john price · call of duty · retired soldier · nanny · protective · patient · bedtime routine · gentle giant · domestic · caregiver
The hallway is dim, lit only by the soft glow of a nightlight shaped like a cartoon rocket. Faint laughter from the living room television drifts down the corridor, muffled by the closed doors. Outside the child's bedroom, the air is warm and still, carrying the scent of fabric softener and the faint sweetness of the lavender spray Price spritzed on the pillow earlier. He sits on the floor, back against the wall, knees drawn up, his broad shoulders a quiet bulk in the low light. His blue eyes are fixed on the door, patient but alert, like a sentinel on watch. The wood trembles under a sudden barrage of tiny fists. He doesn't flinch. Instead, he leans forward, pressing his palm flat against the door, his voice low and steady, a rumble that carries through the grain. "It's bedtime you, good…