She made an adorable thinking pose with one finger covering her mouth. “I want applesauce.”
“How about some toast with honey too?” Grabbing her hand, they walked toward the porch.
Penelope bobbed her head with exaggerated movements.
“Okay, little lady. Applesauce and toast coming right up.”
Isla waited for them on the porch, her backpack flung onto the welcome mat. Curly blonde strands stuck out from her ponytail, and she reminded Christian of someone who’d had a long day at the office.
Hmmm… she looked the same wayhefelt.
He unlocked the front door with the keypad above the handle. The clinking of metal dog tags welcomed them in as Princess Pumpkin bounded toward the entryway, barking out a greeting. She jumped, her front paws landing on Christian’s stomach.
“Did you miss us, girl?” he asked, giving her a long scratch behind her ears with both hands. “Let’s go inside. After my meeting, we’ll take you for a good walk. Would you like that?”
Christian grabbed her collar and guided her into the house. Isla followed, dragging her backpack inside by one shoulder strap. She was going to wear a hole in the bottom of that thing with how many times she towed it across the floor instead of carrying it on her back.
Pick your battles.Fighting this one right now would only make her testy mood worse, so he let the issue drop.
As he moved to shut the door, Pumpkin sprang to attention, bouncing her front paws on the hardwood floor. Her long whines filled the entryway.
“Pumpkin,” Isla said, petting the golden retriever’s side. “Are you hungry too?”
The dog’s airy whimpers turned to barks, and she continued to dance around the entryway.
“What’s gotten into you, girl?” Christian glanced out the door, unable to see anything on the grass in front of their porch. The Highlander blocked his view of the other side of the yard. “Let’s move away from the door so I can close it.”
Before anyone moved, Pumpkin broke out of his hold, taking off through the open door. Her tail whipped Penelope as she passed, knocking the child off her feet.
What had gotten into that dog? She was so mellow most of the time.
A low growl escaped Christian’s throat as he followed her out the door. Chasing their dog down the street hadn’t been in his plan for the day. Penelope’s cries reached his ears, and he backtracked to her. Swiftly lifting her into his arms, he resumed his purpose.
“Princess Pumpkin!” He winced. Why hadn’t he vetoed that name when Isla suggested it? Bella was a nice name for a dog. Or Boomer. But no. It had to be Princess Pumpkin. “Yo, Pumpkin!”
He rounded their car in time to see the retriever bounding toward a woman making her way up the driveway. The candidate for the nanny position, most likely. He gave her props for being punctual.
A little too punctual. She was a whole fifteen minutes early.
Princess Pumpkin jumped onto the newcomer, her tail whipping back and forth in her excitement. Hopefully, the woman liked dogs.
By the way she shrieked and pulled into herself, that would be a hard no. She turned her back to Pumpkin, raising a green-and-white box above her head.
Sticking his thumb and forefinger in his mouth, Christian let out a piercing whistle. “Down, Pumpkin!”
The dog lowered her paws to the ground.
“Sit,” he commanded, and she obeyed, though her tail still thumped against the concrete. “Good girl.”
He crouched in front of her, ruffling the fur on her head, then moved to scratch below her chin. Penelope did the same and was rewarded with a lick on her hand.
“Sorry about that,” Christian said without glancing up from the dog. “She doesn’t bite. In fact, she’s a real softy. Her only flaw is getting overexcited around new … oh.”
As the woman turned back around, he finally got a good look at her. His stomach flip-flopped over itself. Instead of the nanny applicant he’d expected, Hallie stood in front of him, her blue eyes wide as though she was questioning every life decision she’d made up to this point.
His breath caught, a silent curse running through his mind. He’d never sworn in front of his kids, and he refused to start now.
What’s she doing here? How does she know where I live?
