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“Can we go back and see George?” Henry asked.
“Hen, bud, we’ve got to get back home,” I said. “We can see George another time.”
“Aww…”
I turned my attention back to Mac. “Go on.”
“Yeah. So, she was good to Henry, and showed a real knack for taking care of him.”
“Sure. I can’t argue with how good she was with the little guy. All the same, shehasa job—she’s got Downing to handle.”
“Not so much in the winter,” he replied. “Even with those animals, with no crops to worry about she’s going to have her workload cut in half. So, I’m thinking a gig just a quick drive over where she can make a little extra dough during the off season might be right up her alley.”
Mac was starting to make a little sense. All the same, I wasn’t sure yet if I was on board.
“But that’s all assuming she wants to do it.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. “She might turn us down the second we bring it up.”
He shrugged. “If she does, she does. Just saying that we’re looking for a nanny, and she might be exactly what we need.”
I wanted to find a way to shoot him down, to tell Mac that he was being crazy. The more I thought about it, however, it started to sound like a good idea.
“Plus, I got a good sense from her.”
“A good what?”
“You know… what the kids call avibe.”
That got a laugh out of me. I wasn’t that much younger than Mac but hearing him use kid lingo like that was kind of funny.
“You mean, she passed the vibe check?”
“Huh? Sure, I guess. I’m just saying, I trust my gut when it comes to this sort of thing, and I got nothing but good feelings from her. You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same way.”
I shifted my weight, trying to think the matter over.
“I mean, yeah. She was nice, good with Henry and seemed to be level-headed. Just saying, it’s a little out of character for you to make a decision like this so quickly.”
“Who said I decided? We still need to talk to the others before we present the idea to her, and even if she agrees, you bet your ass she’s going to get a background check.”
“Right. We still need to be on the safe side, of course. But damn, I guess I have to admit I did get a feeling from her that I haven’t gotten from anyone we’ve considered so far.”
I continued to think the matter over as we approached the huge estate of Thousand Acres. The house was a three-story, colonial-style home with a red brick front, dark blue gables, and a large balcony on each floor that reminded me of something you’d see in the deep South. Two big barns were off to each side, and there were two circles of animal pens to our left and right. The massive garage was big enough for the four trucks we owned, along with a handful of ATVs and motorcycles. Off in the distance, I watched as Marcus finished leading the horses into the barn in preparation for a snowy rest of the day.
We pulled to a stop in front of the house, a set of stone stairs leading to the huge, dark red double doors.
“Let’s talk about it over dinner,” Mac said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Chapter 5
Tyler
“Alright little man, what’s the story?”
Henry’s big eyes went wide as he clapped them onto me. I’d been ready for the crew to come home ever since Mac’s text ten minutes ago and had been waiting for them sitting in the big wingback situated in the nook of the grand staircase.
I enjoyed spending time there. Like the rest of the house, the area was dominated by rich, dark wood, the ceilings sky high and the floors covered with rugs. It wasn’t quite as cozy as the study or the den or the kitchen, but few things were nicer than sitting in the chair with a good book, able to glance up at the huge, arched windows that looked out over the stretch of land in front of the house any time I wanted to.
