“You know Remi’ll take Elle whenever, yeah?”
I huff a breath at Colt offering up his wife. “Yeah. I know.”
“She’d probably fight you for her,” Fletch adds.
“A five-year-old is easy work compared to our two,” Colt chuckles. “Remi loves having Elle around.”
Remi’s a goddamn earth angel, but she’s already got her hands full with her and Colt’s two kids, Zela and Max. Last thing she needs is me adding to the chaos.
“I can take her before shift change if you’re stuck,” Jayla calls as she passes through from finishing night-shift.
“You’re meant to be going home to sleep,” Beck says without looking up.
“Iamgoing home,” she replies with a wink. “Can still be useful on the way.”
Fletch leans against the doorframe. “And Frankie’d happily take her too. When she’s here, she’s working from home anyway.”
“Frankie’d take in a stray dog if it looked at her cute,” Colt says.
“Exactly. Prime candidate.”
Fletch’s girlfriend, Frankie Monroe, is a new addition to our crew around here. They met through some online dating app at Christmas, it was a whole thing. She’s great with Elle, but she still travels back to the city for work—and when she is here, Mason usually clings to her like a barnacle. Not that I blame him.
Still, the fact they’re all willing to help isn’t something I take for granted. They mean well, they always do.
“Thanks,” I say, shaking my head. “But I’ve got it.”
“He’s got it,” Fletch repeats.
“Stop taunting the man,” grumbles Beck.
I swallow and push off the counter, picking at a stray thread on the rag to give my hands something to do.
Ghost stands up from the table. “Youdoneed some help, though.”
“I know,” I say finally, trying to keep my voice even. “And I appreciate your offers, you know I do. I just need something more consistent for Elle… and for me. But mostly for her.”
Colt’s hand lands on my back. “We got you, bud. But if we’re looking for a new nanny, let’s not be too picky this time, eh?”
I raise a brow. “Ifwe’relooking for a new nanny?”
“As her unofficial favorite uncles—”
“Very unofficial.”
“—I think we should all get a say in who looks after the station’s princess, so yes.”
Fletch snorts. “Yeah, just maybe don’t run them all through a full background check and psychological evaluation this time.”
“I didn’t do that.”
“You absolutely did that,” Colt says.
Ghost nods. “There was a questionnaire.”
“No.” I frown. “It was a form.”
“It was three pages,” Fletcher adds. “And you had sections.”
