“Great.” I was a little nervous about driving in a foreign country.
“And—”
“Thane,” I cut him off. “We’ll manage for one day. And then you and I can talk tonight. You’re going to be late for work. Don’t worry—Eilidh and Lewis are in excellent hands. I promise.”
Anxiety flashed in his eyes, but he quickly shrugged it off. “Right. See you tonight.”
I waved, ignoring the fact that his adoring, caring dad thing was extremely appealing.
When the door closed behind him, I slumped against the counter.
“You can just stop that kind of thinking right now,” I muttered, irritated with myself.
I’d inhaled a bowl of cereal between getting Eilidh and Lewis ready for school. After a far too lengthy discussion about what I’d put in their packed lunches (and a promise to have a serious conversation about their likes and dislikes when they got home from school), I’d just gotten them into their shoes when the doorbell rang.
It was then I remembered Robyn was guiding us to school. My nerves dissipated at the thought of having my sister near. The familiar and comforting was always nice in an unfamiliar situation.
“You’re here!” I threw my arms around her as soon as I opened the door.
My sister seemed a little bemused but hugged me. “You okay?”
I pulled away, nodding, walking back to the mudroom. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, just first-day jitters.”
The kids were already making their way down the hall toward the main living room, so I stopped and waited.
Eilidh’s pretty face lit up at the sight of Robyn, and she went running to her for a hug.
“Hey, sweetie,” Robyn greeted, lowering to her haunches for the hug. She caressed one of Eilidh’s fishtail braids. “Look how gorgeous your hair is.”
Her big eyes sparkled. “Ree-Ree did it! They’re the best pleats ever. Maisie can’t make fun of my hair now.”
“Who makes fun of your hair?” I queried before I asked Lewis if he had everything he needed.
He nodded while Robyn reached out to tug on his hand. “Hey, you.”
He gave her a small smile.
“Maisie!” Eilidh answered, turning to me. “You have to meet Maisie, Ree-Ree. She’s my first best friend. Anna is my second best friend. Well, Maisie was my first best friend, but now you’re my first best friend, Maisie my second, and Anna my third. But we won’t tell them that.”
Heart melting in my chest, I met Robyn’s gaze, and she grinned at me.
“You’re my best friend too,” I whispered loudly in her ear, “but don’t tell Robyn.”
“Robyn can hear you.” My sister pretended to be affronted, making Eilidh giggle.
“Right, do we have everything?” I asked them again.
They nodded.
“Okay, then.” I grabbed the house keys off the kitchen counter and gestured for Robyn to lead the way.
To my shock, she led us to two Range Rovers. Hers, I recognized, a shiny black Evoque. The one behind it was larger—a silver Velar.
“You’re kidding, right?” I said as she smirked and handed me a key fob.
I took it, dazed.
“Lachlan’s fleet at the estate is all Range Rover,” she said, as if that explained everything. “Trust me, you want an SUV that can handle the roads here.”
“Is this your car, Ree-Ree?” Eilidh ran up to the silver vehicle and slapped it.
My eyes bugged out as I turned to Robyn. “I’ve never even driven on this side of the road, and you want to put me in a $70,000 car for my first try?”
Seeing my genuine anxiety, Robyn grimaced. “I’m sorry. I should have known it would freak you out. I’ve just accepted that Lachlan is crazy generous. Um … okay, here’s what we’ll do: you’ll follow me carefully to the school, and then once we’ve dropped off the kids, I’ll take you for a driving lesson.”
“I have household duties.”
“You’ll get them done. If you’re going to be driving the kids around, I’m sure Thane would agree it’s important that you know what you’re doing. Especially on roundabouts.”
Trying not to freak out, I nodded. “Okay. Okay. Right, well, we need to get the kids to school.”
Once Eilidh and Lewis were happily loaded into the back of the luxury vehicle with its black leather seats and new car smell, I went to get in the passenger side. “Nice start,” I muttered to myself, rounding the hood. The next problem occurred, however, when once I’d gotten my seat and mirrors adjusted, I didn’t know how to turn it on.
“There’s a big button by the wheel.” Lewis pointed at it from the back.
Great. A seven-year-old was offering driving instructions.
Finding the engine start button, I pressed it and nothing happened. Except a message binged on the fancy little screen behind the wheel. I needed to put my foot on the brake, it said, before starting the engine.
Sweat gathered beneath my arms and in my palms. Finally, I got the car going and put a thumb out the window to let Robyn know we were ready.
To be fair, the fancy SUV drove like a dream, so quiet, and glided down the narrow country road. While Lewis was silent, Eilidh chattered constantly but thankfully was happy for me to just make agreeable noises now and then as I concentrated on following my sister and sticking to the correct side of the road.
It was so weird!
When we slowed on approach to a roundabout, my pulse leapt. Robyn switched on her right turn signal and I followed suit, and we drove onto the circle the wrong freaking way! Except it was the right freaking way here.
“Oh my goodness,” I said under my breath.
“Are you okay?” Lewis asked, interrupting Eilidh’s monologue about how her friends were going to react to her hair.
“Fine, fine,” I assured him. The kids didn’t need to know the person looking after them didn’t know how to drive in Scotland.
To my everlasting relief, less than ten minutes later, we arrived at the school. It felt like a year.
Robyn turned into a large parking lot adjacent to the school and by a miracle found us a few spaces.
Sweaty and a little shaky, I got out of the car and unbuckled Eilidh while Lewis got himself out. “Come around my side,” I called to him, and he did so. Giving him a tender smile, I turned to Eilidh and lifted her out of the car. She threw her arms around my neck before I could lower her to the ground.
“Can you come to class with me?” She pouted.
I was pretty sure that face got her anything she wanted, but unfortunately, she couldn’t have this. “I’m sorry, gorgeous, you know the rules. No parents and no besties older than five allowed.”
Her frown was so deep, a person could arrange coins along the ridge in her forehead.
I snuggled her close. “But I’ll be here to pick you up from school, and guess what I’m making for dinner tonight?”
Eilidh’s eyes lit up. “What?”
“Chicken nugget mash.”
Her voice deepened as she pressed her forehead to mine. “Chicken nuuuuuuggets.”
As I laughed, the tender pull in my chest was so deep, it hurt.
And I realized something scary.
It was the first day on the job … and I was already in love with these kids.