The Bully's Nanny - The Nannies

“Come on. I loved swinging on this when I was a kid. Trust me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, but if anything happens to me, I’m holding you responsible.” She climbed onto the tire and scrunched up her entire face. “Is it done yet?”

He moved around to her back and slowly began to rock her back and forth. At first, she let out a squeal.

“Trust me. Open your eyes.”

With the sun setting, the view before him was breathtaking. Fields for miles overlooked the horizon. A few houses dispersed here and there. It was a truly beautiful view. It made him realize that he was nothing in the scheme of things. Nature was everything.

“Wow,” she said. “And you used to come here regularly?”

“Yes. It helped me to put my life into perspective. I wish I’d come up here more often. I might have been able to change the way I was to you back in high school.”

“You don’t have to keep thinking about it, Drew. I forgive you.”

He held the tire, stopping her from swinging. She tilted her head back and he stared into her eyes. “You forgive me?”

“Yes.”

He cupped her face but he didn’t have a good enough grip. He let go of the tire and she let out a little yelp. It was so cute.

“I thought you said I could trust you.”

“You can.” He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his lips. He hadn’t meant to let it go, but he had. “Oops.” He captured the tire again. “I’ve got you. See, no reason to panic.” He gripped the back of her head. “I will always capture you.”

She pulled away. It was the first time she’d hesitated and froze in his arms.

“Callie, what is it?”

“Tilly,” she said.

“What about her?”

“Your mom, she said something.”

“Ugh, what now?”

“That if Tilly was to come back, you’d do the right thing. That you’d make it work for Meghan.”

“Callie, my parents and I haven’t seen eye to eye over a lot of shit. Don’t listen to them. Tilly will be found when she wants to be, not a moment before. I’ve decided to let the PI go.”

“But think about it. What if it’s true? It’s your daughter’s mother. If Tilly comes back, where does that leave me?”

“It leaves you as my woman because I won’t tell you again, I’m not giving you up, not for anyone. Not now. I won’t make the wrong choice. I won’t make the choice that I think is right. I want you, Callie. No one else. I know it might be hard for you to believe, but it’s you I want. You’re all I can think about.” He held her face, kissed her lips, and he allowed her to feel everything he felt for her.

He didn’t know if this was love, or what it was, only that he didn’t want to let her go.

Kissing her temple, he looked out over the horizon. He’d never shared this with anyone, and it felt rather fitting to finally be able to share it with his woman.

****

The time with his parents wasn’t so disastrous. Meghan got to meet her grandparents, and she got to see the most beautiful sunset. It was hard to believe that only a few short weeks ago, she’d met Drew’s parents.

On a video call to Europe, she talked to her parents and introduced them to Drew. She never admitted to her parents about the extent of the bullying, and certainly not Drew’s name. Her parents had adored him.

Drew also happened to enjoy her parents. It was a win-win, all around.

Now, with only a few weeks to go until Meghan’s first day of school, she had to talk to Drew about how he wanted to approach this.

Callie folded the laundry as Meghan talked nonstop about her day at the park. The boy who kept on bullying her was there but this time, Meghan had ignored him. Callie kept a close eye on the situation as it unfolded, but so far, she didn’t see a reason to pull the two apart.

During school, Meghan would have to learn to take care of herself.

“I’m home,” Drew called, and like every single time when he came home early, Meghan rushed toward him.

She loved to see father and daughter. Their bond was united and sweet.

With the laundry neatly folded, she made her way out to find them chatting. Drew sat on the stairs as Meghan showed him her cut.

“I was really brave, Callie said so.”

“She was running toward the ice cream truck before I could stop her.”

“Did you get an ice cream out of it?”

“Yep, it tasted really good, Daddy. I wanted to get you one but Callie said it would be completely melted by the time we got to your office.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Melted ice cream. Totally gross.”

“Very gross,” Meghan said.

Callie laughed. “Let me get by so I can put this away.”