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Eli’s bedtime is at seven, so Kenna often puts him to bed if I’m working late. I guess he’s gotten used to her methods.
“Kenna’s busy,” I say, but then there’s a voice coming from behind me.
“Not too busy,” Kenna says, wearing a towel, her blonde hair up in a bun. She’s still in her bikini and must have been getting ready to shower. She often checks in on the kids before bed.
“What kind of story this time, Eli? About the conductor?”
Eli nods eagerly, and Kenna perches on the bed next to me, her thigh bumping mine. It’s very frustrating how hard my heart starts to hammer away inside my chest at her nearness.
Kenna sings a silly song about a train conductor who comes across a magical land, and I can’t help but smile, especially when Eli closes his eyes tight.
“Good job, Eli. Imagine the conductor. Imagine the magical world, with the unicorns—”
“And dragons,” Eli all but whispers.
“And the dragons. And you’ll have good dreams.”
Eli’s asleep within moments, and I stare at Kenna, surprised.
“He goes to sleep so easily with you,” I marvel as we walk out into the hallway, shutting Eli’s door halfway. He likes to keep it open in case he has another nightmare. They’d ramped up during the week I was home, I suppose because he could sense my stress.
“He told me he’s afraid of bad dreams,” she says. “So, I told him to think about the story we tell at night and he’ll have better dreams.”
“It works like a charm.”
Kenna favors me with a big, toothy smile. “I’m glad it helps him.”
“Kenna,” I say, and she looks up at me, tilting her head, still smiling. ”I really want you to know how much I appreciate you and what you’ve done for us.”
Kenna blushes. “Don’t mention it, Mr. Ledderman. You’ve done a lot for me too. This job has been a dream.”
The job.
I find it hard sometimes to think of Kenna as an employee. She fits so well into our little family, and I don’t know how to reconcile that with my attraction to her.
“You’ve been a dream employee,” I tell her, and Kenna smiles again, looking away.
“Thank you.”
“I also wanted to thank you for not mentioning...what happened between us....at the hearing.”
Kenna’s smile fades. “Why would I have mentioned that?”
I shrug, panicking a little because it seems like she’s a little upset. Before I can speak again, she shakes her head.
“Don’t mention it, Mr. Ledderman.”
Shit.
I’d gone and put my foot in my mouth again.
18
KENNA
The second I think things are going in the right direction with Derek, he changes course. He was so kind to me, telling me how grateful he was, but then he mentioned the hearing and how I didn’t tell them that we had slept together. Why would I have told them that? What kind of person does he think I am?
He really thought that I would have testified for Suzanna and also outed him about us hooking up. I would only have done that if I had no interest in what the kids really needed.
