Married to Krampus - Marina Simcoe Page 0,42

try not to fret over that or project my fears onto them. Let them be kids.”

I settled back into the snow, folding my hands in my lap.

“What is the mother’s role in the upbringing of her children in Voran?” I asked.

“A minimal one. Unless they’re the children of her husband.” He placed his forearms on his bent knees. “All parental rights go to the father if he is not married to the mother. It enables a woman to have more children if fewer responsibilities are attached with each of them.”

“I see.”

I brushed some snow off my white coat over my knee.

“Colonel...” I started, feeling a need to apologize. “I’m sorry I’ve accused you of being a bad parent.”

He huffed a laugh.

“That hasn’t been the only thing you’ve accused me of.”

I cast a furtive glance his way, relieved to see he didn’t seem offended. His expression remained relaxed, happy even.

“Well, some of that has been true. Don’t you agree?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Admit it, Omni had to clean an insane amount of broken glass in the first couple of days.”

“True.” He had the decency to look ashamed. “I’m sorry, too.”

“I love hearing this word from you.” I turned my face to him with a smile. “It’s music to my ears.”

Tipping his head back, he laughed out loud. A deep and hearty sound. It proved highly contagious as I couldn’t hold back a laugh, too.

After sitting in the snow for a while, I felt the cold sneaking under my warm clothes. I took my mitts off, rubbing my hands to warm them up.

“Cold?” he asked, taking his gloves off, too.

“A little.”

“Come here.” He shifted closer, taking my chilled hands in his big and still surprisingly warm ones.

“Thank you. I wish I had some fur on the back of my hands, too. It must keep your hands warm, in addition to the gloves?”

He appeared distracted, not replying right away.

“Daisy,” he said, rubbing my hands between his. “Would you reconsider leaving when the month is up? You said earlier that you might.”

“Well, I...” His request caught me off guard.

A lot had changed since I’d first negotiated with him the conditions of my leaving Voran. Living under the same roof with the Colonel had certainly become less stressful. Could I stay longer than a month? A year, like I had planned?

Who could say what the upcoming year would bring, though?

I retrieved my hands from him and slid the mitts back on.

“My work doesn’t allow me to have the boys home every weekend,” the Colonel continued before I could come up with an answer.

“You told me it was also because of their educational plan.”

“That, too.” He nodded. “However, some families obtain permission to take their children home every weekend.”

“How?”

“Parents can take a course on the nutritional and educational requirements for their children. As long as they pass the exam and take the regular refresher courses to ensure they maintain the school’s standards at home, they’re allowed to take their children every weekend.”

“Why didn’t you take the course, then?”

“I did. But it’s much harder for me to obtain permission. In my position, I can be called to work or even picked up from home, in case of an emergency, any minute of the day. The law doesn’t allow leaving small children unattended, not that I would do that anyway.”

“I understand.” It was illegal in many countries on Earth, too.

It sounded like the Colonel could really benefit from having a live-in nanny. Except that the Voranian law didn’t permit that.

He turned to me, searching my eyes.

“Daisy, would you agree to take the course and stay for the entire year?” he said in one breath.

With the children now being in the picture, my staying here made more sense.

The Colonel no longer scared me. However, a certain type of tension remained between us.

I no longer felt frightened or uncomfortable in his presence, but I couldn’t fully relax either. Whenever he entered a room, my awareness would shift to him, attuning to his every word or movement.

Having him as my employer should clear things up, though, as we both would finally have clear roles to define our relationship. From now on, I’d be his nanny, and he’d be my boss.

I watched the boys chase each other through the snow, their short little tails whipping behind them, their laughter ringing through the chilly air.

“I most definitely could take the course.” I nodded, staring at the kids playing in the snow, two pairs of horns glistening in the midday sun. “I’d love