Lynda Sandoval - Daddy on Demand / Déjà You - Daddy on Demand / Déjà You

“What about you, Gena?” Collin asked.

“I’m older. I don’ need to sleep with toys. And I get purple.” But she didn’t get onto her bed. Instead she stood beside the stuffed giraffe that was twice her height and slowly stroked its neck and back.

Collin pushed away from the doorjamb and crouched beside Sabrina where he gave the back of her neck a secret squeeze. “It’s okay to have an animal friend to nap with even if you are a few minutes older, Gena. Just don’t forget to brush your giraffe and put a blanket on him so he doesn’t get cold at night.”

“Okay. What do I feed him?”

Crap, Collin thought. “You want to handle this one?” he said under his breath to Sabrina.

“I do, because your mom told me that she’d arranged for the sandman to come by after you go to bed. He’ll take care of that for you.”

“Who feeds Bear?” Addie demanded. “He don’ like sand or grass, he likes fishes. I seen that on TV.”

Sabrina nodded several times, which indicated to Collin that she was thinking as desperately as he was. Unfortunately, for him, being close to her like this and picking up the luscious scent of her made him think about her taste and the temptation of her body against his.

“Now I remember what your mom told me!” she burst out. “Do you know how the postman carries different kinds of stamps with him for people who need to mail something but forgot to go to the post office? That’s what sandman does. He brings the things that are needed.”

“Does he know the Easter bunny?” Addie asked.

“I hear they are excellent friends,” Sabrina assured her.

“Girls, play for a minute while I check on something with Brina, okay?” With that he crooked his finger and motioned her to follow him, whereupon he led her farther down the hall. Hands on his hips, he asked in a hushed voice, “And how are you going to explain a lack of food crumbs or grass when they wake in the mornings? Do not think that you’re going out to the park across the street at night with scissors to clip grass, and I’d better not hear about some sacrificed goldfish found dead on that carpet.”

“Of course not. Giraffe and Bear will be here looking well fed and cared for because that’s the magic of stories. What’s happened to your imagination, Ad Man?”

Although the question was posed with a tender smile, Collin took a step toward her, which had her smile waning and she took a step back, which immediately put her against the wall. “You know perfectly well what’s happened to it,” he said close enough to drown in the alluring depths of her eyes.

He’d touched her. Now all he thought about was doing it until he knew every inch of her better than he knew himself, knew what gave her the most pleasure and heard her cry out for him.

“Collin, I need to get back to the girls,” she whispered.

Muttering that he had to call the office, he bid a hasty retreat before he made a bigger fool of himself than he already had. As much as he wanted to keep his word to his sister that he would use this opportunity to bond more with the little ones, he couldn’t do it and not fall for Sabrina.

Who are you kidding? You’re halfway there already.

That left him with only one solution.

“Good morning, Sonny!” Sabrina said to the beaming security guard, who met them as the elevator doors opened to the building’s lobby. She had called to let him know they were on their way. “Girls, this is Mr. Birdsong. He watches over everyone who lives in the building. This is Gena and this is Addison.”

“Mr. Masters’s nieces. It’s a pleasure, ladies.”

“Why do they call you a bird’s song?” Addie asked, her head tilted as she gazed up at the friendly giant.

Grinning, Sonny began whistling and it did, indeed, sound like they’d just stepped into the park.

“Do you know what that is? A robin. This is a cardinal…and a bluebird.”

The girls were enthralled as he duplicated each feathered creature’s song.

“Can you do my friend Tassie’s parakeet?” Addie asked.

“He never seen it, Addie,” Gena replied before Sonny could reply.

“Besides, we can’t take all of Mr. Birdsong’s time,” Sabrina added.

“Birdsong is too much of a name for such little ones to deal with,” he told Sabrina as they crossed the lobby. “If you don’t mind, let them call me Sonny like everyone does.” At the front door, he bent over and rested his hands on his knees to address the girls again. His teeth were as white as his starched shirt and his security badge had a shine no less than his twinkling eyes. “You all look pretty and set for a day on the town. Where are you headed?”

It was Gena and Addie’s third day at the condo and since the weather was obliging, they needed fresh air—definitely more than they were getting stepping out onto the balcony waving at pigeons. After a healthy start of oatmeal and bananas, Sabrina decided to test her mettle with the two energetic prodigies. They were dressed for a sunny day, but with temperatures not rising over sixty degrees Fahrenheit, hats and scarves were currently a necessary addition to their light jackets.

“We’re going to the Dallas Farmers Market and then to that wonder-world grocery store, Central Market at Greenville and Lovers,” she told Sonny. “Mr. Masters doesn’t want us taking a bus so could you get us a cab?”

“I can do you one better. There’s a van bringing back one of our elderly residents from a doctor’s appointment at any moment. The driver’s name is Gus Genovese. He’s older himself, but far healthier. He’ll drive you through the stalls and you can keep your purchases in the car while you shop. Gus has been taking care of people in this building for almost six years now.”

“That’s wonderful. He doesn’t have other appointments today?”

“Nothing on the log. It’s early in the season. Once the cold sets in and flu season, and church holiday and party events, you have to book further in advance. But I think for you three, he’ll always make the time. Gus is a widower, a self-made man.”

“He sounds like an answer to a prayer for me,” Sabrina replied. “What a relief that I won’t have to try to call for a ride back. Let me quickly get their car seats.”

Gus turned out to be a young sixty-eight. A New Jersey transplant, he’d sold his truck refrigeration conversion business after the death of his wife Emily. With no children and too much free time on his hands, he found his independent shuttling service perfect for this stage in his life.

“You can only sit at home and watch so much TV,” he explained after they got the girls settled in the second row of van seats. “My wife had the green thumb. Me, I can’t grow weeds. I don’t like clubs and social organizations. Seemed like whenever I walked through the front door of a place, I was being sized up by the hungry widows, or asked to attend a funeral. Don’t get me wrong, I like the ladies, but it would be hard to match my Emmy, and I’m not interested in spending the rest of my life in a funeral home or cemetery. You get to a certain age, you start giving yourself permission to be particular with whom you spend your time.”

“That makes sense to me.” Sabrina glanced back at Gena and Addie. “I do appreciate your help with their forward-facing car seats—and your patience.”

“They’re adorable kids, and very well mannered. I can see you’re doing a good job with them, Mrs. Masters.” “It’s Sabrina. Sabrina Sinclair. I’m the nanny.” “So, Mr. and Mrs. Masters both work in demanding fields?”

“Captain Masters, the girls’ mother, just left for Afghanistan. She’s a helicopter pilot.”

“What is this world coming to? Bless her.”