Nanny for the Army Rangers by Krista Wolf
Seven
DELILAH
I spent a good half hour in the backyard, rolling around in the grass with the kids. Laughing and playing and chasing them all over the cleaned-up portion of the mostly-unmanicured grounds, while Liam and Duncan buttoned up their construction projects and put their tools away.
In the meantime, Julius prepared dinner. He was casually domestic and looked very comfortable setting out bowls of ravioli, sauce, and the piping hot loaf of fragrant bread he pulled out of the oven. My nose told me it had to be garlic bread, just by the amazing smell. My mouth watered just thinking about it.
Overall though, I had the most fun with Jace and Courtney. They had to be somewhere between one and two years old, and were still getting the hang of running on their fat little toddler legs. They were twins too, I’d discovered. Liam had called them that, before heading inside.
They’re so much like Rory and Luke.
Aside from the platinum-blond hair color, the similarities were striking. At only ten months apart, my niece and nephew were practically twins themselves. I recognized a lot of the same mannerisms and idiosyncrasies in Jace and Courtney; the ones my sister’s children used to exhibit back when they were toddlers themselves.
“Come and get it!”
Duncan’s voice boomed from the open back door, and I scooped the children up in my arms. It hurt my side of course, but it felt so good to hold babies again! I couldn’t stop snuggling them, or marveling at how much lighter they were than my niece and nephew. It had been several years since they were this small.
A few minutes later the children were strapped into highchairs and pushed right up alongside the kitchen table. Julius had chopped some pasta up into tiny pieces for them, but it looked like they also had some pureed carrots, too. Dish by dish we passed the ravioli, the sauce, and the garlic bread around the table. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a dinner like this. It reminded me of family.
“This all looks delicious,” I said, and meant it.
“Wait ‘till you taste it,” Liam grinned.
We talked as we ate, each of us relaying our own version of the incident at the aquarium. The guys were apologetic and somewhat embarrassed they’d let their guard down with Jace. Julius chastised them mercilessly for letting him out of their sight, at which point they chastised him for not being there in the first place.
I told them of my brief stint in the hospital, and how my ribs were slowly but surely healing. I didn’t want to make them feel bad, though. I could tell they felt bad enough.
“Where are you from, Delilah?” asked Duncan.
“Originally? Queens.”
“Wow,” swore Liam. “That’s a pretty long ride just to check on little Jace, here.”
“Yeah, well I believe in doing things face to face,” I said. “Plus, I’m used to driving out east. I went to Stony Brook University for a while, with the intention of becoming a physical therapist.”
“And what happened?”
Oh God, I thought to myself. What didn’t happen?
“Basically I was too indecisive,” I admitted. “I kept switching majors, and losing credits. Some of my grants ran out, and I timed out on a scholarship. I was studying pediatrics when the money dried up. Took a few odd jobs here and there, to keep going part time, and… well…”
“You just kind of fell out of it,” said Duncan.
“Yeah. Exactly.”
It was a bitter pill to swallow, admitting that I most likely wasn’t going back. But it had been four whole years now, and I still hadn’t set a dime aside toward finishing.
Not that I had two dimes to rub together, of course.
“Anyway, I have an apartment in Nassau county now. I do medical transcription from a computer terminal at home, plus I waitress on weekends.”
I shrugged, wondering what they thought of that. I didn’t have to wait long.
“So you’ve got hustle,” Liam nodded appreciatively. “And lots of it.”
“I guess so, yeah.”
“We’re the kind of guys who appreciate hustle,” Duncan smiled. “So you’re in good company.”
I wanted to tell them I’d also driven out because I was just plain curious. The whole time I sat at the hospital I’d wondered if these men had been two dads, or two partners, or if their wives were just in the bathroom when Jace fell. Instead I’d found three men instead of two, all apparently sharing custody of the same set of twins.
“So what are a trio of Army Rangers doing way out here in Southold?” I asked. “On an amazing piece of waterfront property that has to be… what, at least five or six acres?”
“Eight,” said Duncan, around a mouthful of bread.
I whistled again. Even without the house, a piece of land like this would go for millions. It was just too big, too exclusive.
“You ever had a Galaxy bar?” Liam asked, out of the clear blue sky.
“Are you kidding?” I laughed. “During my freshman year at college I was probably addicted to them.”
“Yeah, well you’re looking at the last two partial heirs to the Galaxy fortune.”
He pointed his fork at the children, wagging it back and forth between them. Almost on cue, Jace belched.
“Their great, great grandfather founded the formula and started the company right after the depression,” he explained. “Sold his remaining interests in the 1960’s for millions.”
“Whoa,” I swore. “So with all that money, what happened to this place?”
“Who can say?” shrugged Duncan. “Creative people are usually great at building and inventing things. But when it comes to managing money… not so much.”
I glanced around reverently, wondering how long the place had stood in this spot. I tried imagining the people who lived here. All the different kinds of stories they could tell.
“Anyway,” said Liam, “the family dwindled down to almost nothing.” His words were slower now, more somber. When he spoke again, there was regret in his eyes. “Jace and Courtney are the only two left.”
Silence descended once again. There were questions I wanted to ask, things I wanted to know. Instead, I reached out and squeezed Courtney’s sauce-stained cheeks, eliciting an excited squeal.
“It makes perfect sense you’re the heir to a chocolate bar fortune,” I cooed at the toddler. “You and your brother are so sweet.”