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But just then, Jaxon finishes his twenty kicks and bounces back to the floor.
“Now what?”
I show him the big letters and we practice matching them. As soon as Jaxon is given the activity, he immediately takes over, trying to show me how smart he is.
After our preschool activities, I take Jaxon outside so it will be quiet enough for Harrison to sleep. I imagine him upstairs in the master bedroom I’ve only seen briefly a couple of times.
I have to force my mind to think of something else.
The morning is absolutely beautiful, with only a slight chill in the air. I wrap my arms around myself to protect myself from the wind as Jaxon and I play on the swingset, pretending to be pirates.
Suddenly, Harrison appears on the back deck. He’s dressed casually, in gym shorts and a red T-shirt. I feel an immediate spike of adrenaline, but try to act like everything is normal.
“Breanna, I’m done sleeping for now!” he calls. I’m surprised because I was expecting him to sleep at least until two or three. I’m just about to take Jaxon in for his lunch and put him down for his own nap. That’s the easy time, and I was looking forward to being paid while Jaxon slept. Apparently, I don’t have any sort of luck, though, because Harrison appears ready to take over.
I hop off the swing and say goodbye to Jaxon in a piratey voice.
Jaxon barrels toward his father and starts making demands about what his lunch should contain. I move more slowly. I would just cut through the backyards toward my house, but there’s a fence surrounding this backyard. So, I trudge toward the house, suddenly remembering with a jolt that I need to grab my overnight bag anyway.
“Breanna, we need to talk for a moment,” Harrison says in a low voice as I climb the three steps to the back deck.
“About what?” I have to clench my hands into fists to keep from letting hope filter out through my voice. Has he had a change of heart? Maybe asking him for an advance right after he had been working the whole night was a bad idea. But now that he’s had a chance to think it over…
“About what you’ve been doing.”
I frown, not sure what he means.
“The socks,” he mentions, then he goes down the list like he went through the house and cataloged everything I might have touched and messed up. “The books on the shelf, the kitchen implements, my clothes, my shoes.”
I have to keep myself from smiling. Apparently, he doesn’t appreciate the ongoing disruptions to his daily life. Oh, if only I could use these annoyances as a bargaining chip!
Harrison's stern gaze meets mine, and I try to maintain an air of innocence, though my pulse quickens at the mention of every little thing he's noticed.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I reply, my voice steady despite the internal turmoil. Denial is the best response in this situation. If I say that I was trying to bug him, then he’ll do something serious.
A sick feeling suddenly hits me as I realize that he may still be looking for another nanny. What if he decides that he hates me so much he wants to replace me as soon as possible? Maybe I should have a backup job ready.
Harrison crosses his arms, frustration etched on his face. "Breanna, I'm not blind. It's been going on only since you got here – the deliberate attempts to annoy me by messing up small things around the house. What's your game here?"
I shrug nonchalantly, masking my internal panic. "Game? I don't know what you're talking about, Harrison. Maybe you're just being paranoid."
He narrows his eyes at me, clearly unconvinced. "Paranoid? Breanna, don't play games with me. I've had enough of the socks, the books, and everything else being deliberately misplaced. It's not funny, and it's not cute. If you have an issue, let's address it like adults."
Jaxon, oblivious to the tension, continues making lunch demands, and I seize the opportunity to divert the conversation. "Can we talk about this later? Jaxon's hungry, and I need to get his lunch ready."
Harrison, however, doesn't let it slide, but he turns to Jaxon first. “Jaxon, you know what a good lunch would be?”
I’m surprised by the immediate change to Harrison’s voice, like he turned a switch. I wish he would speak to me sweetly like that. “You know what would be really yummy for lunch?”
Jaxon bounces on the balls of his feet. “What?” he asks, hardly able to contain his excitement.
“Pizza! There’s a big one in the freezer. Do you think you can find it and take it out? Then I’ll put it in the oven.”
Jaxon runs off on his mission, and I’m left alone with Harrison.
As Harrison rises up to his full height again, I can’t help but feel intimidated. "Breanna, we're talking about this now.” His voice has become serious again.
When I see Harrison interacting sweetly with Jaxon, my perception of him shifts just slightly. He’s a good father. He works hard for his little family, but when he’s with Jaxon, it’s obvious that he cares about him.
