Page 4 of Mountain Men’s Nanny

“I need to make this clear right out of the gate. You’re here for Lexi, nothing else. If you’re cold at night, get an extra blanket or something. There are plenty in the closets,” I said irritably.

Brie raised her eyebrows, offended by my insinuation. Her nostrils flared slightly.

“Excuse me?” she asked, looking me up and down. “I came here for the job—looking after Lexi and nothing else. The fact that you’d even think… I have a boyfriend,” she hissed.

“Glad we’re on the same page.” I glared at Gunner. “I’ll show you Lexi’s room, and you can start getting to know each other.”

Brie crossed her arms over her chest, her hands gripping the ends of her sleeves indignantly. She was more offended than she was curious, because even though we had framed landscapes and pictures of Lexi on the walls going up the stairs, she didn’t slow down, didn’t run her hands over the walls like she had been doing since she got here. I walked ahead, glancing back at her every few steps, hearing her matching me step for step, not slowing down until we reached the top of the stairs.

Gideon stood on the landing, watching. I knew that look; he was calculating, watching for signs, reasons to be suspicious, and growing slightly disappointed that he was finding none. I knew how his mind worked; the lack of suspicious behavior didn’t make him any less uneasy, it just made him more observant. We were at Lexi’s door. I could hear her giggling and bouncing around inside, but I also felt Gideon’s eyes on us, still watching, waiting.

I understood. Allowing a stranger anywhere near Lexi wasn’t an easy decision; we had wrestled with it, tried to avoid it at all costs. But the older she grew, the more restless she became. She needed someone we could trust with her, and Brie could be that person in time.

Lexi was quiet, suspiciously quiet inside. One of her games was hide-and-seek. I flung open the door dramatically and ignored the giggling coming from her closet. I stepped over the previously folded pile of clothes on the floor and pushed open the curtains.

“Lexi?” I called.

Brie stood watching from the door, holding back her laughter as I mock-searched the room. I looked under the bed with a flourish.

“Hmmm… I was sure she was in here. I don’t know where she could have gone,” I said loudly.

I made a show of searching the drawers, walking past the row of closets, and thoughtfully looking everywhere but where I already knew she was. Lexi’s giggling grew louder until she couldn’t contain herself anymore, and burst out of the closet in a fit of laughter.

“I’ve been right here all along.”

I grabbed her in a bear hug. “Clever girl. I had no idea where you were!”

I had almost forgotten Brie was there, smiling, the tension from before dissolving in Lexi’s presence.

“This is Brie,” I announced with a smile that was more for Lexi’s benefit than anyone else’s.

“Hi, Brie,” Lexi beamed, reaching out a small hand to shake. “I’m Princess Lexi.”

I ran my free hand through my hair, tossing it to disperse the bundle of nerves collecting inside me.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness.” Brie smiled with a small curtsey.

Lexi wriggled out of my arms to take a closer look at her. She smiled as she walked around her. In her own way, she was making an assessment of the woman in front of us. A woman in the cabin was new to all of us. Only Lexi could so openly show her curiosity. When a little girl did it, it was precocious; a grown man doing the same would be creepy.

“You’re really pretty, Brie,” Lexi said, satisfied with her assessment. “Are you going to stay with us?”

Brie smiled back. “Almost as pretty as you are. I hope we can be friends while I’m here.”

She reached to touch Lexi’s hair, and I instinctively moved to stop her, but caught myself and pulled back, letting her tuck a wild tuft of curls behind her ear.

“Maybe we can go outside, and you can show me all your special hiding places. I want to be just as good as you are at hide and seek,” Brie offered, with Lexi’s hand already naturally in hers.

“Maybe later, princess,” I cut in, nodding at Lexi. “Let’s go get ready for dinner and leave Brie to settle in.”

We walked out ahead of Brie toward the bathroom, with Lexi already asking questions about her new nanny… Where she came from, how long she’d be staying, and what she liked.

I was about to walk into the bathroom when I heard Gideon’s heavy steps in the hallway. I turned to see him block Brie’s path to the stairs.

“I don’t know who you are, where you come from, or if you really are who you say you are, but until I’m sure, you don’t go anywhere with Lexi on your own,” he said in a low and steady voice before stepping out of Brie’s way and letting her walk down the stairs.

3

Harder Than It Looks