Piper Rayne
Griffin
The next day, I sign Maverick up for school. I might’ve seen the smallest of smiles on his lips when he found out there was no uniform at his new school.
This will be the first public school Maverick has attended.
After school is all sorted, I decide to run over to Lifetime Adventures to let Denver know the search for a nanny is off and I hired his sister.
“It says I need all these supplies, and why are they giving me a Chromebook? I have a Mac.” Maverick must have fished out the school welcome package from my bag.
“Because the Chromebooks have the school software. You won’t need your Mac for school.” Surprise, surprise, he zoned out during the principal’s tour.
His grunt says he’s not pleased. “I have to do a test tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? I’m coming from a better school.”
I glance at him in my rearview mirror. I hope he isn’t a condescending snob to the kids at his new school. Sometimes I think I did a piss-poor job of raising him.
But I have to remind myself where he grew up. The boy has never had a chance at a normal life. That’s all about to change now.
“They want to see where you fall compared to your classmates.”
“Um… I’m smarter.”
I blow out a breath, thankful when I spot Denver’s SUV outside Lifetime Adventures.
We can table this talk for the time being, but eventually I’ll have to sit Maverick down and talk to him about not being a pompous ass to his classmates.
We get out of the SUV, and I stop to look at the mountains. Lifetime Adventures has had a remodel since the last time I saw it. The building no longer looks like a rundown cabin.
It’s been cleaned up and has new windows and a new sign.
I give the guy credit. I pegged Denver as one of those forever bachelors, but it looks like commitment has been good for him.
Maverick sits down in the gazebo and pulls out his phone.
“Are you staying out here?” I ask.
He nods without looking up. Please tell me this kid will become an actual kid at some point.
“If a mountain lion comes to feast, run in and get me, okay?”
That garners a look from him. “I’ll come in.”
Finally, one sign that he’s actually eight and not thirteen. LA makes kids grow up too damn fast.
He follows on my heels, sliding in front of me to get into the building first.
“I was kidding about mountain lions,” I say, pressing my hand on his shoulder and squeezing. “Maybe a bear though.”
“Where did you move me to?” He seeks out the first chair and plops down onto it.
“Griffin!” Nancy stands from behind her new desk. There’s no longer an ancient computer at her workstation.
“This place looks great,” I say, hugging her and kissing her cheek. My gaze falls to the large picture behind her with Chip Dawson’s name on the bottom.
“Would you like a cold brew?” She rushes over to the coffee station and opens up a mini fridge. “I’m a master at it now.”
Her excitement has me saying okay even though cold brew isn’t really my thing.
She hands one to me then bends down to Maverick’s face. “Do you want some candy?”
“No.”
I kick the bottom of his foot with my shoe, and his gaze flickers to me.
His shoulders falter and he looks at Nancy. “No thanks.”
She doesn’t give me the look of ‘you should be a better father.’ Instead, there’s sympathy in her eyes.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Denver’s leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed.
“I live here now.”
He shakes his head and already has his hand out before he’s halfway to me. “Someone should examine that head of yours.”
We shake hands and lean in for a hug.
Maverick blows out a breath. “True story.”
Denver gives me a look, and I non-verbally confirm that yes, my kid is still being a little shit about this move.
There’s even a poster of us on the Uncovering America’s Beauty reality show I did with them a while back.
Denver shoves his hands into his pockets and follows my gaze around the room. “Yeah. Business has been good.”
“And Cleo?”
A smile lights up his face, and I’m kind of jealous seeing how happy the bastard is.
“We’re good. Really good.”
I’m not sure I ever looked that way about Maggie. Everything moved fast, and before we could process if we wanted a serious relationship, Maverick was born.
Then it was all juggling schedules and flip-flop parenting. Sometimes I think I drove her into Adam’s arms.
“That’s awesome. I came by to tell you that I found a nanny.”
He signals to the table in the corner, and we pull out the chairs. Opening the fridge, he grabs himself a Powerade. “Mav?”
Surprisingly, Maverick looks up. The kid hates his name being shortened. Denver holds up a Powerade, and Maverick nods, holding up his hands. He catches it.
Denver whistles. “Watch out, shortstop. You play baseball?”
“No.”
“You should with hands like that. Maybe football. My buddy Liam—”
“I don’t like sports.” Maverick unscrews the top of his bottle and leans back in his chair.
“Sorry,” I say.
Denver waves him off. “I get it. You took him away from all his friends. You’re a bastard.”
“Thanks?” I chuckle.
One of the reasons I love Denver is his happy-as-shit attitude. Nothing gets the guy down. Even when we were stranded on the mountainside, he was as positive as ever.
If you put shit on his doorstep and lit it on fire, he’d probably either tell you how to do it better or slap you on the back and say good job. Then he’d kick your ass.
“That’s great about the nanny thing. Sorry I wasn’t much help. I even asked my brother, and he didn’t know anyone.”
I lean back in my chair. “I hired your sister.”
Denver chokes on his Powerade, sitting straight up in the chair, grabbing his throat.
“You okay, man?”
He nods and sips the drink one more time. “Did you say you hired my sister?” He wipes his chin with the back of his hand.
