Chapter 14 Evangeline #2
“I’m just the nanny,” Evangeline said quickly, and maybe just a little too loudly.
“Oh,” Grace said, her gaze sliding between the two of them for a moment. “I see.”
Chris gave them a crooked smile that almost seemed knowing, and Evangeline felt her cheeks burning.
Is it that obvious that I have a crush on him?
“What are you guys up to today?” Grayson asked lightly.
“We’re heading out to do a little shopping,” Chris said. “But maybe we’ll see you next weekend at the big event.”
“Oh sure,” Grayson told him. “We’ll be there. I’m actually volunteering all day tomorrow.”
“It’s good to have a nanny,” Chris said, flashing a smile at Evangeline.
It was funny. Somehow, they had spent the entire weekend together. But the whole point of Grayson having her here was supposed to be so that he could do other things, like leave the house.
“See you guys around,” Grayson said, giving the other couple a wave as they headed out.
“Bye-bye,” the little girl called out suddenly. “I have to go shopping now. Bye-bye, baby.”
“Say bye-bye,” Evangeline told Leo, taking one of his little hands and waving it at Izzy.
Izzy giggled and waved back before turning to run off after her parents.
“That’s great that you’re doing some volunteer work tomorrow,” Evangeline said, turning to Grayson.
“I don’t have to if you don’t feel up to keeping him on your own yet,” he said right away.
“We’ll be just fine,” she told him. “After our adventure today, it will be nice to have a quiet day at home tomorrow and get to know each other better, right, Leo?”
Leo smacked his lips and chuckled at himself and she couldn’t help smiling.
“Sometimes I really think he understands what we’re saying,” Grayson said. “I mean, I know he doesn’t, but he acts like he does.”
“He’s a really smart baby,” Evangeline said. “I think he gets the idea.”
“Here we go,” Grayson said, as they approached a split-rail fence. “Oh, look, at that, Peanut Butter and Pickles are out.”
“Peanut Butter and Pickles?” she echoed.
“Those are the Cassidys’ carriage horses,” Grayson explained. “They’re taking a break in the little pasture today. See them under the big tree?”
“Oh, wow,” she said, stepping closer and seeing the two big animals standing under the tree, looking half asleep.
“Should I call them over?” Grayson asked. “I know you were expecting a pony, and these are big guys.”
“Yes,” she said. “Let’s call them over.”
“Brave girl,” he said, his deep voice approving.
She felt heat rise in her cheeks again, and willed herself not to give in so easily to his praise.
Grayson lifted his hand to his mouth and let out a sharp whistle.
The horses looked up just as Leo started wailing.
“I’m sorry, buddy,” Grayson said, his face falling. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
But Leo was really betrayed.
“Let me take him,” Grayson said.
“That’s fine,” Evangeline told him. “I’ll bet he’s mostly just sleepy from all the excitement.”
Sure enough, the moment they had him unstrapped and in his daddy’s arms, Leo snuggled into Grayson’s neck and grabbed a handful of his scarf in his little hand, his sobs fading as his eyelids fluttered shut.
“Wow,” Evangeline said. “He knew what he wanted.”
“So do they,” Grayson said, pointing to the field where the two horses were trotting over. They looked a lot bigger as they got closer, and Evangeline almost felt scared.
“They’re big,” Grayson said quietly. “But remember that they’re domesticated animals, and their whole job is pulling families around in carriages.”
“You read my mind,” she replied, laughing nervously.
“Grab an apple out of the bag and hold it out on your palm,” he told her. “Keep your fingers and thumb down flat.”
She did as she was told, proud that her hands weren’t shaking too much to get the apple out.
“Yup,” Grayson said. “Just like that. If you want, you can do one in each hand.”
In for a penny… Evangeline thought to herself, grabbing another apple, and holding both hands out flat in front of her.
The horses were really close now, and she could feel their hoofbeats reverberating slightly in the earth under her feet.
When they reached the fence, the one on the left tossed his mane and the one on the right snorted, as if in greeting.
“Hey, guys,” Grayson said quietly. “Evangeline, you want to show absolute confidence. Horses are nervous by nature, so they gravitate to people who don’t waver.”
Me too, Evangeline thought to herself, feeling an instant connection with the big animals.
She moved forward, thrusting her hands over the rail with the apples on her flattened palms.
“That’s Peanut Butter,” Grayson murmured, as the horse on the left came forward and nosed her hand with his velvety muzzle.
“Hi,” she whispered to him.
Peanut Butter took the apple delicately with his lips and teeth and crunched it up in about two seconds.
“Oh wow,” Evangeline laughed, just as Pickles took the other apple and made short work of it.
Peanut Butter snorted at her and tossed his head back.
“He wants to know if you have more,” Grayson laughed.
“Do I?” she asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” he said. “But one apple is just fine for him. It’s a good treat. Now if you want, you can scratch behind his ear. He’ll like that.”
