Page 6 of Curvy Nanny for the Cougar
“Just a few more minutes, buddy,” I say, adjusting the zipper on his overnight bag. “Why don’t you go double-check you packed Mr. Pickles this time? I am not driving back from Uncle Keeton’s cabin again just for a stuffed lizard.”
Alex gasps, eyes wide. “I almost forgot him!”
He darts off towards his room and I can’t help but grin at his shenanigans.
Yes, we’re cousins, but I’m a stickler for manners, so Alex calls him Uncle Keeton, and his wife, Aunt Lena. And they’re both doing me a huge favor by taking him for the weekend while I go to a supernatural summit to pitch my legal app.
Shifters like us? We don’t operate on the typical timelines.
Wolves gotta wait until puberty hits to shift.
But us Cougars? Nah.
See, we’re born with our magic humming just under the skin, whispering in our ears before we can walk.
Alex hasn’t shifted yet, not fully, but I can smell it on him. That fur’s coming. It’s just a matter of time.
And when it does? I want him to be ready.
Problem is readiness doesn’t come from being cooped up in a city condo while his dad is buried in work.
See, Keeton’s not my only gig.
I’m working on an app that might launch my medium-sized practice into something more. Something that might ensure work takes up less of my time in the near future.
I want to be a good dad. I try.
And I get that my kid needs interaction, stimulation, a place to burn off all that pent-up feline energy that’s been building since the end of the school year.
Hell, he just tried to scale the fridge last week.
Summer’s only just begun, and honestly, I’m already tapped out for time and attention.
And okay—yeah—I love the kid more than life, of course I do, but I am drowning over here.
The joys of being a single Shifter dad with no close extended family.
I get no day to day help. Not from anyone.
His mom? She checked out the minute she handed him over in the delivery room.
Said she wasn’t “cut out for motherhood” and disappeared faster than an alley cat with commitment issues.
No drama, no lingering heartbreak.
We were never in love.
Just one of those youthful, stupid choices that turned into something miraculous.
Alex.
So yeah, I’m doing my best. But even lawyers need help once in a while.
Problem is the last nanny I hired came in acting like she was auditioning to be my mistress or wife.
She batted her lashes, ignored my kid, and practically redecorated my bathroom with scented candles and heart-shaped soaps by day two.
Nope. Nope, nope, nope.
