Page 37 of Mountain Men’s Nanny

When we’d finished, she twirled and curtsied. It was still Lexi, still recognizable, but a version of her I hadn’t seen in all the time I had lived with her, taking care of her every day.

I walked out ahead of her as Tobias laid the goose in the middle of the table, surrounded by the decorations Lexi had helped to make. I watched him see her walk down, his eyes glassing over, filling with tears he wouldn’t let anyone see fall. He wasn’t the only one; both Gideon and Gunner were staring at Lexi as if they’d never seen her before.

Gunner spoke first. “Congratulations, Tobias. It’s a girl.”

Even his laughter wasn’t as loud and boisterous as it usually was; it was quieter. It covered the fact that, like Tobias, he was gobsmacked.

“You look beautiful, Lexi, as always, but today just a little extra,” Gideon smiled. He said what they all thought.

Lexi ran up to Tobias, and he held her, hugging her and maybe dabbing at his eyes, but I couldn’t be sure.

Gideon walked with me to the kitchen away from Gunner, who had scrounged up a camera and clicked away at Tobias and Lexi.

“You know Tobias does his best, and we do our best to help him,” Gideon said softly. “But there are so many things we just can’t know. Neither of us has ever been a little girl, so we’ve been raising Lexi with what we know, and having her live like a little boy was just easier.”

He sounded sorry, as if seeing Lexi like this made it clear that they had all missed something.

“But she’s always been happy,” I tapped his back. “Which is more than I can say for most little girls I know.”

Gideon nodded and quickly changed the subject before we entered emotional territory.

“So the potatoes are a little crisp,” he laughed, pulling out a tray of potatoes that were a few minutes past golden brown.

“They’re perfect,” I smiled.

I took the tray back to the table. Gunner and Lexi were having a full-on photoshoot, Lexi posing with books by the window, sitting on the armchair. I was watching them when I felt Tobias’s hand touch mine. I looked up to find him waiting.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

18

Stop, Drop, And Roll

~

Brie

It hadn’t snowed in days. I didn’t ever think I would miss seeing the ground, the rough winter grass, mud patches, or damp dirt, but I did. Still, the air in the cabin was lazy. We were all in full holiday mode. Slow, quiet mornings spent sipping coffee in bed before negotiating just 30 more minutes of lessons with Lexi until her school day is done.

It still looked early, but I had already been in bed for as long as I could stand. I got dressed and ready for the day, hoping for some company. The fire was already lit in the living room, and Tobias sat reading the news on his laptop with a cup of coffee in his hands. He took slow, steady sips and didn’t look up when I walked in.

“There’s coffee in the pot,” he said.

His voice sounded cheerful. He was still basking in the afterglow of Thanksgiving dinner. Lexi had softened. She was more childlike. She had always been free and spirited, but there had also been something very grown-up and guarded about her that wasn’t there after Thanksgiving, and it made Tobias softer, too.

“Where is everyone?” I asked, making my way to the kitchen and pouring my coffee.

“Gunner is getting ready to go out hunting,” Tobias said, pointing at Gunner with his coffee mug as he came down the stairs.

“And you should come with me,” Gunner smiled. “Consider it part of your wilderness education.”

A few months ago, I would have said no instantly. Nothing about stalking and killing an animal appealed to me. After weeks of living out here, I finally recognized the circle of life; the bird Gunner had shot tasted much better than any turkey I had bought at the grocery store. It was a different way of life, and I wanted to be part of it all.

“I’m going too!” Lexi squealed, bounding down the stairs, past Gunner, and into Tobias’s lap. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

The sudden noise in the house must have brought Gideon down. He looked around, mumbled a good morning, and started getting breakfast going.

“Brie and I are going hunting with Gunner,” Lexi said excitedly. She bounced around the living room with a big grin on her face.