meant all three of them.

To tell the truth, I was excited as much as I was disappointed. I hadn’t been on an actual date in almost forever, but this wasn’t a date so much as it was, well, a proposition apparently.

“So where are the little angels?” I asked, taking my first sip of the center-most beer.

“Mrs. Whitney has them,” answered Liam. He went on to explain a little about the nice old lady from two houses down who’d been known to watch the twins in a pinch.

“Wow, so… dads’ night out for you guys,” I quipped. “You must be psyched.”

“More than you know,” sighed Duncan, grabbing one of the darker brews. He drained half the glass in one quick pull. In his defense though, they were only half-pint sample glasses.

“Thanks so much for driving out here,” said Liam.

“Again,” I added slyly.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Again.”

“It’s okay,” I told them. “After all, I still haven’t given back your jacket.”

Across the table, Julius still hadn’t said anything. He eyed me skeptically, his piercing blue eyes looking almost designed to cut through bullshit.

“Did you bring it this time?” he asked.

“No,” I admitted. “I left it home.”

“Saving it so you get a third date,” Duncan raised his glass. “Smart.”

“So is that what this is?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “A date?”

I’d worn a casual red dress that set off the fire-opal pendant I’d chosen to dangle around my neck. It showed cleavage but not too much cleavage, although the pendant did wonders for drawing eyes to my chest.

“I haven’t had a date in quite a while,” I admitted, noting that the guys still hadn’t answered my question. “And now I have two in the same week.”

“Two, huh?” said Liam.

“Mmm-hmm,” I hummed through another sip. “This one, which I’m pretty sure is a proposal of some sort, and an actual date on Saturday with some not-so-random stranger.”

Oddly enough, the guys looked a little put back by this. Was that jealousy? I could’ve sworn it was.

“Who’s the semi-stranger?” asked Julius.

“Oh, just a guy who matched my dating profile, and I his,” I said. “I know what he looks like, because I’ve seen photos. And I know what he sounds like, because I’ve talked to him.”

“But you’ve never met him,” said Duncan. “So he’s still a stranger.”

“Exactly.”

Off to my right, Liam was shaking his head. “I can’t believe someone like you needs a dating profile,” he said.

“Hey, it’s 2021,” I said, not-so defensively. “And with all the hours I’ve been working over two different jobs?” I sighed, pushing my empty glass forward and selecting another. “It’s a miracle I’m able to hook up with someone at all.”

The guys exchanged a shared glance, then shifted forward in their chairs. Our burgers still hadn’t arrived yet. I had a feeling we were getting down to business.

“Maybe we could help you with the two different jobs thing,” said Duncan. “And also the too many hours.”

I swirled the new beer in my glass. “Oh?”

“We need help at home,” said Liam. “Someone to take care of things while we’re working, traveling,” he paused for a moment, “and of course, fixing the place up.”

“So you need a secretary,” I teased.

They looked at each other again, this time more in confusion. It was obvious they thought I wasn’t getting it. Only I already knew.

“You want help with the littles ones,” I said finally, letting them off the hook. “An intermittent babysitter, like Mrs. Whitney.”

“No,” said Duncan. “Not like Mrs. Whitney at all.”

“Not intermittent,” said Julius.

“And definitely not a babysitter,” said Liam.

Now it was my turn to be confused. My answer was obvious, no matter what the details of their proposal were. As much as I loved children and adored their twins, I lived simply too far away to—

“We want you as our children’s Nanny,” said Duncan, as the others nodded. “Full-time. Live-in. All the benefits you could want.”

“Live-in?” I asked, cocking my head.

“Yes.”

“With you. And the twins.”

“Yes.”

“In that…”

I pointed vaguely in whatever direction I figured the beautiful mansion to be. They knew what I meant though.

“That’s exactly what we’re saying,” said Liam. “You’d have your own room, your own space, your own everything. You’ve seen that the house is enormous, and the kids already love you. Hell, you saved Jace’s life. We’re always going to owe you more than we could ever repay you.”

“And we’ll be paying you well,” Duncan cut in quickly. “Enough so that you could easily quit waitressing. You could still do the transcription-from-home thing if you wanted to, and we’ll even set up an empty room you can use as your office. But you’d be making more than enough to quit that too.”

“Live with you…” I kept repeating incredulously. “In that house.”

“Yes.”

“And rent—”

“Oh, there’s no rent,” Julius said sharply. “No bills. No expenses on your end whatsoever.”

I pulled my beer toward my chest and squinted back at them. “Cooking… cleaning…”

“Nope and nope,” said Liam. “We’ve got a cleaning crew, comes in once a week. And we usually take turns cooking, but you can sit that rotation out if you’re not into—”

“THAT house,” I said one more time, pointing again. “Rent free.”

“Yes,” they all said together.

No more Traci.

Holy shit, my heart was pounding now.

No more Mark!

The burgers arrived, and they looked fucking amazing. All of a sudden, everything did.

No more ducking the landlord, trying to collect rent…

“Of course,” Liam added, “it’s totally fine if you want to take a week or two to think abou—”

“Can I move in tomorrow?” I asked, taking a tremendously juicy bite.