Page 7 of Mountain Men’s Nanny

It was going to have to be a meal of compromise: an unfrosted cake flavored with Lexi’s drinking cocoa, canned chili bolognese over macaroni, and a salad of mixed-and-matched veggies from the fridge.

Lexi counted and added the flour scoops. She happily spelled her name with macaroni and learned the food pyramid as we planned our menu. By the time the sun began to set, our dinner was ready to be set up on the dining room table.

Throughout the day, Gideon had somehow blended in with the furniture. I knew he was there somewhere and suspected he had been watching, but I didn’t see him or hear from him until the door flew open.

“Something smells incredible,” Gunner said, announcing his presence.

The cabin was suddenly filled with footsteps: Gunner’s, Gideon’s, and Tobias’s.

“We made dinner,” Lexi announced proudly. “We made macaroni and meat sauce, and we even baked a cake!”

“Really?” Tobias asked.

I stood in the kitchen, ready to report back that our first day was a success, when Tobias strode in, looking around the kitchen in horror.

“Don’t worry, I’ll clean up,” I apologized. “I used the dinner to coax Lexi into doing a bit of math, and she even learned about the food pyramid.”

“And it never occurred to you how much of our rationed food you were using for just one meal?” Tobias asked in a low voice.

“I… I, uh…” Of course I hadn’t considered it. Because it never occurred to me that the food in the pantry was rationed.

Gideon stepped into the kitchen in time to be a buffer between Tobias’s incredulity and my ignorance. “She didn’t know. She was just trying to make school fun for Lexi,” he explained with a steadying hand on Tobias’s shoulder.

“This isn’t the city,” Tobias said, his tone measured. The anger had gone from his voice. “We don’t have grocery stores on our doorstep. We have to go all the way to Salmon to get this stuff.”

He untied his hair and shook it until it lay loose on his shoulders, relieving himself of the tension caused by my thoughtless mistake.

“Just be careful next time. Ask before you use anything,” he said, walking away.

I stood in the kitchen with the threat of tears burning my eyes. This was a mistake. I didn’t know how things worked here, and I couldn’t think of dinner as rations. I walked slowly toward the hallway that led to my suite and sped up, almost running as soon as I was out of sight.

Inside my private space with the door closed, I couldn’t deny what was so obvious: I was qualified for this job, but I did not belong here. I was better off in my apartment, in my city, where I actually knew how things worked, doing a job I actually knew how to do. I never should’ve come out here.

4

A Fish Out Of Water

~

Brie

An evening of fear, tears, and doubt had left me exhausted. It added to the sleepiness I had felt the night before. For weeks, I had been on an emotional treadmill, chasing a peace that was always just out of reach. I slept through the night, woke up on time, and felt renewed. When I checked my phone, it was only 6:30, and the quiet in the cabin felt serene.

I had a text message from Holly. “Just checking in, making sure a bear hasn’t eaten you or something.”

It made me smile to think of her going about her life, from one patient to another, still filled with purpose. I wanted to feel that way again, too.

“Haven’t seen a bear here yet,” I replied, attaching a picture of my view.

I wasn’t about to elicit her ‘I told you so’ or send her into a panic over what had happened last night. I was going to make the most of my time here, though with Tobias’s temper, I couldn’t be sure it would be for long.

I was surprised by the enthusiasm I had after the disaster of my first day. I jumped out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth while staring at myself. I still had the same wavy brown hair, still tied it up in the same bun I had worn to work for years. Something had to change. I couldn’t give myself a full makeover here in a bathroom I had hardly settled in, in the middle of nowhere, but even a small change would do the trick and lift my mood.

I brushed my hair out and left it down. Just that one thing made me relax a little. Let the day flow without trying to control how it turns out. That would be my mantra.

I ignored the anxiety I felt walking toward the kitchen, ignored the questions my conscience whispered about the tension I had walked out on the night before. Instead, I felt the hair touching the sides of my face, bouncing on my shoulders. It felt different; it signaled a new day, a do-over I was gifting myself.

I walked into a kitchen full of laughter, the smell of eggs frying on the stove, while Lexi explained the food pyramid in her own way.