The next few hours went by in a blur as Riley and Erin got to know each other. She was a little spitfire just as her father had warned her, but it was extremely charming to see her running around and making adventures wherever she went. The child was highly imaginative, and just a little bit older than Lily. She was a natural leader and Lily was swept away by the magical tales Erin spun, creating world after world of fantasy for the children to take part in.
Riley was swept away by the whole process, contributing her own quirks and enjoying the girl’s colorful world.
“I’m hungry,” Erin finally announced.
“You are, huh?”
Erin nodded firmly. “Yes. What about you, Lily?”
“I’m hungry!” Lily repeated, jumping up and down and holding onto Erin’s arm.
“Okay then,” Riley said. “I’m going to get some dinner ready now. Do you two want to watch a movie?”
“Yeah!!”
Riley smiled and sat them down in front of the television set. The movie would calm them down enough to get in the mood to eat. She headed to the kitchen, nervous. This was always a defining moment in her relationship with the children. If they didn’t like the first thing she made for them, then they might end up having issues with her further down the line.
At first, it had been disastrous. She was a human, and had never really taken shifter cuisine into consideration. They were widely known for having incredible senses, and the food they created was always an unbelievable culinary experience. She had gotten lucky that the shifter royalty had been so invested in her as a caregiver for their children, because they paid for her to receive royal training in food preparation. It had been an incredible honor, and now, she knew just as well as any other shifter in the world how to prepare shifter cuisine.
Still, royal credentials meant nothing to a picky four-year-old child, and Riley was prepared for the worst. She headed into the kitchen and surveyed the cabinets and refrigerator, hoping for some indication of what the child might like to eat. She didn’t want to ask, in case she couldn’t deliver, and besides that, with the shifter children, in particular, giving them the choice over meals could give them the wrong impression. The last thing she needed was to let any child think they were dominant over her. Especially if it was going to be a long-term arrangement.
Finally, Riley had an idea of what it was she wanted to prepare and began quickly, her mind racing. But she couldn’t go back now; she would have to hope for the best. If Erin didn’t like it, she might consider making something new to try to make a good impression on the girl. But she didn’t want to give away her dominance to a child, and more than likely, she would end up having to fight the child to eat something she didn’t like.
But hopefully, the meal would be enough to satisfy her and she hadn’t just chosen something that Erin’s father would have preferred. Riley wouldn’t know until it came time to eat.
“Dinner time, girls!”
Lily and Erin came running in, giggling excitedly. They sat at the table together, and Riley served them; first Erin, then Lily, then finally herself. When Riley sat down, she gazed subtly at Erin, hoping to gauge the child’s reaction.
“This looks good!” Erin said after a few moments of silence. “My mommy made this before, but daddy says his cooking is better than hers.”
Riley grinned despite the child’s serious tone and gave her a gentle nod.
“Maybe you can try my cooking now. If you like it, I can make it again for you sometime. How does that sound?”
“Good!” Erin said.
Riley winked at her daughter, who was watching the exchange curiously. Lily would be four in about five months, and she thought Erin was the greatest thing in the world. Hopefully, the feeling would last.
“Now, how about we all try a bite at the same time and decide whether we like it or not!”
“Yeah!”
“One…two…three! Take a bite!”
They all took a bite, and Riley almost cried in relief when the girls continued to smile and eat, chattering with one another about the games they had been playing earlier in the day. It wasn’t going to be a fight, and for that, Riley couldn’t have been more grateful.
“You made this better than my mommy,” Erin said decidedly, breaking into Riley’s thoughts. “And better than my daddy, too.”
Riley laughed at the blunt observation and nodded. “I had training.”
“What’s training?” Lily demanded.
“It’s when you get a lot of practice with someone who is better at something, or you train yourself with books, until you’re as good as the people that taught you.”
“Are you training me?” Lily asked, frowning thoughtfully.
“Um…kind of?” Riley said, smiling at the question. “I hope I am training you to be an honest, responsible person. But usually, they say mommies and daddies raise their children, not train them.”
“My mommy is gone!” Erin exclaimed, looking from Riley to Lily with wide, serious eyes. “My daddy trains me!”
“Raises, honey,” Riley said gently. “And your daddy loves you so much!”
“He does,” Erin said with a nod, taking another bite of food.
“My daddy is gone!” Lily exclaimed, looking from Erin to Riley with wide, serious eyes just as Erin had done.
“Really?” Erin asked, gasping as if it were the worst secret in the world. Then a responsible, thoughtful expression crossed her face and she patted Lily’s shoulder. “That’s okay. Your mommy loves you very much!”
Lily was placated, and Riley stayed silent, watching this strange, brutally honest bonding moment between the two young girls. It was sweet in a way, and horribly sad, and maybe even a little bit cute, but this time, she couldn’t bring herself to smile. There was nothing good about children missing a parent, and if she had it her way, both of them would have a mommy and a daddy so they would never question how much love they were entitled to. All children deserved security, and she only wished she could provide that to them all.
***
By the time Walker came home, both girls were fast asleep on the big living room couch together; Riley was rocking in the chair beside them and reading a book.
“Hey,” he whispered, stepping into the room and smiling down at his sleeping daughter. “How did it go today?”
“It was magical,” Riley said, laughing softly. “Are you hungry?”
Walker grinned. “Always.”
Riley smiled, a little bit taken aback by just how handsome Walker was. She had been doing everything in her power not to notice it, but with him standing right there in the dim light of the living room, his features shadowed and chiseled, it sent a shiver through her that she hoped was masterfully hidden. Shifters could sense everything, and there was no way a man like this would ever be interested in a woman like her. She was an intellectual…or she had been before she had gotten pregnant with Lily. After that, she hadn’t been able to pursue any sort of education and had to simply continue being a nanny for whomever wanted to utilize her skills.
