Page 57 of Frog

“It ain’t funny,” I told him before I rolled him over on his back and made sure he didn’t want to talk anymore.

“I thought we weren’t going to do this?” he asked minutes later between kisses.

“Don’t tease me. I can’t help it. I’ll miss being in bed with you when I’m gone.”

“Like I’m going to let you go.”

I didn’t have it in me to argue with him.

Chapter Six

A MALEnanny, no matter what year it was, seemed to be of interest to a lot of people. The people at Carolyn’s boss’s house were absolutely riveted. I didn’t see what the big deal was, but what was surprising was the acceptance. All those powerful businesswomen, just like Carolyn, and they found me new and shiny and didn’t think it was strange that I was there. It was quite the surprise.

I was complimented on how good the boys looked, how polite they were, and over their manners. They didn’t run around like crazy people, drop anything, or make a general nuisance of themselves. Tristan helped open doors, Micah said please and thank you, and Pip brought the hostess a glass of water because he thought she looked thirsty. They were a hit. I gave all the credit to Carolyn; she volleyed it back to me. Apparently, my manners were wearing off on them, even after only a few days.

To Carolyn’s colleagues, I was her employee, so after the initial novelty wore off, they ignored me. The other nannies were looking for husbands to provide better lives for them or they were going to college, so they all treated me like a buddy. They shared juicy gossip about their employers, told me to stick to my guns when demanding days off, and suggested places to take the kids on outings. They were, as a group, far more accepting then I could have ever imagined. We were all doing the same job. I was one of them, and the shared camaraderie was nice. And while I had no misconceptions that I would always be met with such openness, that they were full of only friendly banter and no harsh judgments was very refreshing.

“Well,” Carolyn said with a sigh as we were on our way home, me driving because she’d had four cosmopolitans, “you were the belle of the ball.”

“Was I?” I teased her because she was a cute drunk—being tipsy made her giggly.

“Oh,” she said and burped, “yeah. I had to tell three of the women who work with me that I was paying you very well and that you did not want to leave my employment.”

I snorted out a laugh. “Did you, now?”

“Yeah.” She hiccupped. “Awww, crap.”

“God, you’re cute.” I smiled at her.

She sighed deeply and after a moment said, “Weber Yates, I wish you liked girls.”

I grunted. “And I wish you could have met my brother. You would have liked him, and he sure as anything would have liked you back.”

“Oh.” Her voice broke suddenly, and she grabbed hold of my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, choked up that fast, the sting of losing him the only pain that had not eased with time. My brother with his quick laughter and wit, his warm eyes that flashed when he was up to no good, and his innate kindness, was a loss that I still felt as sharply as the day the army officers had found me to deliver the devastating news. I had wanted to see him get old.

She sniffled, and I knew without looking that she had teared up.

“He—” I took a breath, glancing over at her, seeing her biting her lip as she looked at me. “—was handsome, you know. He looked like my dad. Dark brown hair and deep blue eyes like your boys. My mama always said that I was the younger, lighter version of him.”

“I wish I hadn’t missed him.”

“Next time around,” I told her.

“Absolutely,” she whispered and took hold of the hand I offered her. “Next time.”

AFTER driving Carolyn and the boys home and taking the Lexus back to Cy’s, I was surprised that his car wasn’t in the garage when I returned. It was late and he was still out, and though I wanted to call him and check on him, see where he was, I had no way to do that as there was no landline in the house. What was interesting, though, was that when I walked into the kitchen, there was a cell phone on the bar. I was thinking that maybe there was someone else in the house, but after a quick walk through, I realized I was alone. When it suddenly played “Desperado,” I figured the call was for me and answered it.

“Very fuckin’ funny,” I grumbled.

“You needed a phone now that you’ve got the kids with you, and I should be able to get a hold of you, right?”

It seemed logical.

“And you might need to call me sometimes too.”

I grunted.