I nod. “Yeah. I ran into her and the three kids she’s looking after right now. I met your grandma too. This really is a small town.”
“Please tell me it was Juno you met?” he asks.
“Juno? No. Phoenix. She’s the nanny, right?”
Denver’s happy mood disappears and his jaw clenches as if it’s turned into granite. Did he not want me to hire his sister? I study him as he pulls out his phone.
“This one, right?” He shoves a picture of Phoenix in my face.
I smile. “Yeah.”
His chest rises and falls.
“Shit. Did you not want me to hire your sister? Is that why you never mentioned her?” I’ll feel horrible if I overstepped.
Then it dawns on me that maybe it’s not a boss/employee relationship he’s concerned about. “Oh, you’re not worried? I mean…”
Denver pockets his phone. “Cleo!”
“She’s in the garage, remember?” Nancy says.
“Right. Page her please,” Denver asks and puts his head in his hands.
I lean forward. “You okay, man?”
“Uh-huh,” he mumbles.
“You’re not worried I’m going to hit on her, or something are you?”
“Nancy!” His voice grows louder.
“She’s attractive, that much is obvious, but she’s young. Way too young for someone like me.” What could I possibly have in common with someone that young?
He peeks at me, his face pale.
Cleo comes in through the door and smiles when she sees me. “Griffin!”
I stand up and hug her.
“Hey, Maverick,” she says, and he picks up his head and actually waves to her. “So it’s official. You’re here now?” I nod, and her gaze flickers to Denver and back to me. “What’s up?”
“I hired Denver’s sister, and I think he thinks I’m going to hit on her or something.”
She glances at Maverick, but he’s put on his headphones. Our chatter is probably interrupting his game or something. What am I gonna do with this kid?
“Which sister?” Cleo licks her lips and slides the chair out from the table. Her hand disappears under the table when she sits, and I assume it’s on her boyfriend’s leg.
“Phoenix.”
Her lips purse and she nods. What am I missing here?
“Denver’s grandma said she’s a hot commodity, that if I didn’t snatch her up right away, I’d miss my opportunity. Since she’s a relative, I figured I could trust her to take care of Maverick.”
Cleo nods as if she understands why I would do that, but her eyes shift to Denver, who’s now finished his Powerade.
He tosses the bottle into the trash can but misses, and the bottle travels across the room. Nancy stands, picks it up, and puts it in the trash can.
“Thanks, Nance,” he murmurs.
“I’m sorry if this upsets you. I’d retract the offer, but that’s kind of a dick move.”
“Oh no.” Cleo shakes her head. “Definitely don’t retract the offer.” She examines her boyfriend again. “Denver is a grown man. He understands that you’d never cross that line.”
Denver stares blankly at her, and I know I’m missing something here.
“You know how brothers are. Overprotective.” Cleo slaps his leg hard, and he jolts. “Right, Denver?”
“Okay, just tell me,” I say.
“There’s nothing to tell. Denver worries too much.” Cleo smiles, but I’ve been around her enough to know it’s not one hundred percent genuine. “But Maverick will love Phoenix. She’s fun… really fun.
“Always lots of fun.” Cleo’s toothy grin is still hiding something.
“I figure if she can handle the three kids she’s watching now, then Maverick should be easy. To keep her busy, I figured she could do some housekeeping and maybe cook some meals.”
Denver rolls his eyes and a guttural sound erupts out of him. Cleo stares at me as if she didn’t hear anything.
I let it go. I need a nanny, and I’ll prove to Denver that I can keep my hands to myself. In the end, he won’t have to worry about anything.
Once he sees things will be fine, he’ll be good with the arrangement.
“Would she be moving in with you?” Cleo asks.
Another sound leaks out of Denver’s mouth.
“Yeah. Once the house is done enough to move into. Easier for me since I’ll be working on the house. Plus, no sense in her driving home too late just to come back in the morning.”
“Makes sense. She’s been staying with me and Denver, so…”
She looks at Denver with an expression that says ‘now we’ll be able to do whatever, whenever.’ He rolls his eyes.
“I’m sorry, man, I don’t want this to affect our friendship,” I say.
Denver shakes his head. “It’s okay. It won’t.”
His words are cold and curt though, and I feel like a jackass for blindsiding him about this. Does he really think I can’t keep my dick in my pants?
“You can trust me with her,” I say and lock eyes with him.
He nods.
Cleo pats my hand. “We know that. We just hope… that it works out.” Her speaking for both of them says it’s time to go and let Denver process the information.
“Okay, I should go. I have to go school shopping.”
Cleo and Denver both stand.
“Don’t worry. I’d never piss off the man who saved my life.” I hold out my hand, and Denver puts his in mine. Maybe I’m imagining his grip is a little firmer this time around.
“Let me know if she causes any problems,” Denver says. “I’ll handle her if need be.”
“Problems?” I ask.
Cleo giggles. “There’s that overprotective brother thing again.” She slaps his stomach. “They’re both adults, babe.”
He says nothing, and I hug Cleo then Nancy before leading Maverick out of Lifetime Adventures. I hate that Denver’s not cool with this.
First I move to his town, and now I steal his sister to work for me. Maybe I’m taking too much from him.
He’ll see though. Having Phoenix work for me will work out beautifully.