Her rich Aunt Margaret had gotten her into the trade when she was in high school, hoping to earn some extra money, and soon, she was being talked up and traded all over the state, until finally, upon having Lily, she had agreed to take a position amongst the shifter elites. It had gotten her by for the first few grueling years of Lily’s life, but for some reason, this year had been the hardest yet.
“Wow, look at all this,” Walker exclaimed with a low whistle. The table was still set, though Riley had already washed everybody else’s dinner dishes.
“The girls seemed to enjoy it.”
“Marcus mentioned you had some culinary training,” Walker said, smiling down at the food on the table. “I have to admit, that’s part of the reason I was hoping to hire you. The kid and I are both kind of foodies.”
Riley smiled and joined Walker at the table, where he began to eat and didn’t stop until every crumb was finished off his plate. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride at being able to please this man so much, and soon, they were immersed in a deep conversation about their daughters and the special bond they shared.
But when Riley mentioned Erin’s outburst at dinner about her mom being gone, Walker’s smile faded and he looked down at his hands, as if at a loss for words.
“It had to be pretty painful, losing your wife like that,” Riley said quietly after a moment of silence. “I assume the two of you were close.”
“Like two peas in a pod before Erin was born. But afterward, everything started changing. I mean, Molly had her own issues as it was, but with a baby in the mix, she just couldn’t really handle things. I thought getting her some help, maybe counseling, would make things easier, but she didn’t even want to try. We had an appointment and then she just took off. Didn’t even leave a note. I found out the hard way when her mother sent a letter asking me to box her things up and send them across the country.”
“What the hell?” Riley murmured, shocked that anybody could be so callous. “What did you do?”
“Well, I sent them,” Walker said, shrugging. She felt a surge of warmth toward the man. He was simple; moral and upright. He would probably always do the honorable thing.
But then, it was hard to judge someone so closely after only knowing them a day or two. Riley was intelligent, and had learned well how to read people as part of her training in dealing with the shifter royals, but still, she preferred to know someone over a long period of time before making any judgments.
“That was really decent of you,” Riley said quietly. It was clearly a painful subject for him, but he seemed willing enough to talk about it. Still, she was worried she was crossing some sort of line, and wondered whether or not she should change the subject. Before she did, though, Walker kept talking.
“I had no idea just how miserable she was. A lot of people say it was post-partum depression, but the truth is, she had been that way for a long time. I never had the heart to correct them, though. For some reason, even after she had left me and Erin, I wanted to preserve her reputation. It’s messed up, right?”
Riley looked down at the table, a little embarrassed to be put on the spot about such a personal and emotional time in Walker’s life. He seemed to think nothing much of it and held her gaze, a small smile creasing his lips.
“Yeah, it’s absolutely messed up. I just can’t imagine anyone being able to leave their child…”
“Well, some people just aren’t cut out to be parents. You can’t really hold that against them. It’s probably better to let them go than to stick around and make the kid’s life hell because they don’t know how to handle their own issues. You know?”
“I never thought about it like that,” Riley said softly.
“I’ve put some thought into it,” Walker said. “So, is Lily’s dad in the picture?”
Riley groaned and sat back in her chair with a deep exhale.
“That bad, huh?” Walker asked.
“Yeah…the guy was a complete and utter asshole. He split as soon as he found out I was pregnant. Like, left the country split. I think he’s off in Europe somewhere, trying to live the life of his dreams.”
“Seriously?” Walker said, his voice deep and eyes dark. Riley shrugged.
“Yep, seriously.”
“I can’t even imagine…”
“It’s all right, though. My aunt helped me get a good gig, and Lily and I have always managed to make it on our own. I’m pretty darn lucky if you really think about it.”
“That’s right, you are,” Walker said, his handsome face bright. “That’s a good attitude to have. My wife was always so doom and gloom. It got to be a bit much sometimes.”
“I can imagine,” Riley said. “I get so anxious around negative people. That might be why I love working with children so much. They are always ready to move on from the tears and on to the next adventure. Even if they’re sulky, they’re not negative. They try to see all the possibilities in the world. It’s kind of a beautiful thing.”
“Children certainly are a blessing,” Walker agreed, his handsome, rugged face breaking out into a boyish smile.
Riley hadn’t anticipated him to be quite so kind, but now that she saw he was, it was a side she knew she wouldn’t soon forget.
She looked down at her watch and cursed suddenly.
“It’s so late! I lost track of the time…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, I had to talk with the landlord in the morning about seeing if maybe the eviction was negotiable…it’ll be fine, it’s just really hard to get Lily up and around when she hasn’t slept well, you know.”
“Oh, I know all about that,” Walker said, standing. “Thank you so much for dinner. You don’t have to do that, you know. I’m paying you to watch my kid, not feed me.”
“Call it a perk,” Riley said, resisting the urge to wink at him. It would have been purely friendly, and yet, something in her told her not to cross that line. It would be better not to let herself have any feeling for him whatsoever. He was her boss now, more or less. That meant everything had to be as professional as possible.
“Well, I appreciate that. I’m a pretty busy guy.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” Riley said, walking briskly into the living room. “Come on, honey, it’s time to go.”
“Noooo!”
Lily’s protest roused Erin, who looked from Riley to her father in confusion.
“Don’t worry, we’re coming back. Tomorrow?” Riley asked Walker. Walker nodded. “When you’re done with your landlord, if that works.”
“Absolutely,” Riley said, smiling despite Lily’s tired struggles.
“All right then,” Walker said, his handsome face bright with a smile as he lifted Erin effortlessly off the couch and strode toward the door to see them out. “See you tomorrow.”