Page 29 of The Single Dad Dilemma

“That makes one of us,” I say, racking my brain for a solution.

“You have a nanny now,” he says. “Ask her.”

I hope the stern expression I send his way is an indicator of how much I will not be doing that. “I told her she wouldn’t work weekends. Plus, there’s a big difference in Lou for business hours and Lou for a whole weekend. That’s beyond childcare.”

Waylon scratches at the stubble over his jaw with catlike laziness. I’m surprised I don’t catch him licking himself most days.

“Bring them with us,” he says.

“Who?”

“Darcy and Lou. Bring them with us. Darcy can watch her during the day, and in the evenings, you’ll be freed up to do dad stuff.”

“I can’t ask Darcy to do that, to give up her whole weekend like that.”

“She can have evenings free. Let her go out exploring or whatever,” he says.

I hate the idea of that. All I would do is worry about her being in an unfamiliar area and getting into trouble. But it’s not like I can stop her. Maybe I can convince her to hang around the hotel. There’s a pool and other recreational areas.

“I can ask her,” I say with a huff. “But she might say no.”

“Nah, she’ll do it,” he says confidently. A littletooconfidently.

“What makes you so sure?”

Waylon folds his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall. His face is a stupid kind of smug.

“Based on everything you told me,” he says. “She cleans even though you told her it’s not in her job description. She bakes cookies like, every week. You literally have a morning routine together. Trust me, she’s going.”

I don’t really have a rebuttal, so I just press my mouth into a stern line and do my best to scowl at him. He lets out a hearty laugh and turns away before walking back to his booth all casual-like.

So I’ll ask her. Beg is probably a more appropriate term for what I’m going to have to do. But that’s fine, too. I did it to hire her, and I’ll do it again.

It’s really weird to walk into your own home with anxious energy and apprehension. I don’t have a backup plan. I don’t have another option whatsoever. Staying home will be the only course of action possible, and I really don’t want that to be the case.

Pushing the door open, I hear Lou’s laughter accompanied by a little giggle from Darcy.

“Hi, Daddy,” Lou says, running toward me.

“Hey, pumpkin. Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah, Darcy showed me how to make my own ice cream!” she exclaims.

“It was a science experiment,” Darcy says. “That results in ice cream.”

“I think I remember doing that in school,” I tell her. “Maybe eighth grade.”

“That was a long time ago, right?” Lou asks.

Way to call me out. “Yes, it was. Roughly twenty years ago.”

“I didn’t even know they had ice cream back then in the old days,” Lou says.

This kid. I swear. “Lou, do you think you could maybe go play in your room for a few minutes? I need to have a grown-up talk with Darcy.”

Reluctantly, she nods and mopes down the hallway, looking back every couple of feet like I might change my mind if she looks sad enough. Which I’m not.

“Please, come sit,” I say, gesturing to the couch.

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