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“Help me in the kitchen, please, Brandon,” my sister said.
“Sure.” I stood back up and followed her. “What do you need?”
Madeline opened her refrigerator and gave me an amused look. “You didn’t tell me your nanny is a blond bombshell.”
“Yes. My nanny is a blond bombshell.”
She pulled a bunch of grapes and some cheese out of the refrigerator. “Wash these grapes for me. Are you… involved with her?”
“Do you want me to tell the truth?” I asked, genuinely curious. “And what makes you think I might be? Just because she’s attractive?”
“You look very comfortable with each other.”
Did we look like we were a couple? I didn’t hate the idea. “You saw us together for sixty seconds.” I took the grapes from her.
“Yes, I want you to tell me the truth. Is something going on? I’m just concerned about the girls.”
“The girls have no idea. We’re keeping it totally on the down low.” I ran the grapes under the faucet and put them on a paper towel.
She put the cheese down on her kitchen island and shot me a look. “That’s a hard secret to keep.”
“It’s fine. Poppy asked to change rooms, so now Dakota’s room is connected to mine.” I gave her a grin. “It’s easy access.”
Madeline held up her hand. “Stop. I don’t need details about my brother’s sex life, thanks. Are you sure it wouldn’t be better for the girls to move here, with us? It would be a stable environment for them.” She pursed her lips. “I just worry about them so much.”
“I know you worry and thank you for caring. But they’re fine. They really like Dakota. She’s firm but fun and they see her as someone they can talk to. It’s been a positive experience for all of us and I need you to trust me.”
My sister stared up at me, studying me. “You look happy, actually. Less stressed,” she said. She bent down and pulled out a charcuterie board.
I kept my voice down low, but the rest of the family was laughing and talking loudly in the other room. I didn’t think they could hear me. “Because I am. I am both happy and less stressed. I can thank regular sex and not having to worry about the girls as much. Both because of Dakota.”
Madeline laughed. “Didn’t I just say no details? But good. As long as you know what you’re doing, that makes me happy, then. You’ve had a rough few years.”
I was about to answer when I saw Dakota was coming down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was wearing different shorts and a T-shirt that said “Surely not everyone was kung fu fighting.”
“I feel so much better, sorry for bolting like that. What can I do to help?” she asked.
“Not a thing. Can I get you some sweet tea or a glass of wine?”
“I’ll take some tea, thanks.” Dakota looked around the kitchen. “This is a beautiful home.”
“Thanks. We just redid the kitchen. That was a nightmare with three teenage boys. They ate more microwavable food than should be legal and I’ll live with that guilt for the rest of my life.”
I handed Dakota a grape. “You should eat something. You barely ate today.”
She smiled at me and put the grape in her mouth. She put it in her cheek like a chipmunk with a nut. “Thanks,” she said.
My sister raised her eyebrows at me.
“What?” I asked her.
“Nothing at all,” she said in a singsong voice. “Dakota, I hear you’re a dancer. Would you be up for going out tomorrow night, us adults only? We can go line dancing.”
“I would love to. I hear Brandon can’t dance. I need to see this for myself.”
“Oh, he’s not terrible. He’s just not good.”
“I’m actually terrible. I stand by
