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“You don’t need to be hasty,” she huffed.
I laughed, and it was mixed with a little arrogance. “You haven’t seen anything yet. I promise you that my words aren’t just empty promises.” I turned around, but when I reached the door, I looked back at them. “For the record…I stand by Tasha and I don’t have to apologize for her. She did nothing wrong.” I left the office, leaving them both dumbfounded.
I got out to my car and hopped inside, then started it, and backed out of the parking spot. I was ready to get home to Cody and make Tasha aware that I wasn’t taking their side and that’s what really mattered.
The house was twenty minutes from the school. When I got home, I entered the house and found them in the kitchen. Tasha already had Cody sitting down for the food that the cook had prepared for him. She looked up and her face was one that looked worried.
“How’d it go?” she nervously asked.
I shrugged. “I just stated my case. I don’t stand for bullies and I think they should have the same beliefs. If they don’t, then that’s their problem…and it’s going to be a big problem for them. I’ll make sure of it. No one is going to bully Cody around and be protected by the principal.”
She nodded. “I was so upset when I witnessed it. I just had to do something.”
“Thank you, Tasha, for being there for Cody,” I said and looked into her distressed brown eyes. I wanted to touch her hair and rub it back into place, and run the pad of my thumb across her pouting lips, but I refrained from my desire to console her. At least, not in the way I wanted to.
Cody looked up at me. “The cook made beef and noodles, my favorite,” he said with a smile.
I smiled too. “Sounds delicious,” I said.
“Then, I’ll be heading home, so you guys can enjoy your dinner,” Tasha said, breaking me from the moment.
“Why don’t you stay and eat with us?” I suggested. “After all, I think enough was prepared and it would be my way of thanking you for today.” I looked around the kitchen. “Besides, you didn’t try to burn my house down today, so that’s always a plus.” I laughed, so she would sense
that I was really just teasing about that. She looked at me, then down at my nephew.
“Please Tasha…stay!” Cody begged.
It warmed my heart that he’d already grown so attached. When she looked up at me again, she nodded. “I would love to stay and have dinner with you.”
“Good!” I said. I went over to the counter to grab two more plates, then turned around and saw Tasha and Cody were deep in conversation. I smiled knowing she was someone we could both get attached to.
Chapter Seven
Tasha
After we got past the fact that I unwittingly got Matt sent to the principal’s office, things settled into a normal routine of my picking Cody up from school, giggling and talking for a while, getting his homework done and dinner warmed up. I never expected to have a job as a babysitter, but Cody was a wonderful kid, and his uncle wasn’t so bad either. I could get used to the job, especially working for the hottest bachelor in town. Of course, I didn’t speak those thoughts out loud. I stayed on my best behavior, and I didn’t do anything to provoke Matt into thinking that he couldn’t trust me. In fact, I was a pretty darn good babysitter, despite originally not having any experience.
So, when Cody came to me and told me that he wanted to have some guys over after school, I didn’t really think much of it. After all, I was glad to see that he was becoming sociable with some of the other kids from school, especially after the incident with Bobby the bully.
“Sure thing, Cody,” I responded. I was going to be the cool babysitter if it killed me. I didn’t know then that it very well could have.
When I was leaving their house, Matt walked me to the door. “What’s this I hear about some of the guys coming over tomorrow?” Matt asked. He held a little smirk on his lips, which I found sexy and enduring.
I smiled and shrugged. “Oh, Cody told you already? I was planning to talk to you about it before I left, but it’s really no biggie. Just thought it’d be a way for Cody to make more friends. Nothing much actually.”
He nodded slowly. “Ever hang out with three or four ten-year olds?” he asked. The way he was looking at me made me sense that he had a secret of some sort.
I laughed. “Well, no, but how hard could it be? I can take them to get some ice cream, watch them play a game of football, put a movie on. It’s really quite routine.”
He arched an eyebrow, then laughed and shook his head. “You really have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.” He snickered, and it was so cute. “I would pay money to be here, actually.”
I frowned. That was an unusual response. I mean, they were ten-year olds, not toddlers, but Matt was grinning at me and looking so sexy that I really didn’t care if he wanted to tease me with it. I would prove that I could handle a few ten-year olds.
“I’ve got this Matt.” I playfully patted his shoulder and his eyes bore this smoldering heat into mine, causing me to slowly pull my hand away. I didn’t recognize that kind of passion between two people, and I certainly never saw a man stare at me with such hunger in his eyes. I was taken aback and slowly backed up, nearly falling out of the house.
He laughed as if to say that that alone proved I couldn’t handle that many boys. I could feel the blush creeping up from my neck to my cheeks. “You don’t think I can handle it, is that it?” I asked. My tone was quiet and maybe a little hurtful that he had no faith in me.
He shrugged. “Guess it’s not so much that I don’t think you can handle it, it’s just that I’m reminded of how things went on the first day you were here.”
