Nanny for the SEALs by Cassie Cole

20

Heather

Things weren’t going as well with the kids as I had hoped.

During the day, it felt like I was making progress. Micah and Dustin were listening to me. When I told them to put their lunch plates in the dishwasher, they did so after only a few seconds of complaint. On the first day, they didn’t do it at all. And the star stickers I put on their schedule was the perfect carrot-and-stick system to start building good habits. They were listening to me.

But when I came back to the residence in the morning, it was like all my hard work had been undone overnight.

The boys chased each other around the living room with fingerpaint. They completely ignored me, even when I warned them that they were about to lose their first star of the day. When it came time to sit down and watch Trollhunter, they told me they wanted to keep playing arts and crafts instead.

“But that’s not the plan,” I reminded them. “Do we need to look at our adventure plan?”

“I have my own plan!” Dustin said, grabbing a couch cushion and hurling it at Cora, who had been quietly reading in the corner. She threw down her book and began crying. Her wails intensified when Dustin snatched up her discarded book and ran down the hall with it.

I was able to slowly get them back under control as the day progressed. The closer we got to when they could cash in their stickers for candy, the more well-behaved they became. But when I returned the next morning, it was like the reset button had been pressed.

“The candy bucket system might be flawed,” I admitted to the three dads that evening when they came up from the office. “Maybe I need something to incentivize them earlier in the day.”

“I suspect I know why they’re acting up,” Asher said while cracking open a beer. He gestured with it. “It’s because Brady gave them candy last night.”

I whirled on him. “You gave them more candy?”

Brady took a step away from me. “What? They were being good. I wanted to reward them. Isn’t that the point?”

“The point is to make them earn it,” I said through gritted teeth.

Brady kept backing up like I was a rabid cat. “I thought they did earn it. They had a bunch of sticker things.”

I continued backing him into the corner, then jabbed my finger into his chest. “They were rewarded for their stickers. They got to choose their candy. When you give them more, it undermines the entire system!” I jabbed him even harder. “Stop. Giving. Them. Candy. Understood?”

“All right, all right, geez.” Brady rubbed the spot I had jabbed.

I turned to Asher and gave him a look.

“What have I done?” he asked.

“You’re complacent. You knew it was happening and you didn’t stop it.”

Asher glared at Brady. “I cannot watch Brady every second of every day. He sneaks candy to Dustin.”

“And Micah,” Brady said. “I’m not trying to play favorites just because Dustin’s mine. Micah was good yesterday, too.”

“No more candy,” I warned. “If it happens again, I’m going to force-feed chocolate to you until you vomit. Understood?”

“I got it. Sorry.” Brady cocked his head and examined me. “You ever consider becoming a SEAL?”

“No. Why?”

“No reason,” Brady replied. “You just remind me of someone I met once.”

Being away from the kids in the evenings was one problem. Another was that I was getting sick of staying at the Four Seasons.

Yeah, I know that sounds dumb. Room service, massages, and soaking in a tub each night? Who could get sick of that?

But it was still a hotel. At the end of the day, it didn’t feel like a home. And there was only so many times a person could eat steak before getting sick of it. Sometimes a girl just wanted a juicy cheeseburger.

While the kids were down for their naps, I texted Rogan and asked if he could pop upstairs to talk.

“Got a question for you,” I said when he arrived. “If you have a few minutes.”

“Is this a booty call?” He looked at his watch. “Because I have a conference call in ten minutes.”

I smiled. “What would we do with the other nine minutes and forty seconds?”

He barked a laugh. “You know I can last longer than that.”

“I sure do.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “This isn’t a booty call. I wanted to ask you something. When you first offered me the job, you said you would put me up in the Four Seasons… Or I could stay here.”

A dark eyebrow rose on Rogan’s head. “Getting sick of being pampered?”

“The main thing is I need to be here more,” I replied. “At least for the first few weeks of watching the kids. To make sure everything is consistent for them.”

Rogan sat on the back of the couch and crossed his arms. “You think we’re not doing a good job.”

“Brady isn’t doing a good job,” I clarified. “He’s sneaking candy to the boys at night. It’s undermining my whole system of stickers and rewards.”

Rogan grimaced. “I thought I smelled chocolate on Micah’s breath when I tucked him in last night.” He nodded thoughtfully. “We have the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. It’s yours if you want it.”

“I think that would be best.” I sighed. “Maurice is going to be sad that he can’t visit me anymore.”

“My expense account will be happy about it.” Rogan muttered.

“The only downside is it means we can’t have fun anymore.” I pressed my body against his. “Unless you sneak into my room late at night. But then we’d have to be quiet.”

Rogan didn’t react the way I expected, with a smile or a sexy kiss. He frowned and said, “Brady already knows.”

I pulled back. “How did that happen?”

“He figured it out last night. I kind of got my ass chewed out.”

“Does this mean we can’t…” I trailed off, unwilling to say the words.

“We’ll see. I need to talk to Asher about it. I promised Brady I would tell him.” He waved a hand. “That’s a bad excuse. I should tell Asher about us. We’re family, and we shouldn’t keep secrets.”

Fear flared in the back of my head: fear that the fun we’d been having might be at an end. I didn’t want to accept it. Like a person who was drowning, my mind flailed around for anything to cling to.

“What if Asher is opposed to it? You’ll just stop?”

“I don’t know, Heather…”

“You’ll let him control your life like that? It’s none of his business what we do in our free time.”

Rogan reached for me, but I moved out of his grasp. “It’s not that simple. We’re a family—Asher, Brady, and me. And you work for all of us, nannying for all three of our children. At the very least, he should know I’m sleeping with the woman who is taking care of Cora.”

“I’m still confused about this whole situation,” I argued. “You each have a child. They’re the same age. There are no mothers in the picture. And you have some sort of communal situation together. What exactly is going on? Why are your lives intertwined like this?”

Rogan looked at his watch. “That’s going to take a while to explain. And I’m late for my conference call. But I have to tell Asher. We’ll figure things out from there. I hope you understand, Heather.”

I didn’t really understand. These were grown-ass men. What Rogan and I did together had no bearing on Asher’s life, so long as I continued to nanny his daughter.

But I nodded and said, “I guess I understand.”

Rogan took me in his arms and kissed me. “I’ll take you to the hotel to get your things tonight. And maybe we can have one last night of fun before we come home.”

“If Asher signs your permission slip,” I muttered.

He cupped my chin and tilted my face up toward his. “I’m not done with you yet, Heather Hart. That I can promise you.”

That made me feel a little better. I smiled as he went out the front door and down the stairs.

“Miss Heather?”

I whirled to see Micah standing in the hallway. His blanket trailed behind him like a cape, and his eyes shimmered with unbroken tears.

“Micah… Did you, um, see anything?” I asked.

Micah only stared at me. “Miss Heather, I had an accident.”

I realized the front of his pants were dark. “Oh, sweetie…”

“Does this mean I lose my star for nap time?” he asked. “I didn’t mean to…”

I bent down and hugged him. “Accidents don’t count. You still get your star. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”