Page 22 of Falls From Grace
“I’ll do it.”
Savannah’s head snapped up. Brynn shrugged and gave her a small smile.
“I mean… I’m not, like, qualified. But I’m police checked, first aid and CPR certified and I will definitely do a better job than Megan did.”
“Are you serious?” Savannah stared at her.
“Why not?” Brynn shrugged. “I’m here. You guys are busy. Me and Tucker have a vibe, don’t we, kid?”
“Get up!” demanded Tucker in response, reaching for her. Brynn plucked him from the floor and he settled easily in her lap, looking back at his mama with a proudly smug expression.
“See?” Brynn said. “Tucker’s in.”
“But what about your studies?” Savannah asked. Noah turned and stared at his wife, who avoided his gaze.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I mean, we’ll have to talk hours, but I could do like, half days or whatever, if it helps?”
“Help? You would be a lifesaver. Again, that is,” she realized what she’d said. “You would be my lifesaver.” Why did that sound like a come-on? Why were they both blushing? Why couldn’t she be normal? “I mean, if you’re sure you’re sure,” she concluded weakly.
“I’m sure,” Brynn said simply. Tucker had a chubby fist full of her hair, pulling it between his fingers and stroking it clumsily. Brynn smiled down at him. “We’ll start tomorrow. We’ll have a blast. No more swimming though,” she warned him.
“Go fwimming?” he said brightly, not a care in the world, making the adults laugh. At that moment, Savannah could have kissed everyone in the room.
Chapter Nine
Brynn felt oddly nervous. Not about looking after Tucker; that part seemed pretty easy. Interacting with his extremely attractive mother was less so. It wasn’t exactly sticking to the plan she’d set herself to avoid the woman, but Savannah had looked so defeated, and following on so quickly from seeing her distressed and traumatized, Brynn found she couldn’t help but want to rush to her aid.
On top of that, she just liked the kid. Tucker was sweet and funny and saving him from the lake had left her with a strong sense of responsibility for him. She burned hot with rage every time she thought of his neglectful nanny and the catastrophe that could have been. Not watching kids around water was one of her biggest bugbears, having retrieved more than one near-drowned child from the ocean due to carer inattention. And Tucker was so little.
She’d experienced a moment of true terror when it took more than a second to locate him in the deep water. The relief when she’d grabbed him to the surface and he’d coughed immediately was intense. She couldn’t begin to imagine what Savannah had experienced watching from the beach. Seeing the extent of the distress and relief on the other woman’s face as she clutched her son to her body had brought tears to Brynn’s eyes and she’d had to turn away not to join in with all the crying. Rescuing a child you knew was different, it turned out.
And so when the question of who was to care for Tucker arose, she was damned if she’d let some other young, thoughtless au pair take responsibility for the little boy. The gratitude on Savannah’s face said she was relieved to entrust him to Brynn over another - albeit more qualified - stranger and that, she had to admit, felt pretty damn good.
Maybe too good, as a matter of fact. Hopefully, taking care of Tucker only meant a few hand-off conversations with Savannah at most. After all, the point was that Brynn looked after him so she could go away and work. It would all be just fine. There was really no good reason why she was checking her reflection in the mirror for the eighth time before leaving. Toddlers weren’t generally known for their strong opinions on outfits and hairstyles, she chastised herself, and left for her first day as Tucker’s official caregiver.
There were butterflies in her stomach as she knocked on the door to Savannah’s wing. Stupid, pointless butterflies, but butterflies nonetheless. The door swung open.
“Hey,” Savannah greeted her, and Brynn immediately felt the wind knocked out of her. Savannah was smiling, her golden hair loose, wearing a red knit sweater over leggings, complete with oversized wooly hiking socks on her feet. Brynn knew she had it bad when her brain still read it as sexy. Savannah looked objectively adorable, but she had to pull it together.
“Hey,” she said back, her smile widening without her permission. They looked at each other for a beat, then Savannah stepped back, welcoming her in. She followed the singer into the expansive playroom down the hall where Tucker was standing in front of a wooden play kitchen, absorbed and chatting to himself as he opened and closed the oven door.
“I believe he’s making you coffee,” Savannah said, her voice low and warm to her left.
Brynn’s face cracked into a smile she couldn’t stop as Tucker pulled open the oven to grab out a small wooden cup. He turned and watched her, clutching the cup indecisively, his eyes unsure. She sat down on the floor where she’d stood.
“Oh man,” she looked up at Savannah,“I could really go a coffee right now. I’m super thirsty.”
Savannah shot her a look of such warmth that Brynn felt it in the pit of her belly, before looking over to her son at his kitchen.
“What do you reckon, baby? Is that coffee ready yet?”
Tucker hung back another second before wandering over, cup in hand. He stopped right in front of Brynn and handed it toward her shyly. She reached out her hand for the cup.
“Thank y-” she started, but Tucker wrenched it back.
“Too hot!” he announced and ran back to his kitchen to shove the cup back into the oven.
“Damn.” Brynn looked back at Savannah, whose eyes were sparkling with held back laughter. “So close.”
