Tea Parties and Feather Boas (Luke Kuechly)

Chapter One: A Nanny?

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Four-year-old Isla called, jumping up and down with a smile on her face.

Dressed up in a pink, fluffy boa and hat, eager and ready for what had become a daily tea party, the little girl was glowing with excitement. "Isla, can't you see I'm on the phone?" Luke said, a bit harsh. "Wait until I'm done."

The smile faded from the small girl's face and the glow disappeared almost instantly at her daddy's harsh sounding words. She walked around the kitchen island and climbed up on to a barstool. Isla waited patiently, her head resting on her hand until her father hung up with his agent.

Luke sighed, seeing the look on his daughter's face. He knew his voice had sounded a little harsh. "Isla, did I hurt your feelings?"

"You sounded mad at me, daddy," Isla replied.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Luke apologized, kissing her cheek. "Daddy's just really stressed lately. Training camp starts next week and your baby sitter quit."

"Why did miss Kayla quit?"

"I don't know," Luke replied.

"Will you make tea for my tea party?" Isla asked, her mood changing back into its original bubbly state in a snap.

"Sure," Luke smiled, chuckling. "the fake stuff not cutting it for lady Cordelia?" He asked, referring to a stuffed cat, just one of the many stuffed animals his daughter owned.

"Nope," Isla sighed, "She's very picky. I'm thinking about not inviting her anymore."

Luke chuckled as he filled a measuring glass full of water and stuck it in the microwave. He'd learned how to make the best hot tea in Charlotte since becoming a father to his little girl. "What kind of tea would you like today?"

"Mint," Isla replied.

"Ok," Luke smiled, grabbing the mint tea out of the cupboard filled with an array of teas. His mother was always sending them to Isla. It wasn't unusual for a package to arrive from Meema.

Isla started rambling on about some conversation with one of her many imaginary friends, making her father laugh and shake his head at the light of his life. Luke loved his little girl. It hadn't always been easy to raise her. Money hadn't ever been much of an issue, especially after he'd been drafted but actually raising her was the hard part and doing it by himself with his busy schedule made it even tougher.

It absolutely broke his heart when he dropped her off as a one-month-old at daycare for the first time. That little girl was his world. "Daddy?"

"Yes, princess?" Luke replied, removing the hot water from the microwave and placing the tea bag in it.

"Will you have tea with us?" Isla asked, referring to the stuffed animals and herself.

Luke smiled, "I would love to." how could he ever say no to her?

"Ok," Isla said, excitedly, sliding off the bar stool and running towards the stairs. "I'll go find you an outfit and you bring the tea."

Luke laughed as his daughter bounded up the steps, her dirty blonde curls bouncing behind her.

He poured the water into the teapot and grabbed a pack of cookies before heading upstairs to join the tea party.

Three stuffed animals sat around the small, white table that sat in his daughter's very pink room.

She was very much a little girl. Isla loved her princesses and fairies and whatnot. If you put her outside, however, she went all tomboy on you and was bound to come back with every outdoor stain imaginable on her clothing. On game day, she would wear her Kuechly jersey proudly, never forgetting the black paint under her eyes, and Luke would swear he could hear her cheers from on the field.

"Daddy?" Isla said.

"Yes?" Luke asked, setting the teapot and cookies on the table.

"Do you want the white or pink hat?"

"White please," Luke replied. Isla placed the big, floppy hat on her daddy's head and then grabbed a pink feather boa from her dress up chest.

"And don't forget this," Isla smiled, wrapping the boa around Luke's neck.

"How could I forget a boa," Luke said, "I wouldn't dare think of going to a tea party without a boa."

"You're silly daddy," Isla laughed.

"Yeah, you're silly Kuechly," Greg Olsen laughed, leaning against the door frame, phone in hand, snapping a photo. "That's a great look by the way."

"Just walk into my home unannounced, Olsen," Luke replied, taking off the hat and boa. Isla scowled at his eagerness to take the items off but somehow understood too. "and you'd better not be taking pictures."

"You wish," Greg laughed, "you ready to go?"

"Go?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, we have that little thing called a press conference," Greg said. "Remember? I said I'd take you."

"Crap!" Luke groaned.

"Daddy!" Isla said, in a high pitched scold.

"Sorry," Luke apologized, "dude, the baby sister straight up quit today and then I completely forgot."

"Well miss Isla, it looks like you'll just have to come with us," Greg smiled.

"Yay!!!" Isla cheered, practically throwing off her boa and hat as she ran out of the room and downstairs to get her shoes.

"Man, who's gonna take care of her?" Luke asked as they made their own way downstairs.

"Don't know," Greg shrugged, "that's your problem."

"Thanks," Luke said, sarcastically.

"You could pull a Steph Curry and have her with you."

"Isla?" Luke called, ignoring what his teammate said.

"Yeah?"

"You ready?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Isla smiled, appearing in front of him.

"Ok, alley-oop," he said, lifting his daughter onto his side as she laughed.

"I guess we're taking your truck now," Greg chuckled.

"Guess so," Luke shrugged.

They were barely out of the driveway when Isla fell asleep. Luke did 'pull' a Steph Curry but Isla slept the entire time, her head resting in the crook of Luke's neck.

"I think I need a more reliable baby sitter this time," Luke said, once he and Greg were back in his truck.

"Or a nanny," Greg replied.

Luke inhaled sharply. "I've thought about it. I just don't like the idea."

"I know what you mean," Greg agreed. "but you need someone to be at your house. At least during football season."

"I think you're right," Luke sighed, "there's just one thing?"

"What?"

"How does one go about getting a nanny?" Luke asked, making Greg burst out with a hearty laugh.