Although the majority of the house looked like children barely existed, the backyard was designed with them in mind. It was safely enclosed but with wide, open spaces to run riot, which is exactly what they had done for the majority of the evening. The kids had hopped from swings to slides before settling on an intense game of tag that had the three of them lying on the grass to catch their breath by the end of it. It was a child’s dream out there, and it made Rowyn a little more comfortable with her surroundings.
“We’ve changed it as they’ve grown, but it’s their favourite place. They both love being outdoors and moving around, so it helps that we have the space here.”
Eliza opened the fridge as she spoke, and Rowyn hummed in response. She consciously fought the urge to let her eyes wander as they wanted to. Rowyn meant what she had said earlier, she was more than capable of continuing her role here despite the night before. That didn’t mean she was capable of forgetting what Eliza looked like beneath those clothes, though.
“You haven’t eaten.”
Rowyn shook herself out of her thoughts as Eliza spoke.
“Huh?”
Her brain took a minute to process the words.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”
“You forgot to eat?” Eliza asked sceptically.
“Yep. It happens. Don’t worry, I’m terrible at remembering for myself, but I don’t forget to feed kids. Promise,” Rowyn said with a grin.
“I’m still stuck on you forgetting to eat. I’m not the best cook but I’m making a sandwich, ham and cheese, okay?”
Eliza was pulling out packets from the fridge as she spoke, and Rowyn tried her best to relax into the conversation.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to. I haven’t had a chance to get any groceries yet, but I can order something,” Rowyn replied.
“It’s as easy to make two. I’ll send you a link to download the shopping app I use and add whatever you want to it. Groceries will be delivered every Thursday. Sit, and I’ll bring it over.”
Eliza pointed to the kitchen island. Rowyn’s stomach swooped at the words. It was innocent, a regular statement, but the commanding way it was said that left no room for arguments had Rowyn flashing back to the less innocent commands of the night before.
Rowyn took a seat on the high-backed stool, and Eliza turned back to prepping the sandwiches.
“You fed the kids earlier while I finished up work. Why didn’t you eat then?”
“Well, the kids wanted to make my dinner while I made theirs, and it was…not quite edible,” Rowyn said with a chuckle.
Eliza brought the plates over and set one down in front of Rowyn before taking the seat opposite her.
“They are eight, so that’s not a huge surprise. Although Henry’s mom does teach them basic meals quite a bit, so they know their way around the kitchen almost as well as I do. What did they make?”
“A sandwich, actually. Except thecheesewas mustard, and I’m not going to hazard a guess what they used instead of butter. They were both giggling before they even put it in front of me, so I told them they need to up their poker faces if they want to prank me.”
Eliza frowned as Rowyn took a bite of her sandwich.
“I’ve warned them about those pranks. It’s getting out of hand. I’ll talk to them about it tomorrow, it needs to stop, immediately.”
Rowyn swallowed the bite in her mouth and waited a minute before responding.
“I won’t tell you what to do, but I will request that you let this one go. Hazing the new nanny is pretty much a given, I’m used to it. I’d rather they didn’t resent me for tattling to their mom on our first day.”
Eliza considered it for a moment.
“Food pranks are a big no, there are a lot of ways that could go wrong. They should know better,” Eliza said.
“Have you told them that?” Rowyn asked.
“They know how I feel about pranks,” Eliza replied.
Rowyn pondered how to phrase what she needed to say in a way that wouldn’t seem like she was correcting her new employer. It was her least favourite part of the job. Tiptoeing around parents to ensure you weren’t coming across as judgemental or critical of their parenting was an exceptionallyfine line, and everyone reacted differently. It took a few weeks for Rowyn to figure out new parents and what worked best, much the same as with their kids, but she had a gut feeling Eliza would do better with directness.
