Chapter 16 #2
As Heather spoke, her accent became more defined, even a little…twangy.
“I can’t wait until we can go out in public together, you know?” Heather said. “Like a real couple?”
“Yeah, I’m…sure.”
“I know what you’re thinking.” Heather’s expression darkened, and her voice turned hard. “It’s not like… You don’t know him.”
Delaney wanted to tell her friend that she was being used, that he was never going to leave his wife. That if he was unfaithful to one woman, what made her think he’d be faithful to her?
But Heather obviously wasn’t interested in her opinion, and sharing it would only put a wedge between her and the only friend she had.
So she smiled. “How’d you meet him?”
“Through work,” Heather said. “He’s a client at the firm.”
Charlotte’s delighted squeal drew Delaney’s attention. The little girl was hanging from the first monkey bar, her face scrunched with concentration as she tried to reach the second one.
“You can do it!” Delaney called. “Remember what we practiced!”
Charlotte managed two more bars before dropping to the mulch with a triumphant grin. She immediately ran back to try again.
“She’s adorable,” Heather said. “You like your job?”
“I do. I tried something else after college. Moved to Boston, got a job at an insurance company.”
“Not for you?”
She laughed, though nothing about that time was funny. “Crashed and burned. I hated it. I was determined to stay for a year, and I quit after a few months and went back to Maine.”
“Was it the city, or the job?”
“Yes to all,” Delaney said. “I know being a nanny isn’t like a…high-powered profession, but it’s what I’m good at.”
“It’s also incredibly important,” Heather said.
Delaney was formulating a response when Charlotte jumped down from the monkey bars and wandered to the edge of the play area. And then she took off across the soft grass.
“Sorry. I gotta—”
“Go ahead.”
Delaney jogged across the play area, keeping Charlotte in sight as the little girl aimed for the woods that bordered one side of the park.
“Charlotte!” she called, but the child didn’t slow down. That wasn’t unusual. She had a habit of climbing into her own imagination, blocking out the real world. It was something Delaney had told her counselor about.
Delaney’s chest hurt with each stride, but she pushed through the pain to keep Charlotte in view.
Charlotte reached the edge of the woods and plunged into the undergrowth. Branches caught at her pink sweater as she disappeared between the trees.
“Charlotte!” Delaney’s voice came out sharp, panic rising in her throat. She’d promised to stay in the play area. They’d talked about this.
It was bad enough she’d disobeyed, but Mr. Aylett was watching, probably horrified she’d let his niece get so far away.
She followed Charlotte into the woods, pushing aside low-hanging branches that seemed determined to slow her down. The earthy smell of decomposing leaves filled her nostrils.
“Come here, sweetheart. We need to go back to the playground.”
Charlotte stopped about twenty feet ahead and crouched beside something on the ground. Delaney picked her way carefully through the uneven terrain.
“Look, Miss Laney!” She held up a cluster of fuzzy green berries, her face bright with discovery. “They’re so pretty.”
“Charlotte Rose Aylett.” She used her sternest nanny voice. “You are not supposed to leave the play area.”
Her little eyes went wide with surprise. “There was a butterfly.”
Delaney reached her and scooped her up into her arms despite the pain.
“I wanna look at the berries!” Charlotte wailed, her small fists pounding against Delaney’s shoulders. She wiggled to be put down. “Let me go!”
Delaney held on. She didn’t attempt to reason with her or calm her down, just carried her back toward the playground.
When they reached the edge of the forest, she caught sight of Mr. Aylett hurrying toward them. She shook her head and lifted one hand in the universal sign for Stop. She needed Charlotte to obey her, not because he was there but because she was in charge.
He froze a good distance away.
She shifted so Charlotte couldn’t see her uncle, set her on the grass, and crouched to her level.
Tears dripped from Charlotte’s eyes, and her cheeks were damp and red with anger. “I was just playing.”
“I know that, but you need to follow the rules. I love you, and I want you to be safe, which is why I will never let you run away. Because you disobeyed, we have to go home now.”
She stood and took Charlotte’s hand, not wanting to lift her again. As it was, her sternum was throbbing. But the child tried to tug away, then plopped on the ground.
Delaney bent to pick her up.
“I got her.” Mr. Aylett must’ve jogged because he was right there. He lifted her and held her against his hip, his focus on Delaney. “Do you want me to take her home so you can finish your chat with your friend?”
