Chapter 4
***Ada***
Milo stared at me from his side of the couch and I stared back at him from mine.
We were at a stalemate. I wasn’t a real nanny and I had no idea what the hell I was supposed to do.
The house was so massive that I was scared to leave the area closest to the door I’d come in through so I just made sure Milo and I stayed close to my base.
My skin crawled with anxiety as I waited for the cops to pop out and arrest me for impersonating a childcare provider.
I didn’t know if what I was doing was illegal but every time I heard a sound come from the rest of the house, I twitched a little.
“A-ya.” Milo yawned and shifted closer to me on the couch. “Mi-wo go sweep.”
I grunted when he climbed into my lap and roughly settled against my chest, his little head knocking into my chin. “Okay, Milo. You sleep, buddy. I’ve got you.”
In my babysitting days, I’d never had a kid put themselves to sleep like Milo did.
Within minutes, his body went slack and his thumb was deep in his mouth as he slept.
I stared at the top of his head, wondering if he wasn’t actually a little lizard person.
What kind of toddler just decided it was nap time like that?
I’d cornered Milo in a big TV room filled with half a dozen big couches that all reclined and faced a screen larger than the apartment I’d shared with Camden.
We were on one of the couches in the back of the room so I could see the doorway and anyone coming in.
With that semblance of privacy, I wiggled my phone out of my pocket without bothering Milo and dialed my mom’s number.
As always, she answered on the first ring. “I knew you were going to call. I just knew it. I have ESP.”
I bit back a smile. It was the same way she answered every call from me or Dad. “Hey, Mom.”
“Oh, no. What’s wrong? My baby sounds sad. Why does my baby sound sad?” She barked something in the background and then a loud clicking filled the line before my Dad’s throat clearing covered even that.
“You’re sad, Ada? Sad-a? Are you okay?” Dad cleared his throat once more and murmured something to my mom that I could just barely hear. “Stop it, Mandy. If I wanted to take the cough syrup, I would. I’m starting to think you’re getting me high to take advantage of me.”
I cringed. “I can hear you.”
“No, you can’t.” Dad’s smile was so familiar to me that I had no trouble seeing it in my head. “Anyway. Tell us what’s going on. Shouldn’t you be at work?”
I told them everything in a whisper with my hand over my mouth, in case the mansion came equipped with cameras that someone was watching.
I didn’t end my story until I got to the part about holding a sleeping toddler while sitting in the Carrington Estate.
I waited in silence once I was done and picked at my skin around my irritated thumbnail.
The silence stretched out until I was ready to shout at them to say something but then I heard Dad snort. “That’s great!”
“What?” I expected them to tell me to come home to their place and get away from the rich guys who thought I was someone else, but Dad genuinely sounded excited.
“Your dad’s right! This is amazing, Ada!” Mom truly sounded giddy. “You loved that place growing up! Now you get to live there! And if anyone can change those grumpy rich guys, it’s you. Maybe this will be your Cinderella story! Grandbabies, Kenny!”
I rolled my eyes. “Mom, stop it.”
“No. Never. I want grandbabies. You’re almost thirty now!”
I gasped and then looked down at Milo in a panic but he didn’t budge. He’d really worn himself out crying it seemed. “Mom. I’m twenty-six.”
“Your birthday was last month.”
I thought back to the night I’d come home from work to find my parents waiting outside of the apartment to take me out to dinner. They’d tried calling Camden a dozen times to plan a surprise for me but he’d never answered. “Oh. Yeah. So, I’m twenty-seven. That’s still not thirty, Mom.”
“Yeah, leave her alone, Mandy.” Dad grunted. “Women have a harder time getting pregnant when they’re stressed. That’s what Dr. Wallace said.”
“Dr. Wallace?” I felt a chill go down my spine. “Why were you talking to Dr. Wallace about getting pregnant?”
Mom made a shushing sound. “We weren’t. Your Dad’s mistaken.”
I held the phone between my ear and shoulder and rubbed my forehead. “Please don’t tell me you’ve been talking to our family doctor about me getting pregnant.”
“We’re getting away from the topic at hand, honey.
” Mom’s voice took on the determined quality it always did when she was getting down to business.
“You need to call that nanny service and tell them not to send the real nanny. If she shows up tomorrow, you’re done.
You need to make sure they have your account information to pay you.
If not, they’re probably going to send your pay to the nanny service. ”
My eyebrows crawled up my forehead. “Mom? How the hell are you so prepared for this? Were you a criminal in a past life?”
She giggled. “I’ll never tell.”
Dad laughed but it sounded secretive and I got the impression they were sharing an inside joke that would traumatize me to learn about. I made a face and ignored their flirty banter while thinking about what I needed to do to make my case of mistaken identity permanent, at least for the summer.
“What about your stuff, Ada?”
I tuned back in and frowned at Dad’s question. “I packed a bag this morning. The rest... I don’t know. I have no desire to ever see Camden again.”
“We’ll pick your stuff up.” He cleared his throat again and then there was a commotion on their end of the line and he went quiet.
My heart shot into my throat at the idea of what could have happened.
Having spent half a decade with him going between sick and okay at times almost daily had left me anxious about his health.
“Dad?”
“He’s fine. I just shoved cough syrup down his throat and now he’s stomping around like a big angry bear. If he didn’t want me doing it, he should’ve just taken his medicine.” She raised her voice. “Like an adult!”
I breathed out a sigh and froze when I heard someone approaching. “I’ve gotta go. Someone’s coming. I love you, Mom. Tell Dad I love him, too. And be nice.”
I hung up just as an older woman stalked into the room.
She shot an exasperated look at me and planted her hands on her hips.
Dressed in a stiff dress with a high collar, she looked much older than she probably was.
“Why are you hiding in here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.
I’m Sara Walsh, the housekeeper. Mr. Collin asked me to show you to your room. ”
I swallowed down a wave of nerves and stood up with Milo still snoozing away in my arms. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know where I was supposed to go.”
She sighed. “I shouldn’t be surprised that Mr. Collin didn’t tell you where to go. He can be a bit scattered when he’s working. Well, come on. I’ll give you a tour.”