Diagnosis: Daddy (Doctors in Training 1)

“Okay.” Sliding out of her chair, Alexis turned toward the doorway.

“Put your dishes in the sink first,” Mia told her quickly.

“Okay.” Alexis quickly and carefully cleared her place, then dashed out of the room.

“Making her bed, clearing the table…You’re certainly starting her out right,” Connor commented, still toying with his own breakfast.

“I figure it’s easier to instill good habits from the beginning rather than to try to break bad ones later. It’s my sister-in-law’s child-raising philosophy, and it’s working out well for her.”

“You’re lucky to have her as a role model. Because I was an only, I haven’t had any nieces or nephews to observe. Just the older kids I taught at school—and there were plenty of them who could have used some early training.”

“I know. Another incentive for us to start out right with Alexis.”

He nodded somberly, his thoughts hidden from her. He sounded as though he approved of her tactics so far, so she didn’t know why he looked so broody. Maybe he had schoolwork on his mind that morning.

Rising, she carried her own empty dishes to the sink, rinsed them and Alexis’s and set them all in the dishwasher. “We’ll be leaving in a few minutes. Will you be here when we get home this afternoon, or are you meeting your study group?”

“I’ll probably be in gross anatomy lab until late this evening. My dissection group is meeting there this afternoon.”

She nodded. “All right. Let me know what you’re doing for dinner so I’ll know whether to hold a plate for you.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Wondering if he was often so serious in the mornings, she left the room to collect her purse and school tote. She and Connor had decided that she would drop Alexis off at her school on her way to work, then pick her up that afternoon. It was little extra trouble for Mia because Alexis’s school was on the way to the one where Mia taught.

She and Alexis had to go through the kitchen again to reach the two-car carport where she’d parked. Connor was still sitting at the table, finishing another cup of coffee as he looked over some notes before class.

Mia put a hand gently at the small of Alexis’s back. “Want to give your daddy a goodbye hug?” she suggested.

Cooperative as always, if not notably enthusiastic, Alexis approached his chair. Connor leaned down to give her a quick hug and brush a kiss against her cheek. “See you later. Have a great first day of school.”

“Thank you.” She turned immediatel

y to Mia. “I’m ready now.”

It was still early in the father-daughter relationship, Mia reminded herself as she belted Alexis into the backseat of the car. They would grow closer with time, she was sure.

She just wished both of them would try a little harder.

“So?” Natalie leaned a hip against the corner of Mia’s desk during their shared morning prep period later that day, her expression avidly curious. “How did it go?”

It was the first time they’d seen each other since Mia had moved into Connor’s house. “It went very well. Alexis is an adorable little girl, amazingly well behaved.”

“Yeah, we’ll see how long that lasts,” Natalie muttered, glancing meaningfully at the rows of empty desks in the classroom. “But that’s not what I meant. How’s it working out living with Connor?”

Feeling her cheeks warm a bit, Mia shook her head. “You make it sound…well, different than it is. We’re just roommates, Natalie. You know what it’s like to share a house; you told me you had three roommates in college.”

“Well, yeah, but I wasn’t playing Mommy and Daddy with any of them, either.” Natalie had made no secret of her shock that Mia had volunteered to help Connor with his newfound daughter. She had said flatly that she’d thought Mia had gone too far in being a helpful friend this time.

“We aren’t playing Mommy and Daddy,” Mia muttered rather defensively. “Single dad and nanny, maybe.”

“That sounds sort of kinky.”

“You know what I mean. Did you just come in here to give me a hard time, or were you genuinely interested in hearing about Alexis?”

Her friend pretended to deliberate a moment before replying, “Both. So tell me all about it.”

Mia spent the next ten minutes telling Natalie about Alexis’s arrival, about how surprisingly well-adjusted and cooperative the child had been, how excited to start her new school. There had been one moment that morning when she’d seemed to be on the verge of panic when Mia had moved to leave, but fortunately McKenzie had arrived at that moment, greeting Alexis with a gamine grin and a flood of words. Alexis had looked happy again when McKenzie towed her off. Mia was the one who’d lingered a moment, watching her walk away and hoping everything would go well for her.