Page 36 of Mountain Men’s Nanny

“I used to have a mommy. My daddy just doesn’t like to talk about her. But it’s okay. I’m happy here,” Lexi said.

She dipped her hand into the tub and flicked the sudsy water that had rinsed off her hair.

She obviously had a mother somewhere; I just hadn’t given it much thought. I had never had the chance to. I couldn’t ask her. It was too personal, and there was something very wrong with using this sweet little girl who had just started to trust me for information.

“Do you miss your family?” Lexi asked.

“I miss my friend, Holly,” I said honestly. “We worked together and spent many holidays together because we didn’t always get holidays off at the hospital.”

I did miss Holly, but after speaking to her that morning, I didn’t mind not seeing her for this Thanksgiving. Holly was so tied to everything that had gone wrong. I still needed time.

“Is it hard working at the hospital?” Lexi asked innocently.

“Very hard, but I got to help so many kids get better, it was worth it,” I said.

I had gained the perspective you can only get from talking to children. It was the innocence through which they saw the world. I had seen it at the hospital, a constant reminder of what was actually important.

“Maybe I’ll be a handyman like my dad,” Lexi said thoughtfully.

I helped her up and dried her hair. It already looked much better.

“I already know how to fix a few things. Or I’ll be a bodyguard like Gideon, though I’m not sure what he’s guarding us from. Most of the time, he just fixes things and drives everyone crazy with his tidying up,” she giggled. “Gunner hasn’t taught me how to hunt properly yet. Gideon says it’s dangerous, and we can get meat from the grocery store.”

Lexi’s world was small. If anyone had asked me months ago, I’d have said she was at a disadvantage, starved of options and experiences out here, but now I wanted her to stay wild and free, surrounded by love and protection. It must have been what Tobias wanted, why he brought her and kept her out here, away from it all.

“I’m glad you came to stay with us,” she said and hugged me tight.

I didn’t expect it; she almost knocked me over, but I held her. “I’m glad I came to stay, too.”

I remembered a little dress I had bought when we went to Salmon. A cute red checked dress with a bow in the front, I had been too embarrassed to give it to Lexi. It had the same pattern as her flannel shirt, but I didn’t know if she would like it. Now I knew she would.

“I have a gift for you,” I said. “Wait here; I’ll go get it. It’s perfect for today.”

I walked out and smelled the mix of spices, heard the men arguing about a Thanksgiving football game from years ago, and tried to get past them unnoticed.

“Hey,” Gunner said, standing in my way, “What are the two of you doing up there? Napping while we work?”

I gave Gunner a look, “Just wait and see,” and pushed past him, almost running to my room to get dressed.

It was still folded and in the store bag. I tucked it under my t-shirt just in case and fast-walked back to Lexi’s room, ignoring the three pairs of suspicious eyes that followed me up the stairs.

Back in Lexi’s room, I found her waiting by the mirror, preening, running a brush through her hair, surprised with how soft it had become.

“Do you have it?” Lexi asked, jumping up.

I pulled the dress out of the packaging carefully and held it up for her to see. Lexi looked wide-eyed at the dress, touching it as if it were something fragile.

“This is for me?” She asked.

“Of course. Do you like it? I saw it in a shop window and thought of you,” I smiled, handing her the dress.

Lexi covered her mouth, muffling an excited squeal. “It’s perfect. Thank you, Brie!”

She hugged me a second time and immediately put it on before hugging me again.

Lexi touched the bow on the front and ran her finger over the lace trimming the whole time I neatly braided her hair into French braids in front of the mirror so she could look at herself.

Her smile was bigger than I had ever seen it. Her chubby cheeks almost eclipsing her eyes.