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“Poor thing,” Krissy said. “I can’t even imagine.”
“I didn’t go to the funeral, so I really don’t know the girl at all. I don’t even know my dad’s best friend or anything. I guess they were in the military together, so you know how that goes. They get all bonded with each other and shit, so I’m sure when my dad heard that he needed someone to help with his kid he thought of me right away, and when his friend heard that I was looking for a job, well, who better than his best friend’s daughter?”
“The only thing more perfect would be if he had an older son and you were going to be wed,” Krissy teased.
“Yuck, arranged marriage? I don’t think so!” I shot back.
“Seriously though,” Krissy continued. “You’re going to be down in the Keys! What better time to pick up someone, huh? I always thought I was going to get myself some cowboy over here in Nashville, but it’s the Keys where you’re getting the hot guys.”
I laughed again. “I’m going down there for the purpose of taking care of a kid. I’m not going to have the time to go out and find some hot boyfriend.”
“Just take her with you to the beach or something. Or like when she’s in school. You know you’re going to have to drop her off and then what are you going to do with your day? Just lay around the house and do nothing? I’d be bored as shit if I were you. Might as well have some fun while you’re down there.”
“I’ll probably take the time I have away from the kid to find some online work,” I said. “But the way you put it, I might have to take my computer with me and work down on the beach or something to see if I can snag one of these hot boyfriends while I’m at it. Though he might not find me as enticing when I tell him I have to leave to go pick up my kid from school.”
“Don’t say she’s your kid, you idiot!” she laughed. “Tell them you have to go pick up your rich boss’s kid. Throw in the word rich and act like you’re making bank, then he’s going to be in hook, line and sinker.”
“You’re delusional,” I teased. “Why don’t you get the hot cowboy, find out if he has a twin, and the two of us can just be in-laws and happy for the rest of our lives?”
“Slow down, if you’re in the Keys, you bet your ass I’m going to come down there and snag up a hot guy at some point. How long are you going to be down there?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I still have to talk to him. My dad gave him my number, and I’m waiting for his call. Speak of the devil.”
“What?” she asked.
“He’s calling me now. I’m going to hang up and find out the deets about this gig, and I’ll call you right back after, okay?”
“Sounds good,” she said. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, talk soon,” I replied. I ended the call and answered my dad’s friend.
“Hello?”
“Hello Erin?” he asked. I was immediately struck with how deep and sexy his voice was coming through the line. I didn’t have any idea what he looked like, but his voice was something I could listen to all day long.
“That’s me, Mr. Neilsen?” I asked.
“Stephen Neilsen,” he said. “But you can just call me Neils. I’ve gone by that for as long as I can remember, and I prefer it to anything else.”
“Got it,” I said. “Dad said you were going to be calling with the details about the help you need. I’m all ears.”
“That’s right,” he told me. “I’m sure he told you the basics. I have a twelve-year old daughter who is a bit of a handful. She’s been through an awful lot, so I don’t want to subject her to someone who isn’t going to follow through with what I want them to do.”
“I can only imagine,” I said. “Yes, he told me she was twelve, and a little of what she’s been through. But he was pretty vague on the details overall.”
“Basically,” he said. “I’m writing a book. I’m wrapping it up now, and I’m going to be going into the editing and publishing side of things. I know you went to school for something English related, so you probably have an idea of the work involved with a project like this.”
“I do,” I said with a laugh. “With any luck, I hope to either work for a publishing company one day or open my own.”
“Maybe you could give me some pointers along the way then,” he said. “But right now, I need someone who can help me with my daughter while I’m pulling the long hours that goes into this part of the process. She has to be taken to school and picked up, and I want her entertained on her days off. On top of that, I don’t want her to have to fend for herself when it comes to taking her lunches to school or having snacks or dinner after. Really just the basics. Overall, I tend to keep the place pretty clean, and she has her own chores and hobbies she does. I don’t need you to come down here and be the maid, more like you’re going to be a nanny who just keeps her going in the right direction while at the same time being the adult in the dynamic who can do the things she can’t yet.”
“Sounds pretty straightforward,” I said.
“It is. But perhaps the most straightforward thing is that I expect you to do your job without overstepping."
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
“I mean if you know some of the story that happened to her, then you know enough. There’s no need to ask her about the accident, or to talk about her scars. Especially her scars. I let her choose what she wants to wear, and I don’t need anyone to change that, got it?” he asked.
