Chance on You (Pub 4)

5 - Needs us

Leo looked at Isla as she stared straight ahead in the front seat. He agreed his friends were nice, but wanted to insist he drive her home. He wondered what she was hiding. The diner was not in the best neighborhood, so it followed her building would be run down like some others. He tried not to judge people on superficial things, but assessed character. Isla was hardworking, good with his children, and cooked ten times better than him.

He took a moment to look at her with her hair in the ponytail. After warning Lilli about her tight bun, the simple change in her hairstyle made her look younger. Leo wondered just how old she really was. Curious about what Lilli thought of the nanny, he would wait until his kids were in bed to find out her opinion.

The silence in the car hung over his head, as he searched for something to say. "Dinner was very good. Thanks for cooking for my friends."

"It's my job."

"Yes, and I need to pay you. I have cash." They hadn't discussed her fee. He had the extra expense of the phone, but it was worth it to see Riley happy.

As he pulled the car in front of the diner, he handed her the bills. "It's a lot of money. Can't I drive you home?"

She already had her door open. "No, it's a one-way street so walking is faster."

"I could walk you home."

"I'm fine, Mr. Nelson."

Her formal response left him feeling uneasy. "Leo is fine."

"Good night. I'll see you on Monday morning."

He pulled away from the curb and drove past the one-way and took the next right. As he rounded the block he saw her walk into a building, he stopped and read the sign. Hope House Women's Shelter.

Leo had hired a homeless woman as his nanny. A long list of questions filled his brain, starting with how had she ended up like that and what was he going to do about it.

He returned to the house to find his children in the fray of cleaning the kitchen. Cody splashed in a pot of soapy water while Riley wiped the table. He envisioned another soapy, slippery floor. What he really saw was happy children.

"Hey guys, did you have a good week with Isla?"

Cody nodded, and Riley said, "Yeah."

"Why? Riley, you have hated every nanny, why her?"

His daughter shrugged. She had her mother's eyes and the same stubbornness. If he were as stubborn, he wouldn't go see her when he went to California, but he knew he would. Was his divorce stubbornness on his part? He pushed his thoughts about Autumn aside to listen to her daughter.

Riley said, "Because I picked her, and she needs us."

His eyes narrowed. What did Riley know? "Needs us?"

"Yeah, well. She was all alone and didn't have a job. She knows how to clean and cook, but she doesn't know how to be a nanny. Nannys are mean."

Cody said, "They boss us around."

Leo said, "I boss you around."

Riley put her hand on her hip. "But you love us. None of the nannies here loved us, not like Teresa."

Leo had tried to fill the shoes of Teresa, the woman who had cared for his kids for two years until they moved.

Lilli said, "She's smart."

Leo frowned. "It still doesn't excuse all the stunts you pulled on the poor women."

Zach chuckled. "Who doesn't notice pepper in their tea?"