“Absolutely not.” She was embarrassed enough to have let Charlotte run off—and to have required help carrying her. She needed to redeem the situation. “Let me just tell Heather goodbye, and I’ll be right back.”
She was still a good twenty feet away from her new friend when Heather called, “We’ll do it again!” She waved and headed the other direction.
At least she was the understanding sort.
There was no opportunity to apologize to Mr. Aylett on the way to the house, thanks to Charlotte’s crying.
When they arrived, he carried Charlotte inside while Delaney followed. Charlotte’s tantrum had subsided into sullen sniffles by the time they crossed the threshold, but her little face remained damp with tears.
“I’ll take her upstairs for her nap,” Delaney said, reaching for the child.
“I’ve got her,” Mr. Aylett said. “It’s time for you to rest.” Before she could argue, he headed for the staircase, Charlotte’s head on his shoulder.
Delaney stood in the entryway, listening to their footsteps fade down the hallway above.
The outing had been a disaster. She’d failed to keep Charlotte contained, had needed Mr. Aylett’s help to bring her back, and now couldn’t even manage the aftermath of the tantrum.
She made her way to the kitchen and filled a glass with water, then swallowed two Tylenol.
She settled on a kitchen chair. A few minutes later, at the sound of Mr. Aylett’s steps on the hardwood, she pushed to her feet.
“She’s already asleep,” he said as he entered the kitchen.
“I want to apologize. I should have watched Charlotte more carefully.”
Mr. Aylett’s lips quirked. “She’s remarkably quick when she wants to be.”
“That’s no excuse. I told her to stay within the play area, but she just gets into her own world and seems to forget the rules.”
“You never took your eyes off her, and the second she started running, you were running after her.”
“I shouldn’t have been so far away.”
“Was she ever out of your eyesight?”
“No, but—”
“It was a difficult situation, and perhaps in the future, you should shadow her more closely until she learns to follow the rules.”
“You’re right, of course. And I hate that I couldn’t carry her.”
“You were in a serious accident. Of course you couldn’t.” He got himself a glass of water and took a sip. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
One eyebrow arched skeptically, looking pointedly at her hand, which was pressed against her chest.
“It hurts a little.”
He stepped into the living room, grabbed the throw pillow she’d hugged the day before, and handed it to her. “You don’t have to pretend.”
She held it to her chest. She had no idea why the pillow helped, but it did, almost as much as his kindness. “You’re being too easy on me.”
“From where I sit, you’re hard enough on yourself for both of us.
” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Besides, do you have any idea how many times Charlotte took off on me when she first came to live here? I lost her in that same park once for a good five minutes. Scared me to death. I had every mama there helping me look. And don’t think they didn’t lecture me about my failures that day, as if I didn’t already know I wasn’t cut out to be her guardian. ”
“You are, though. You’re doing great.”
“Well.” He took a breath and blew it out. “So are you, and from where I sat, you did everything you could to keep her safe. Sometimes, all we can do is our best and then trust the Lord with the rest.”
His words sent a wave of emotion through her. It was exactly what she believed, even if she didn’t always apply the lesson to herself. It was the reason she was so careful to pray about her job and the kids she watched. “Thank you for your grace.”
“Where would we be without it?” He drank the rest of his water and glanced toward the entry. “If you’re okay to stay here alone for a few hours, I have to go to the office. The tech team wants to show me the latest updates, and then we’re getting on a conference call with Tidewater.”
“Of course. We don’t have anywhere else to go today.”
“I’ll pick up dinner tonight, so don’t cook anything.”
“I can—”
“I know you can. But instead, why don’t you get some rest, hmm.”
Her eyelids were heavy, her body begging to lie down. The fact that her employer knew it, the fact that he’d been so kind in the face of her mistakes…
Mr. Aylett was making it very difficult to remember their deal. All the feelings she was not supposed to have for her boss were bubbling to the surface, and she didn’t know how much longer she would be able to keep them hidden.
Delaney settled on the edge of Charlotte’s bed. The child had slept less than an hour after Mr. Aylett had gone to the office, waking up with a whimper Delaney was lucky to hear as she rested in her own room.
Now, she pressed the back of her hand to Charlotte’s forehead, alarm shooting through her as heat radiated against her skin. Charlotte had been fine at the park.
Now red welts dotted her cheeks and neck, spreading down her arms. Her eyes were glassy with fever as she curled into a ball on her rumpled sheets.
“My face hurts.” She reached toward the inflamed patches.