Page 89 of Skate the Line

I swallow another gulp of beer and try again. “Can you help me with Ellie’s braids?”

Sunny turns on the stool and peers into the living room. She smiles over her shoulder at me before hopping down and rescuing Ellie’s poor scalp.

I try to watch from afar, following the movements of Sunny’s deft fingers, but it’s too hard to see. Instead, I sip on my beer and think about anythingotherthan my hot nanny.

Tomorrow is the first away game that I’ll have to stay overnight since hiring Sunny.

I’m not worried, but I have a feeling that Ellie is.

Once her hair is pulled out of her face and woven neatly, I place my beer on the counter. “Okay, Printsessa. Say goodnight to Sunny.”

Ellie, in her oversized T-shirt, turns to look at Sunny. A look of mischief covers her tiny features. “Spokoynoy nochi.”

Not this again.This is Ellie’s defense mechanism—I swear. Speaking Russian to someone who doesn’t under?—

“Sladkih snov.” Sunny’s soft smile catches my eye, and my stomach dips.

“Good job, Sunny!” Ellie wraps her arms around Sunny’s neck. “My babushka will be so proud!”

A strange sense of comfort nestles into my chest. Ellie rushes over to me and slides her tiny hand into mine. I let her pull me all the way to her bedroom, and I’m not fully coherent again until she snuggles down under the covers. The blue quilt is pulled up all the way to the bridge of her nose. All I see are two big, worried green eyes peering up at me.

“Are you teaching Sunny Russian?” I tug on the quilt so I can see her face.

She quickly pulls it back up. “She asked to borrow the tapes.”

Interesting.

“You know tomorrow evening I won’t be home, right?”

She nods so quickly her braid flops over the blanket.

“Are you going to be okay?” I ask.

Sunny and I aren’t the only ones with trust issues. It’s usually easy for me to move past mine—I justdetach—but that’s the last thing I want to teach to Ellie. The last time I had an away game where I had to stay overnight, Ellie was left alone for several hours.

I have no indications of that happening on Sunny’s watch, but Ellie might.

“I fully trust Sunny,” I add.

Do I?

“She would never leave you alone or do anything like what’s been done in the past.”

“I know, Daddy.” Ellie slowly pulls the blanket down to her shoulders. “I’ll be okay,” she says, reassuring me.

I kiss her on the forehead. “Alright, then. Get some sleep.”

I’m almost through the door when she perks up. “Daddy?”

I turn, “Yeah?”

“I like her.”

How can she not? She’s pretty damn likeable. “Sladkih snov.” I wink and repeatsweet dreamsin Russian, just like Sunny, before heading the rest of the way out.

When I reach the foot of the stairs, I overhear Sunny on the phone. This time, I purposefully eavesdrop.

Okay,fine.They’ve all been purposeful, but how else can I learn about my live-in nanny?

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