Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 300(@200wpm)___ 240(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
“Cool, I can’t wait to meet her. And Marjorie.” I wink and he laughs.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Marjorie cancelled. Apparently, she has a Hot Dish to make for Trevor who works on the window cleaning crew.”
“Woof,” I say, furrowing my brow in false sympathy. “You poor thing. Were you broken up that she’s moved on so fast?”
“Not even a little bit. I wish her and Trevor a long and happy Hot Dish union, and I’ll be making my address private in the work database first thing tomorrow morning.”
I laugh. “Sounds smart. See you soon!”
I head out the door full of energy and eager to start my night, something that rarely happened when I was back home working at the daycare. I leave it all on the field with Sarah Beth, too, but it’s different somehow. Maybe it’s because she has calmer periods in her day, when we’re reading or watching one of the educational cartoons Drew approved. Or maybe it’s just that I feel such a connection with her that work doesn’t feel as much like work. It feels like spending time with a very small, very sweet little friend.
It’s probably what being a mom will feel like.
The thought makes me put on the brakes a little too hard at the last stop sign in Drew’s subdivision. I shouldn’t be thinking that way about Sarah Beth, shouldn’t be feeling that way. It’s way too soon for me to be getting so attached, but I can’t seem to help it.
Still, the realization bothers me enough that when I’m done with my shower and finished drying my hair, I put my phone on speaker as I’m doing my makeup, and call Wren. “Hey, do you have a few minutes to chat?” I ask as I blend my foundation with a sponge, covering up the freckles on my nose.
“Yeah, sure, I was just trying to talk myself into going to the gym,” she says. “But it’s so loud in there and the cardio pump teacher always yells at me when I do the push-ups on my knees.”
“I think you should be praised for doing push-ups of any kind.”
“Right?” She laughs. “You should be a workout class instructor. Lots of praise and cookies after.”
“I’ll keep that in my back pocket if I decide I’m not cut out to be a nanny.”
Wren makes a sympathetic sound. “Oh, no. I thought things were going well.”
“They are. Too well. I’m already so smitten with Sarah Beth. I caught myself thinking this must be what it’s like to be a mom today. Is that weird? Crazy?”
She seems to ponder that for a moment. “No, I don’t think that’s something to worry or feel bad about. It’s natural to have warm feelings for a sweet kid you take care of every day. And Sarah Beth is ridiculously cute.” Wren hums beneath her breath. “And now that I think about it, she sort of looks like she could be your biological child. With the red hair and everything.”
“Someone at Drew’s work thought I was her mom,” I say, briefly retelling the story of Drew’s real estate law stalker. “So, I sent him a flirty text from a different number to help scare her away.”
“Well, well,” Wren says, a knowing note in her tone. “I think he owes you a drink.”
“He’s buying me one tonight,” I say, barely stifling my grin as I sweep on eye shadow. Wren makes a whooping sound of celebration that I silence with a shush. “It’s not like that. A bunch of his work friends were meeting at the restaurant underneath my apartment for half-priced tacos anyway. He just asked me to join. It’s not a big deal.”
“He’s introducing you to everyone he works with, Tatum,” she says. “That’s a huge deal. The only person Barrett has ever introduced to the nursing staff was Lane, his ex-wife.”
“It’s different. I’m also someone he works with, in a way,” I say. “And I’m new in town. He just wants to introduce me to more people who can help me find my way around.”
“Right. Keep telling yourself that and I’ll head home to rest up for all the ‘I told you so-ing’ I’ll be doing in the future.”
I chuckle. “If that’s the excuse you need to avoid getting yelled at by the mean push-up instructor, I support you.”
She exhales a relieved-sounding sigh. “Thank you. I just can’t today. I need peace, quiet, and turkey chili in front of the fire.”
“Speaking of turkeys,” I say, turning my head to see if my eyeliner is straight. “Have you formulated a plan for getting out of the toxic relationship with Kyle?”
“Barrett’s going to leave work early on Friday and stake out my place while the rest of us catch up on paperwork. We don’t do office visits on Friday afternoons, so it’s the first time he can get away. But he’s promised to capture and humanely remove Sir Pecks-a-Lot so…fingers crossed.”