Nanny for the Army Rangers by Krista Wolf

 

Thirty-One

 

 

DELILAH

Saturday morning I woke up alone, to a strangely silent house. I followed the smell of coffee into the kitchen, where the cold morning sunlight was filtering in through the windows. Right next to a half-filled, lukewarm pot I found a foil-wrapped breakfast sandwich and a cute little note.

 

Good morning, gorgeous!

 

Duncan got back a day early.

The three of us took the twins out,

so you could sleep late.

 

Be back later on with

much hotter coffee.

 

- Army guys

 

Crap.

A wave of fomo washed over me, which was strange because they were actually giving me the morning off. I already had the evening off, so I pretty much had the day to myself. I could do virtually anything I wanted.

And yet I found myself wanting to be with them.

I already knew I was getting dangerously attached to Jace and Courtney. I’d felt the same connection with my sister’s kids, but it was also a bit different. Even though those ties were thickened by blood, I only saw Rory and Luke for a few hours at a clip. In most cases I gave them back well before sundown, usually hopped up on sugar and ice cream. I didn’t go to sleep and wake up next to them, like I did with the twins.

Because of that, I was beginning to love the twins in a very motherly way. I was the only female figure in their lives right now. Taking the place of someone they unfortunately never knew.

I made a fresh pot of coffee, then ate and showered. After that I wandered the halls of the mansion, looking for things to do. I had the urge to go outside and work on one of the many landscape cleanup projects going on, if for no other reason than to enjoy the fresh fall air. But it was chillier than it looked. Plus, I didn’t know where the key to the garage was.

This is your day off, remember?

I didn’t care. I wanted to help. After learning the incredibly sad truth about the twins’ parents, I admired the guys even more for wanting to make this place into a home for them.

I tried telling myself I was getting too close. That I was an employee first and friend second.

And a lover, third.

I shoved all those thoughts away as I got busy on a project that took me through lunch, and well beyond. Sometime right before the sun went down I heard the smooth crunch of gravel that was the Audi pulling up. The front door opened and Liam walked in, trailing a very sleepy Jace in tow.

He looked up at me in horror, mainly because I was perched high in the foyer, on the top rung of a stepladder.

“Delilah!” Liam cried. “W—What are you doing?”

“Fixing your crappy ductwork,” I told them, a roll of aluminum tape dangling from between my teeth.

“Please get down! You’ll hurt yourself!”

“Are you kidding?” I snickered. “I’ll be just fine. Me and ladders go way back.”

“But—”

I shook the piece I was working on. It was much more securely-fastened to the next junction than when I’d first started. “Who did this by the way? And why in the world did they…”

My sentence trailed off as Duncan stepped inside, with a sleeping Courtney pinned to his shoulder. I set the tape down on the ladder’s shelf and shimmied down quickly.

“Welcome home!” I cried exuberantly but quietly, standing on my toes to hug them both.

“Good to be home,” Duncan grinned. With his free arm, he squeezed me until I felt air leave my lungs.

Julius stomped in last, closing the door behind him. He rubbed his hands together and looked up absently.

“Nice job,” he said.

“Thanks.”

“Looks good and tight,” he nodded. “Should we fire the HVAC guys on Monday, or—”

“Maybe not fire them,” I replied, “but at least give them a good old-fashioned ass-kicking. They’re definitely cutting corners.”

Julius nodded appreciatively. “Duly noted.”

I glanced down again, and noticed a pair of bags dangling from Julius’s two long arms. They were overflowing at the top with bright red and yellow orbs. He saw me looking and hefted them my way.

“Apples.”

“You went apple-picking?”

“Oh yeah,” laughed Liam. “You should’ve seen the little ones, running up and down the rows of the orchard. Must’ve tripped a dozen times each. I’ve got… pictures and video… if you want to…”

His voice trailed off into broken sentence fragments. Probably because he saw my whole face change.

“What?”

“I would’ve wanted to go apple-picking.”

The way I said it was so sad, so pathetic, I regretted the words immediately. The guys had done nothing wrong! If anything they’d been super nice, taking the babies through their morning routines and whisking them away so I could sleep in.

This is their family, I reminded myself. Not yours.

And here I was, pouting like a little kid. Laying some kind of a weird guilt-trip on them, for absolutely nothing.

“Delilah we’re so sorry!” Liam cried. “If we’d known—”

“No, no,” I waved him off. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. Forget I even mentioned it.” I smiled warmly. “I’m glad the five of you had so much fun!”

Julius took Jace down the hall, and Duncan carried Courtney. That left Liam and I standing there awkwardly.

“Did you bring coffee?” I asked hopefully.

He shook his head. “No, sorry about that too. I know we said we would, but we ended up coming home a lot later than originally planned.”

“No biggie,” I smiled. I picked up the apple bags Julius had set down and carried them into the kitchen.

“The twins are zonked,” said Liam, following after me. “We figured we’d put them down, order some takeout, then sit on the couch and eat it. Thai food, or maybe that fusion place.”

“You guys get whatever you want,” I told him. “I’m going out.”

I’d made the decision as soon as I saw the apples. It wasn’t that I was angry, or at least I didn’t think I was, but I suddenly had the overwhelming need to go for a drive.

“Are you sure?” asked Liam. There was concern and regret in his voice. I wanted neither. “Because I—”

BZZZZT.

The phone going off in my pocket vibrated my entire thigh. I slipped it out and glanced at the screen.

 

MEET AT THE RESTAURANT TONIGHT? OR SHOULD I PICK YOU UP?

 

I stared down at the text-message like it was an alien lifeform. I had to read it three times before I realized who it was from.

 

IN THAT CASE, OF COURSE, YOU’D HAVE TO TELL ME WHERE YOU LIVE. LOL.

 

Oh my God, Stephen! It was Saturday. I had a date with him tonight!

“I--I…” I stammered. “I, umm…”

Holy shit, why was I so bad at this?

“Have other plans?” Liam rescued me.

Slipping the phone back into my front pocket, I nodded. “Yes. Sorry.”

“Okay then,” he shrugged.

“Thai food another night?” I offered. “I love Thai food.”

Looking down at the pocket that contained my phone, Liam nodded his head slowly.

“Sure,” he smiled weakly. “Thai food another night.”