Page 46 of My Orc Nanny

Shaking my head, I bent to scoop Joshy up and placed him atop my shoulders. The boy knew I was his nanny, knew he could trust me to take care of him, protect him. That was like being his father, wasn’t it?

It would be good enough. Ithadto be good enough, because Hannah had made no more mention of sharing our relationshipwith her children, and we still hadn’t had the promised conversation about our employer/employee status.

She no longer slept in Joshua’s room, but I didn’t think the children had noticed her moving her things back into the master bedroom. Each night, she slept wrapped in my arms, and I reveled in the feel of her body—hersoul—next to mine…and that was good enough. I had a Mate, and she loved me as I loved her. I should be satisfied.

MyKteershould be satisfied.

But it wasn’t.

Despite things being settled between Hannah and myself, myKteerwas unsettled. And I knew it had everything to do with the kitlings.

Eastshore Isle’s Independence Day celebration came and went with a red, white, and blue parade and a sandcastle building competition—Cairo and his Mate won this year with a rendition of a giant cupcake. We joined Hannah’s parents to watch the parade, and when I lifted Joshua—clutching Mr. BunBun, of course—and Tova so they could see better, Allison made a big deal out of how well I blocked the sun for her.

She seemed delighted by everything I did, and her gentle enthusiasm made me smile as well. I was sending over meals to her home now at least twice a week—her husband Charlie sometimes picked them up, or Ben and I drove them over—and they’d begun to ask for my help when it came to tasks that were just too tiring for them.

Honestly, I was happy to help, and I knew it was important for Ben and Tova to have an opportunity to help them as well.

So, during the second week of July, when Allison called me directly to ask for help picking up her new purchase from the antique store in town, of course I agreed. It was an afternoon when all three kids were home with me—Emmy had a dentist appointment off-island, and Ben had been staring at the T.V. too long—so I strapped Joshy to my chest, and we all walked toSecond Time’s A Charm.

Allison was waiting for us on the walkway out front.

“Oh, there are my favorite grandbabies!” she cried, holding out her arms.

Tova ran for a hug immediately, her enthusiasm almost knocking Allison over, but Ben merely rolled his eyes and smiled. “We’re you’reonlygrandbabies, Nana.” Still, he stretched up on his toes to kiss her fragile cheek.

I eyed her color and the pink baseball camp she wore over her missing hair. “You’re looking good today. Those fish oil supplements are helping?”

“And knowing that the end is in sight,” she agreed with a bright smile. “The steak you made on Tuesday didn’t hurt either.”

“Nana!” Joshua bellowed, kicking his legs and waving his lovey. “BunBun wants a tiss!”

When the older woman leaned closer to kiss first the toddler, then Mr. BunBun, I inhaled, and realized I could recognize Allison’s scent the same way I knew Joshy’s, or Ben’s, or Tova’s. Just like Hannah, this woman had become part of my family, and I would do everything in my power to make her life a good one.

“Thanks so much for your help today, Aswan, kids. I can’t wait to show you the credenza I found,” Allison was sayingas she held the door to the antique shop for us.Second Time’s A Charmsmelled of well-dusted treasures. “Of course, Mavis wasn’t going to be any help in loading it into my car?—“

“I’m eighty-two!” came a call from the rear of the store. “I don’t load cars!”

“So that’s where you come in,” Allison finished smoothly, gesturing toward one of the aisles. “I really appreciate this.”

I was only half paying attention, instead trying to keep Joshua from kicking me as I unstrapped him from the carrier. “Here you go, buddy,” I announced gratefully as I placed him in the aisle. “Stay with us, okay?”

“Wook, BunBun!” he yelled, holding the lovey above his head. “Forts!”

“They’re not forts,” Ben said with a good-natured scoff. “They’re old people furniture.”

“Forts!” his younger brother yelled, then took off running toward the stale-smelling couches.

With a sigh, Ben shot me a look. I glanced between him and his grandmother, wondering how much trouble a toddler could get into in an antique store.Probably a lot.

“You help Nana,” Ben said. “I’ll watch Joshy.”

I nodded gratefully. “Don’t let him get near anything glass or breakable. Tova, where are you?”

It was a little maddening to have to try to keep track of three kidsandAllison amid the delicate antiques, and I was ready to get out of there as soon as she finished paying for her credenza. Which—in case anyoneelsehas been in this world for a decade and had no idea what a credenza is—isn’t actually a kind of houseplant, which is what it sounds like, but a sort of cabinet.

Not terribly exciting, but also large enough to understand why Allison was worried about it.

In the end, I solved the problem by sending Tova to hold her grandmother’s hand, and picked up the entire thing with a grunt, then maneuvered it out the front door.

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