Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

“Bye Mommy.”

The door closed behind us and we drove toward his new home.

21

Kaitlyn

I had babysat a thousand times. I even nannied one summer in college. I was great with children. I could have been a teacher. But as I twisted my hands together, I’d never been more scared of a child in my life than meeting Cole’s son Grayson.

What if he was shy? What if he didn’t let me near him? Cole needed my help to get the Dunes ready for the summer season. I had already decided part of that meant watching his child. But what if this was a colossal mess?

I bit the inside of my lip.

The truck pulled into the parking lot. I flattened my palms against my shorts and walked outside.

Cole parked at the end of the parking lot in front of the unit he stayed in. I took a deep breath. I walked toward them, watching him unlock the straps on the car seat.

My heart was already melting. He lifted the tiny person into his arms and turned to face me.

I smiled. “Hi, Grayson.”

“Grayson, this is my special friend, Kaitlyn.”

We hadn’t gone over what he should call me. Special friend sounded strange, but I just had to go with it.

“Can you say hi?” Cole prodded.

“Hi.” His voice was quiet. Adorable.

“I’m so happy to meet you.” I looked at Cole for approval.

“Bird!” Grayson’s finger pointed upward.

Cole laughed. “He’s obsessed with chasing birds on the beach. Birds and trains.”

I saw the bags in the backseat. “Can I help you with his stuff?”

Cole placed Grayson on the ground. “I have an idea. Why don’t you two see if you can find seagulls on the beach while I take everything inside?”

“Really?” I looked down at Grayson. He was already wobbling toward the boardwalk.

“He’s faster than he looks,” Cole joked.

“Ok.” I followed him, taking his hand and helping him up the stairs.

“Do it myself,” he stated.

I laughed. “Got it. Independent like your daddy.” I kept a close distance, not sure how fast he actually could run.

My nerves started to disappear. Running with Grayson on the beach reminded me to have fun. I needed to stop worrying and live in the moment. Live in this moment. With a child I knew I already loved.

22

Kaitlyn

We had two full days to get the Dune Scape into some recognizable form of motel residency. I was ready to take this Wednesday by storm.

“You’re really going to be cutting it close with all that you’ve spent on the renovations and with the utilities you have due at the end of the month.” I had gone over the numbers several times and I was confident I hadn’t missed anything. “If the Dune Scape had just a few more rooms, you’d be able to offset your costs more easily.”