The Difference You Have Made (SAMPLE)

Chapter 3 - Settling In

Cristiana's first night as Liam's nanny ends with the toddler having a full-blown meltdown when bedtime arrives. Cole gets frustrated and raises his voice only causing Liam to act out more. The whole thing could have been avoided if Cole wouldn't have riled the boy up right before putting him to bed. Cristiana doesn't say that out loud. Instead, she quietly intervenes and separates the equally obstinate father and son.

"Thanks," Cole huffs as they walk out of the bedroom. He's impressed by how fast she was able to calm Liam down and lull him to sleep. It was faster than Cole has ever been able to. Maybe even faster than his mom or Rachel have been able to do so.

"You don't have to thank me. It's my job."

"Well, it's only day one, but it's safe to say that you're doing your job well. Much better than I expected."

She looks down with a shy smile. "Thank you for saying that, and for giving me a chance."

Cole shrugs his broad shoulders. "You deserve it, especially after putting up with me all day and not quitting. You probably think I'm a horrible father." They're standing in the hallway between their bedrooms.

"I don't make it a habit to negatively judge my employers." Her voice is full of hesitation.

He groans, "I never really planned to be a dad, but I love my son. It's just that sometimes I get frustrated with him. He makes everything more difficult than it has to be."

"He's really young. The world is still an overwhelming and confusing place for him. You have to be patient."

"Patience is not something I have a lot of, especially when it comes to his disobedience." He runs a hand over his hair. She chews her bottom lip but doesn't say a word. "Speak your mind."

She shakes her head, "It's not my place."

"I think it is. You've been hired to take charge of raising my son. It's your place to tell me what I'm doing wrong in that department."

"I don't know you or Liam very well, but from what I saw today, it seems like you both would benefit from spending more time together."

He frowns, "So you do think I'm a bad dad."

"That's not what I said. It's obvious you and Liam miss each other, and you don't know how to interact with each other because you don't spend much time together. I think if you change that, then you'll see a change in his behavior," Cristiana softly explains.

He scratches his chin. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for the advice."

"You're welcome. Good night, Mr. Skylark." She opens the door to her bedroom and steps inside.

"Goodnight, Cristiana," Cole murmurs as he turns away with a mind full of thoughts.

With the door to her bedroom tightly shut, Cristiana decides to take a hot bath in the deep tub in hopes of relaxing her body. The bath makes her aches and pains feel better, but she knows recovery won't happen overnight. After dressing in pink flannel pajama pants and a plain white T-shirt, she digs through her things until she finds a bottle of sleep aid pills. She takes two before burrowing under the covers of her new bed. For the first time in a long time, she sleeps peacefully.

~~*~~

Her first day as Liam's nanny starts with an adventure. It's well past seven o'clock in the morning when the boy runs into her room and launches himself on her bed. He jumps as hard as his little legs allow until she wakes up. It's a marathon from there. Cristiana quickly learns that Liam loses interest in things rather quickly. She's running out of ideas when he gets fussy and his little eyes start to droop.