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“You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, Eli has Little League and my sister Regan is working a double shift at the hospital, so we’re watching the kids for her today.”
“We?” I said, my eyes shifting from pint-size Savas, to pint-size Savas, to Leo. “Ah, I’m not a babysitter.”
“You are my assistant. I need you to watch Lyssa while I take Eli to his game.”
I took a few steps toward Leo until only he could hear when I whispered harshly, “This is not in my job description.”
Leo grinned. “She’s five. You can’t honestly be scared of a five-year-old.”
I glanced at the girl. She was swaying and humming while looking me over like a life-size Barbie. Yep, I was totally scared. “Why can’t you just take them both with you?”
“Because Lyssa likes it here, and I can only stay at Eli’s game until my other sister gets off work. I have to get back here for back-to-back meetings this afternoon, Red. You know that.”
“I figured all Savases would somehow work for the company.”
Leo shrugged. “My sisters were never interested in the family business. They have their own careers and own lives.”
I opened my mouth to argue but he cut me off. “Regan is working late unexpectedly. This is what family does. I’ll come find you when I’m done with my meetings. Have fun.” He looked at Eli and said, “Let’s go, buddy.” With that, two Savas men left me standing with the one job I had no experience in: childcare.
I pulled out my tablet.
“What are you doing?” Lyssa asked.
“I just need to Google a few things real quick . . .” like how to take care of a five-year-old.
“Wanna play horsey?”
Keeping my eyes on my tablet, I asked, “Is that what you were just playing with your uncle?”
“Yeah!”
“Then no.”
She frowned. “You’re not nice.”
Uh oh. I needed a new tactic. I didn’t want her reporting back to Leo. “Sure I am.” I tried for a smile but she obviously saw right through it. “I just don’t think rolling around in my work clothes is a wise idea.”
She looked me over as if contemplating what I had just said. “Okay, I can see that.” That made me smile for real. A child with logic? Maybe this kid thing wasn’t so bad. “Looks like you need to change then.”
Crap.
“Or, we could do something else?” I offered, though I had no idea what to back that up with.
“Like what?”
“Um, you could sit quietly . . . maybe in a corner or something?”
“That’s a timeout and I’m being good.”
Right. Okay, so sitting quietly was out. “How about you read a book?”
“I can’t read . . . not very well.”
She did that swaying thing again and looked at her feet. The expression on her face was kind of pitiful and sad. “What if I help you read?”
She lit up and smiled at me. “Do you have the Cinderella book?”
