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“What?” I ask, startled. I look down at her, and she’s smiling at me.
“Were you watching Daddy?” Evie asks. I shake my head before I can even think of a suitable lie.
“No, I—” I say, then hesitate. It’s just long enough for Evie to jump in.
“Auntie Penelope always says she thinks you two will be good friends,” Evie says.
“He’s my boss,” I tell her, weakly. Penelope has really been pushing for us to get along better, but I keep reminding her it’s Parker holding us back, not me. The man definitely doesn’t seem to be in the market for any friends.
“Am I your boss?” Evie asks. I push her hair back from her face.
“I guess so,” I tell her with a cheeky grin. She picks her book back up and flips to a random page.
“You’re prom… promoted?” she reads. She holds the book up. “Is that what this says?”
“It is.” It’s a chapter where the girl’s dad gets promoted by his boss at a dinner. Evie seems proud of herself.
“Then you’re promoted,” Evie repeats. “Does that mean you get to keep your job?”
“Kind of,” I tell her. “But you’re not really the one who gets to make that decision.”
“If we’re your boss, then we can!” Jackson chimes in. “It’s two against one if Daddy says no, and we’re all the boss, so that means you get to stay.”
“I like your thinking,” I tease, forcing myself not to look out the window at Parker anymore. Instead, I distract them by asking about what they’re reading, but I can’t stop thinking about Parker now. It’s been a week since we started this trial run. Before he left to chop wood like a lumberjack, he mentioned he wanted to talk to me tonight about my “future” with them, whatever that means.
The afternoon passes smoothly, but I get more and more nervous with each passing minute that this’ll be my last day. Parker certainly hasn’t gotten any less abrupt. He’s still short with me all the time and holds himself back as if he has a wall built around him. It makes my crush on him even harder. Ugh, I have issues.
I tell myself to stop regularly, but it doesn’t help. Something about him just pulls me in, even though I don’t want it to considering how closed off he is with me.
Dinner is quiet, and he doesn’t dare talk to me about me being here. He’s probably waiting for the kids to go to sleep so he can fire me and have me gone before they wake up in the morning. Perhaps I’m being a little dramatic, but him being overly quiet is making me nervous.
It doesn’t take long after dinner for Evie and Jackson to take baths and fall asleep.
Considering we didn’t have our talk, I’m thinking maybe Parker changed his mind. I go to my room, busying myself before bed. I’m folding clothes, and when I look up, he’s leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. It startles me, and I jump. I’ve been waiting for him, but he caught me off guard.
“Oh my God.” I rest a hand over my chest, trying to will my heartbeat to slow down.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” His voice is the most sincere I’ve ever heard him, which gives me hope.
“It’s fine,” I say, waving him off. “I just wasn’t expecting you.” Even though I was.
He stares for another second, like he doesn’t know what to say, then motions down the hallway. “I made coffee. Decaf. If you’re ready.”
It feels
like the last supper, like following an executioner to the gallows, but I follow him anyways. I know I should probably be mentally preparing myself for the worst—like being told to pack my things, I’m going home right now—but I want to be optimistic. I know the kids have been doing so well since I arrived, and I can’t help but feel he really has appreciated my help. It makes me want to stay all the more to make a difference in the kids’ lives.
Parker sets the two mugs of decaf coffee on the table of the breakfast nook. He’s already added the right amount of milk and sugar into mine, which is surprising.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “I didn’t know he paid that much attention, or that he cared enough to actually use the information in any meaningful way. I pick up the coffee and take a test sip, but he’s got it totally right.
“So,” I begin because its clear Parker hasn’t thought through how he wants to start the conversation. “How do you think the first week has gone?”
Parker glances up at me as if surprised I spoke up first.
“It’s been fine,” Parker says. “The kids like you a lot.”
He stops there, so I prod him a little. “But?”
