Page 116 of Of Pucking Course

“I know it’s terrible that we let them watch their iPad while they eat,” she says as she walks back over and grabs a roasted bell pepper.

“It’s not terrible,” I say to her. “Whatever gets them to sit down and eat their dinner is good in my book.”

She offers a warm smile. “Thanks for that. It’s comforting knowing that you’re a teacher and you think that. A lot of other parents have given us the side-eye when they see us letting the kids watch TV while eating.”

“I’m sorry you deal with that. Parents get enough judgment as it is,” I say, patting her hand. “There’s no right way to parent your kid. Your kids are safe and happy. And eating their dinner. That’s all that matters.”

She pulls me into a hug. “Dakota, I adore you. You’re welcome in my home anytime.”

When we break apart, I catch Sam smiling as he looks between the two of us.

I ask Caitlin if she needs help setting the table, but she says she and Sam have it covered.

Shawn is busy slicing up the meat, so I walk over to the kids. I notice that Layla has taken a few bites of her chicken and almost all of her veggies.

I high-five her. “Way to go!” She smiles.

I look at Liam’s plate. He’s eating a few bites of chicken and all of his fruit and crackers, but he still hasn’t touched his asparagus.

“Did you know that asparagus was T-rex’s favorite food?”

Liam’s blue eyes go wide. “It was?”

I nod. “That’s how they got so big and strong. They ate a lot of asparagus.”

His eyebrows furrow as he studies the cut-up asparagus spear on his plate. He pokes at it with his fork for a few seconds, spears it, and takes a bite.

He wrinkles his nose at first, chewing slowly. But after a second, his expression brightens. He finishes chewing, then swallows, then takes another bite of asparagus.

“I’m gonna be big and strong like T-rex if I eat asparagus?” he asks me.

“You sure will.” A minute later, all the asparagus on his plate is gone.

“Daddy, can I have more asparagus?”

I turn around and see Shawn and Caitlin staring at Liam in shock.

“Yeah, buddy.” Shawn walks over and dishes up more asparagus. Liam and Layla finish their dinner while watching their iPad.

When I stand up and join everyone at the dining table, they’re all looking at me, stunned.

“You’re amazing, Dakota,” Shawn says.

“Seriously amazing,” Caitlin says. “That kid despisesanything green, and you convinced him to eat three spears of asparagus.”

I smile. “It’s nothing, really.”

“We’ve tried a million different ways to get him to try to eat more veggies. Nothing works,” Shawn says.

“That’s pretty normal for kids not to listen to their parents when it comes to stuff like that,” I say. “They’re used to you asking them to do things they don’t want to do, so they’re used to saying no to you. But when someone new and fun comes along, they’re more willing to try things. That’s really all it is.”

Sam, who’s sitting next to me at the table, pours me a glass of white wine. “You’re being modest.” He looks at his sister and brother-in-law. “She’s amazing with kids. You should see how the kids in her class pay attention to her and listen to her. They look at her like she hangs the moon.”

My cheeks flush as Sam raves about me.

“I believe it,” Shawn says as he slices into his steak. “Can we hire you to come over every night and convince our kids to eat their veggies?”

“Seriously, name your price,” Caitlin says. “We’ll take a second mortgage on our house to pay you to convince our kids to eat nutritious foods every day.”

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