“—did you cool down?” Shiloh asks, with a serious expression on his face.
“I’m sorry, cool down?” my brows furrow in confusion. “What do you mean bud?”
“Wellafter you left, I was ‘posed to be brushing my teeth…” he leans forward, as if to tell me a secret. “But I wasn’t. I was listenin’ to momma and daddy talk.”
“Oh Lo, we’ve talked about sneaking and listening to when me and daddy talk,” Josie begins.
“I know. I’m sorry momma.” He looks apologetically at his mom, before turning back to me, “but I heard daddy say how you were so hot.”
“Oh my god.” I look up to see the flushed neck of Monty as his hand scrubs his face before combing through his hair. “You know what, I have to get going. I’ll leave you girls to it.” He closes the distance between him and Josie. Quickly pecking her on the lips, he reaches over and ruffles Shiloh's hair, before spinning and hightailing it out of the house. “Have a great day!” he hollers over his shoulder before the sound of the door closing sounds a few seconds later.
There’s a brief pause after the goodbyes. I take a drink of my coffee, not sure what to make of this conversation. On one hand,hilarious. You always see the videos of kids saying the most out of left field things around their parents. But to experience? Priceless.
On the other hand, I won’t lie about the way my heartbeat speeds up with excitement thinking how Monty thinks I’m hot. Which, I know, Ican’t be excited about because he’s married. To the gorgeous brunette who sits across from me.
I let my eyes wander over her, taking her in. She’s wearing a light blue cardigan, over a black crew neck shirt. Her layered medium length haircut perfectly frames her sweet round face. Her plump lips gaped open as she attempts to form words together.
“Lo, I don’t think that’s what daddy was saying…” Josie starts.
“Uh huh!” He exclaims determination in his tone. “‘Cause when daddy said that, you said daddy was right!”
I bring my cup up to my mouth to hide the smile that’s forming on my lips. Stupid little butterflies begin fluttering in my stomach.
“Did momma check if you had a fever?” Shiloh turns his line of conversation toward me. “When I’m sick and momma says I have a fever, she puts her hand on my head like this.” He places the back of his hand on his own forehead to demonstrate.
“Uh, no buddy. Your momma didn’t check my temperature.” I try to keep a straight face, the corner of my lips twitching as I try to hold in my laughter.
“Okay, Lo!’ Josie pushes her chair back and stands. “Your bus is going to be here soon. Go get your shoes on”
Like we didn’t just have a conversation about how his parents called me hot, he gets up from the table and runs toward the front door. My eyes move back to one of the two people who have captured my attention. At the sink, Josie scrubs away at a frying pan. Seeming to attempt to avoid thehottopic at hand.
That’s not happening. Because now I want to see if I can make her squirm.
Watching that Shiloh is currently in the process of putting his shoes on, I close the distance between Josie and I. Leaning my ass against the counter top, crossing my arms over my chest. Keeping my eye on the tiny human who just ratted his parents out.
“So are you wanting to take my temperature?” Leaning closer, a smirk on my face, I speak low for only her to hear. “You know because you and your husband seem to think I’m hot.”
Josie fumbles with the pan, dropping it with a clank. She quickly picks it up, rinses it and puts it in the dish rack before facing me. “Oh you know, kids always say the craziest things. Especially when they’re sneaking around.” A chuckle leaves her lips as she dries her hands on her thighs.
“I’m ready momma!” Shiloh yells from across the room.
“Let me just get Evie set up with the carrier so we can get your brother set up then we’ll head out buddy.” Josie brushes past me, leaving a trail of ripe peach mixed with the soft undertones of white tea. A scent so gentle it shouldn’t have the effect it does on me. Her scent invades my senses, sinking deep- blanketing peace into my core, filling a space that I didn’t know was waiting to be comforted.
The thought startles me, shaking me out of how easily her smell could become a craving. Redirecting myself to the baby swing, where Hayes lays peacefully. Needing that distance from her intoxicating scent I choose to focus on the tiny human I was hired to be here and help with. Moments later Josie comes over and hands me a sling carrier. I’ve seen these brands before but I’ve never used them.
“Here, get your jacket on and then let me show you how to get situated.” Quickly I grab my jacket, zipping it up before returning to her side. Josie steps into my space as she lifts the sling over my head, resting one side on my right shoulder. She moved the ring, adjusting the length of the ring before instructing me to pick up Hayes. Her soft tone directs me how to place him into the sling and explains how to adjust him tighter to my chest so he’s nice and snug.
She steps back with a soft smile on her face, “perfect, he should stay asleep while he’s in there, and now you have both hands free.” Looking down, I take in Hayes' face as he sleeps peacefully in the sling. He suckles at the soother in his mouth as he sleeps. He nuzzles his face closer to my body, as iftrying to absorb my heat.
After getting our own shoes on, we make our way to the end of the driveway to wait for Shiloh’s bus to arrive. The crisp winter air hits my lungs, reminding me that we are still in the thick of winter. Bringing Hayes closer to my body, I watch as Shiloh keeps himself busy by jumping in the snowbank nearby.
“What do we have on the agenda today once Shiloh’s off to school?” I ask casually. Breaking the ice after what happened in the kitchen. While it thrills me to know the attraction between the three of us is mutual. I can’t act on it while I’m working for them.
“I thought we could keep it simple for today.” Josie watches as the bus begins to come down the road. “There’s no appointments today, so I figured I could just show you the ropes around the property and the house.”
“Sounds good to me” I reply.
Getting Shiloh up and on the bus was easy enough. The little guy was excited to get started with school. Once we shuffled back into the house Hayes was up and ready for a feeding. I changed his diaper and then got him settled with Josie.
