he doubted they were either, what with all the excitement in the household. Getting them to calm down enough to go to sleep might be easier said than done.
Then again, Stephanie was a nanny. Maybe she had some fresh ideas for rustling rowdy preschoolers into bed and under the covers.
“Drew,” his father called again. Impatiently, in typical Pop fashion. Stephanie might run for the hills yet.
“Yeah, yeah,” Drew replied, winking at Stephanie. “What did I tell you?” he concluded in a mock whisper.
She giggled lightly, which erased some of the weariness from her countenance.
He felt her eyes branding into his back all the way down the hall, and unease once again bore down on his shoulders. He couldn’t help but be uncomfortable. What was she thinking about?
How he’d just been served? His apparent failure as a father?
He hoped she could see beyond the legalities to his heart. Being a dad was everything to him, and he wanted to keep it that way. Having her on his side would definitely be a positive factor, especially now that this was going to court.
The moment the twins realized Stephanie had entered the room behind him, they squealed and bounced on their beds. In Drew’s opinion, it didn’t help matters that she jumped right into the fray, laughing along with them and stirring them up to even greater noise and excitement. The idea here was to calm them down enough to go to sleep.
“Settle down, boys,” he instructed gently. “It’s already past your bedtime. If you guys want me to read you a story, you need to lie down and cover up. Right now, no excuses.”
“But, Daddy,” Matty whined, rubbing his bright blue eyes with his little fists. “We’re not tired yet.”
Drew smothered a chuckle as Matty’s objection was punctuated with a big yawn. The boys weren’t tired—they were overtired.
“We want to stay up and play with Miss Stephie,” Jamey protested.
“It’s Stephanie,” Drew gently corrected, ruffling Jamey’s hair with his palm. “And she’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow. She’s your new nanny. She’s here to take care of you.”
Stephanie placed a hand on Drew’s arm. “My name is hard to pronounce when you’re just learning how to speak. Stephie is just fine.”
“Steph-eee,” Matty said proudly.
“Very good, Matty,” Stephanie praised, causing Matty to straighten his shoulders and sit an inch taller.
Okay, that was weird—or incredible, depending on how he looked at it. She’d only spent a few minutes with the boys, and she already knew Matty from Jamey—and quite confidently, at that. How had she known which twin she was addressing?
He wasn’t able to ask how she’d done it, for at that moment the boys launched off their beds onto the floor and began dancing around Stephanie.
“Boys,” Drew warned, trying to sound stern. “Bedtime. I’m not going to say it again.”
“Grouch,” his father grumbled under his breath. Drew and Stephanie exchanged a look.
What did I tell you?
Drew didn’t speak the words aloud, but he was pretty sure Stephanie correctly read his expression. Pop was going to be interesting at his best and exasperating at his worst.
Her lips twitched. He thought she might be smothering a laugh. At least she was good-natured about it.
The twins groaned in unison at his spoilsport pronouncement, but they both returned to their beds and crawled underneath the covers. He hated to be the bad guy, but someone had to take control here.
Drew set a chair between the twins’ beds and pulled out the Bible storybook they were currently reading together. The book included little finger puppets which Drew manipulated as he told the stories, delighting the boys with his silly moves and goofy voices. At the very least, it usually captured their attention enough to settle them down; but tonight, to his chagrin, their primary focus seemed to be on Stephanie.
“Stephie do it,” Jamey announced.
“Yeah,” Matty agreed. “Let Miss Steph-eee read to us.”
“What a good idea,” his father added in a coarse voice. “Ladies first, and all that.”
Stephanie’s eyes widened at the prospect. She hesitated and cast Drew an enquiring look—ready to step in and read, but not willing to step on his toes.
It was kind of her to think of him, even though he was clearly outnumbered. He had mixed feelings about relinquishing his nightly reading to Stephanie, even once. This was his special time with the twins, their bonding time.
But this was about what was best for the boys.
Overpowering love for his sons billowed up his chest until he thought he might burst from it. By God’s grace, the twins had kept him anchored in this world when he might otherwise have drifted away. They filled his life with purpose.
He turned his face so Stephanie and the twins couldn’t see what he was feeling as he faced the truth. He was in no mental condition to read out loud, and he didn’t want the boys picking up on his concern. Stephanie was their new nanny. It would be good for her to start bonding with Matty and Jamey as soon as possible.
Who knew when that case worker was going to visit? His shoulders tensed and sent sharp jabs into his neck just thinking about it. The relationship between Stephanie and the boys had to look natural, without pretense.
Which actually made it pretense. He felt mortified even to think that way.
In any case, the boys were clearly anxious to enjoy her interpretation of the present story, perhaps even with the finger puppets, if she was willing.
“I guess it would be all right for Miss Stephanie to read to you,” he conceded, surrendering both the chair and the book to her.
“Okay,” she agreed, her dark eyes shining and a sweet smile on her face. “But only this one time. You like it best when your daddy reads to you, right?”
Both boys nodded in response to her animated question and Drew shook his head in amazement. Stephanie had somehow managed to put an enthusiastic spin on something that would otherwise have been uncomfortable and demoralizing for him.
It was almost as if she’d been able to read his thoughts and empathize with his feelings, which was an uncomfortable notion. The last thing he needed right now was a woman in his head.
“So, where are we?” Stephanie asked brightly.
Not you. We.
The way she instantly and effortlessly integrated herself into the family was unsettling, to say the least.
“Uh, Noah, I think,” he answered, smothering the catch in his voice by feigning a cough.
Stephanie might not have noticed his forced enthusiasm, but his father raised a suspicious eyebrow.
