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“We are serious,” Jordy said solemnly. “We don’t want to keep you on as Kaylee’s nanny.”
Something in my chest began tightening. “This morning, you teased me about considering other options. I thought that was a joke. You’re serious?”
“Kaylee will be ten in a few months,” Archer said. “She’s old enough to wait for the bus alone. And she can be left by herself at home before we get off work. Especially with Harrison taking fewer contracts with Mathos these days. We just don’t need a full-time nanny anymore. Or even part-time.”
“I hope you understand,” Jordy said.
I felt tears welling in my eyes and desperately tried to wipe them away. “I don’t… I don’t know what to say.”
“This is for you,” Archer said, pulling out a small box. “As a parting gift for a year of good service.”
I didn’t feel like opening a gift and feigning excitement, but my fingers untied the red ribbon automatically and opened the lid. Inside was a single stainless-steel key. I recognized it as a key to the house where they lived. The house we were currently in.
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s a key to our place,” Jordy explained.
“I already have a key to the house.” I reached over to the floor where my jeans had been discarded and came out with my keychain. “You gave me a key when we got back from Baku a year ago.”
“Yes, but…” Archer said. “This is different.”
“It looks the same to me.”
“They’re asking you to move in with us,” Harrison said bluntly.
“Oh.” I looked at the key again. “Oh.”
“You’re a major part of Kaylee’s life, and ours too,” Jordy explained. “We don’t want you to be Trish the Nanny anymore. We want you to just beTrish.”
Now the tears were falling down my cheeks, but for a completely different reason. I hugged Jordy, and then the other two were joining in.
“What do you think you’ll do?” Archer asked.
“I’ll say yes!” I replied. “Of course I’ll move in with you. I practically live here already. Oh, Lisa is going to be so happy for me. She’s been asking when I’m going to finally move in here.”
“No,” Archer said softly. “I mean, what do you think you’ll do with your time once Kaylee goes back to school? You can do anything.”
I frowned as I thought about it. I’d entertained certain fantasies in the last year. What I would do if I ever stopped nannying. For the longest time, I knew that I wanted to take care of a child—or, if I was lucky, children. Nannying for Kaylee fulfilled that desire. But I was more than a nanny, now. I was part of the family. I was getting that fulfillment without it needing to be my nine-to-five job.
“I think I might go back to school,” I said. “Or at least audit some classes at UNCW.”
“Really? What do you want to study?” Harrison asked.
“Video game design. I would love to make my own game. Like Minecraft, but with more gameplay options to build a family. To create a little army of people to fight all the spiders and creepers in the game. Something like that, anyway. I haven’t given it a lot of thought.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Archer said. “Kaylee will love it.”
I smiled. “The game was kind of her idea. She said she wished Minecraft had more players. That’s when I started thinking creatively.” I whipped my head back toward Harrison. “That’s only one.”
“One what?”
“One surprise.Yousaid I hadtwosurprises. What’s the other surprise?”
Jordy and Archer shared a look. “You only told us about the key thing.”
“Yeah. I had something else in mind.” Harrison sat on the edge of the bed. “Been thinking a lot about all this. The four of us. I’m comfortable with it all. Took me a while to get here. But I am. Now I want to try something new. Something you would really enjoy. Something that requires all four of us.”
He stared pointedly at me. I stared back, not understanding.
