Finding North by Claudia Hall Christian Read Free Book Online

and
squealed. Alex beamed. This was her favorite part of every single
day. They went into the living room.
    “ Alex! Raz!” Alex’s
mother, Rebecca Hargreaves, said.
    The nanny plucked Máire
from the floor and brought her to Raz. Alex picked up Joey. They
kissed the babies in greeting and swapped kids.
    “ How was today?” Alex
asked their nanny, Sergeant Quince Davies. Alex kissed her
daughter’s cheeks and held her close.
    Alex had met Sergeant
Davies last year in November at the wife-swapping party she and
John had attended by mistake. When the Taliban learned that
Alex-the-infidel had adopted the babies, they made a video filled
with vague threats, hundreds of AK-47 rounds fired into the air,
and lots of bravado. It was enough for Colonel Gordon to allocate a
Sergeant to care for and protect the kids. Alex had asked Sergeant
Davies if she would like to be their nanny. As the oldest of seven,
Quince had jumped at the chance. She passed round after round of
tests in the care and protection of infants. Less than a month
after the twins came home, Quince had moved into the house and
taken up her role as a nanny.
    “ Today was fun,” Quince
said. “We ate and napped. We played with
Grand . . .”
    “ Meema,” Rebecca
said.
    “ Meema.” Quince suppressed
a smile. “Can I help you with the antibiotics?”
    “ Nah, I’ll get it,” Alex
tapped the cannula taped on her arm. “I just have to hook
in.”
    “ Yes, sir,” Quince said.
“Grace was here this morning. The twins love Grace.”
    “ Everyone loves Grace,”
Alex smiled. Her younger sister, Erin, and Matthew had a shy little
girl who could charm the spots off a leopard.
    “ She’s starting to show,”
Quince said.
    Alex nodded and put her
fingers to her lips.
    “ What was that?” Rebecca
asked. She came to the doorway to the living room. “Is Erin
pregnant?”
    Quince gave Alex a guilty
look.
    “ No idea, Mom,” Alex
said.
    “ Erin took Hector James
and Hermes with her,” Quince said of Troy’s sons. “She’s bringing a
cake to Sunday dinner, and they wanted to teach her their favorite
recipe.”
    Alex smiled. Cian had made
Troy’s sons, Hector James and Hermes, bakers-in-training. Their
baking training helped carry them through the long days and nights
after their mother was murdered. Over the last few years, they had
become good cooks and great bakers. Plus, they liked playing
Matthew’s video games.
    “ And John?”
    “ He called to say he has
one last case, and he’ll be home,” Quince said. “I haven’t seen
Ooljee at all today.”
    “ Today’s one of her
spiritual training days,” Alex said. “Her grandfather picked her up
last night.”
    Sergeant Margaret Peaches’
daughter was on the spirit way when she lived on the Navajo
Reservation. Once a month, her grandfather either arranged for a
Native American shaman to continue Ooljee’s training, or he picked
her up himself.
    “ That’s so cool,” Quince
said.
    “ It is cool,” Alex smiled.
“If you want to, you can take the rest of the day off. I’m sure
between everyone, we’ll have fun.”
    “ You remember we’re going
to Santa Fe tonight,” Quince smiled.
    “ You and the handsome
Jason,” Alex smiled.
    Quince had met Jason at
the wife-swapping party, where they had been hired to help the
catering company. Both soldiers were stationed at Fort Carson. The
ridiculousness of the entire thing had made them fast friends. By
the end of the year, they were dating. Alex thought Jason might
propose during their weekend away. But having married John after
knowing him for thirteen hours, she had no idea how “regular”
people managed the timing of their relationships. Quince beamed
with excitement for her overnight trip.
    “ It’s a long drive,” Alex
said. “Go.”
    “ Thank you, sir,” Quince
said. “As always, my duty is with you. If you need me, for any
reason, just call, and I’ll . . .”
    “ Have a wonderful time,”
Alex said. “That’s what I