Erin, trouble looming?(ch3)

Life was going very quickly for Erin and Lee. Kate had grown into a toddler with the help of Laci the nanny. She was instrumental in the help to raise Kate. She also helped with housework and became a companion to Erin and Lee. With their long hours at work they hardly had time to see each other and when they did have time, they were usually doing research for work or were tired from the long hours.

Kate was growing fast, so fast that both Erin and Lee thought maybe it was time to slow down a bit, but whenever they tried it didn’t seem to work.

Kate inherited her parents blonde hair, and luckily she didn’t look like her mother did when she was little. (Refer to photos in intro#2)

As Kate got older Lee felt like she needed a sibling so that she wouldn’t be lonely. He felt confident in Laci’s abilities as nanny and he was sure with a pay increase she would be fine with another baby to care for. He needed to persuade Erin somewhat but finally succeeded. It wasn’t that Erin didn’t want children, it was the fact that she had to watch someone else raise them. Her job as Botanist was going too well to take a leave of absence, so she decided to go ahead with Lee’s idea of another child and rely on Laci’s help.

Lee was  quite happy with their decision as he felt that children were an essential part of any family. His work was very important to him but so was raising a family, and to him a family meant at least one son. However, when the day arrived Erin gave birth to another precious baby girl. Erin was thrilled and Lee had forgotten all about his desire for a son. He was happy that the baby was healthy and that everyone was happy.

 

They named the baby Haley and their family seemed complete, for now. However, Lee still wanted a son. He would have to convince Erin for a third child but for now they were busy enough with the two they had.

Then came the arrival that neither were expecting. Their pets Cleo and Buddy had developed a romance of their own and had brought forth a litter of two puppies.

“Murphy”

…and ”Maggie”

The dogs had created their own little family which meant even more work for Laci. She didn’t mind though, she was actually loving being part of the Davis-Patch family. Laci had grown up without a traditional family and was raised by a single mom. Partaking in a family environment had always been a dream for her which was why she worked so hard to be involved at her job as nanny. Perhaps a little too involved at times. 

 During the few years she had worked for Erin and Lee she had developed a fondness for Lee. She saw him as she saw her professors, an older man who was intelligent and mature, even though he was not much older than her. She enjoyed talking with him about his work and about the children. She was fascinated by his job as sports columnist and often couldn’t wait for the paper to read his daily musings about the sports world, even though she wasn’t exactly a fan of any sport in particular.

 

She hung on his every word and stayed up late waiting for him to get home everynight after Erin had gone to bed. Of course Lee was so oblivious to her obvious attraction that he didn’t see the harm in talking with her. He hardly ever came home to anyone awake so sometimes he looked forward to the company.

Soon she began to make special desserts for him and still he didn’t realize the feelings she had developed for him. Lee was unaware of anything other than work and his family. He saw Laci as a sweet young girl who was an employee of theirs, and perhaps interested in the journalism field. He would never in a million years think that anyone besides Erin would take any interest in him, he was just that way. In college he had quite the reputation, but life had taken a turn for him when he met Erin.

Laci was also in awe of what a dedicated dad he was, and never having a father of her own this created a special admiration towards Lee. She had a secret longing to take Erin’s place since she did most of the mothering anyway even though she knew it was an inappropriate thought. She respected and liked Erin but couldn’t control the growing feelings she had for Lee. She decided that she would eventually have to admit her feelings to Lee and to see what his reaction would be. Laci was obviously delusional.