Page 4 of Falling for Her

“Yeah, I’ll pick him up. You can get him on your way home.”

“Thanks, Burke. Will you let me know when you find a nanny?”

“As soon as I know, you’ll be the second person, trust me. He’ll be well taken care of. I’m not just going to leave anyone with Asa.”

“Fine,” she huffs. “I don’t know why you have to always be so difficult. Bye, Burke.”

“Later.” I hang up the phone and rest my hands on my hips, hanging my head. The kink in the back of my neck gets tighter with all the pressure. I really need to get someone to watch Asa, or I might have to beg my neighbors to help me out, and that’s just not something I want to do. He needs someone stable who will be with him all day, who is part of his routine, instead of getting bounced around from person to person.

I hurry to the garage, knowing Theo is probably waiting for me to end his day. Theo moved to town not long ago to join his cousin Caleb’s contracting company. The two of them stay busy, since they’re the only reliable contractors in the area. I pull open the black metal door and step into the cool air. The space that was open before now has a wall up in the middle of it, which separates the living room from the bedroom and the kitchen from the bathroom. It took him two weeks to totally convert the garage into a place where a nanny could live, and it looks amazing.

Theo is facing the door, leaning on the counter in the back of the room, where we put in a little kitchen area. Nothing big, just a sink with a counter between the refrigerator and the two-burner stovetop.

I see the furniture I bought was delivered today, like they said it would be. To the side is a love seat with a small wooden coffee table. “This is really nice,” I say as I walk over to sit and test it out. “Pictures were right.”

“Yeah,” Theo agrees, putting his phone away in his back pocket, “it’s the perfect size for the space.”

I get up and slide open the barn door to check the queen-size bed I ordered. The bedding is lying on top, and I know I’ll have to come back in and fix it. “The bed takes up most of the room,” I joke with him, looking at the side to see that he made a small closet along the wall.

“We work with what we got.” He chuckles. “It’s homey.”

“It’s perfect. Now, what I need is someone who is going to actually stay in here.”

“How’s the nanny search coming along?”

I shrug. “It’s coming. I have a meeting with someone in about thirty minutes.” I check my watch. “I’m really hoping it works out because it’s coming down to the wire, and I’m trying not to freak the fuck out about it, but I’m actually freaking the fuck out about it.”

“I wish I knew someone—” He pauses. “Actually, Collins’s friend is coming to stay for a while, I think she said.” He takes out his phone again and dials her number, putting her on speaker.

“Hey,” she answers after two rings.

“Hey.” The smile on his face is automatic at the sound of her voice. “Are you busy?”

“No. We just stopped for some coffee.” Collins is one of the paramedics in town, and we’ve even been on a couple of emergency calls together. She’s a local girl who hasn’t had the best luck in her life, mostly because of her parents being awful people. Now that she’s pregnant with Theo’s child, he’s making sure she stays safe and taken care of, which is more than what her parents could ever do.

“I’m with Burke, and you’re on speakerphone.”

“Okay,” she sings out, her tone wary.

“Your friend who’s coming to town . . .”

“Finley? Yeah?”

“Do you know how long she’s planning to stay and what her plans are?”

“Not sure. I know she’s in the middle of a divorce and needs to get away.” He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. I don’t know if I want to deal with someone who is probably bitter that they are going through a divorce. “Why?”

“Burke is looking for a nanny.”

“I don’t know . . .” Her voice trails off. “I’m not sure she’s looking for work.”

“It’d be a good way for her to take her mind off of things,” Theo tells her. “Why don’t you give her a call and see what she thinks?”

“No.” I immediately cut off this plan. “Thanks. But let me see how this interview goes, and then if I still need someone, I’ll call you back.”

“That works,” she agrees. “I can get a feel for it in the meantime and let you know if it’ll be a no-go.”

“That works too. When is she coming to town?” I ask, just in case.