And though she would have thought she’d be too frightened, she found that she actually wanted to scratch the horse, even when he butted his snout against her and snuffled loudly against her front, as if he thought maybe there were more apples hidden in her coat.
“This is so amazing,” she told Grayson as she stroked the warm, smooth fur on Peanut Butter’s neck. “Thank you.”
He didn’t reply, and when she looked up at him, there was a thoughtful expression on his handsome face.
After Leo’s nap, which he spent in his daddy’s arms while Evangeline and Grayson visited with all the animals, they sat at a picnic bench and shared an apple cider doughnut and a large hot chocolate while Leo wolfed down his bottle.
One fresh diaper later, they were ready to go pick out a Christmas tree and some decorations. Grayson adjusted the carrier and put it on so that he could take a turn with the boy. Evangeline knew it was supposed to be her job to take care of Leo, but she wasn’t going to argue with her boss.
“What kind of tree do you like?” Grayson asked as they headed past the nursery to the freshly cut trees.
“I’ve, um, never had a real one before,” she admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.
It wasn’t that she was ashamed of her family or their financial situation. They weren’t so much worse off than many of their neighbors back home.
It was just that here, in this beautiful place, it seemed like no one ever struggled or did without. She wondered if Grayson would think there was something wrong with her for not having what seemed like a very common luxury for the people of Trinity Falls.
“Oh wow,” he said, looking pleased. “Then we’re going to get the biggest one we can find and really do it right.”
Relief washed over her and she smiled up at him, totally smitten.
Stop that, she told herself.
But there was something about the quiet kindness of the big man with the tiny baby strapped to his chest that tugged at her heart.
After wandering the rows of trees with Grayson examining and rejecting several that Evangeline thought were absolutely stunning, they finally stopped in front of a row of monstrously large offerings.
“Oh, wow,” she said. “These are probably so expensive.”
“I have a high ceiling,” Grayson said, ignoring her comment about the price. “One of these will be perfect.”
After another few minutes, he finally found a tree that met with his approval.
Evangeline couldn’t even imagine the cost of the thing, but Grayson didn’t even look at the tag.
He simply called over an attendant who took Grayson’s name and assured them that the tree would be ready for them by the registers in ten minutes or so.
“Perfect,” Grayson said. “We’ll just go get some decorations.”
“There are tons in the nursery,” the young man told them. “My grandma ordered extra this year.”
“Wait, you’re not Wyatt Cassidy, are you?” Grayson asked in wonder.
“Yup,” the boy said, nodding. “I guess you haven’t seen me since I was little.”
“You get that a lot, huh?” Grayson chuckled. “Well, your family is lucky you’re here to help out.”
“I like it,” Wyatt said. “I help in the bakery too.”
“Tell your dad I said hello,” Grayson told him.
“Okay,” Wyatt said.
“I guess everyone literally knows everyone here,” Evangeline observed as the boy hurried off through the trees.
“It’s not such a bad thing,” Grayson said. “It means we all look out for each other, too.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all,” Evangeline said. “I’m from the city, so literally millions of people live in my town. But our block used to be really close like that. We would have barbecues and picnics and we looked out for each other too.”
“That sounds pretty much like here,” Grayson said with a warm smile.
“Oh, it’s nothing like here,” Evangeline said, looking around at the beautiful views over the farm, the decorations and trees, and all the well-dressed people who looked like they didn’t have a care in the world.
“You might be surprised at how folks struggle sometimes,” Grayson said softly. “And when you’re out in the country, it takes more of an effort to notice if your neighbor is in trouble.”
“I never thought of that,” she said, frowning. “On our block we used to know right away if something was wrong.”
“Not anymore?” he asked.
“Things change,” she said softly.
She wanted to say more, but suddenly there was a lump in her throat and she was afraid that if she did, she might start to cry.
What’s gotten into me?
“I understand,” he said.
There was something about the way that he said it that made her think to herself that he did understand. Though she wasn’t sure why a man with the world at his fingertips would feel that way.
Just as Wyatt said, when they stepped into the nursery, it was filled with beautiful decorations as well as tables of scarlet and white poinsettias.
Grayson grabbed a cart and they walked the aisles. Every time Evangeline stopped to look at something, he threw it in the cart. Once again, he didn’t even look at the price tags.
She knew she should be grateful, but it gave her an odd feeling.
Exactly how rich is he?
But Evangeline didn’t want to think about that. She wasn’t sure why the idea made her so uncomfortable, but it was easy enough to put her mind on the decorations and the happy shoppers and the way Leo wiggled and squeaked when they stopped and looked at the display of lights.
“Those are cool, aren’t they?” Grayson asked him.
Leo let loose a string of excited syllables and kicked his little legs out straight like he was marching in a parade.
Evangeline had to smile at the sweet sight.
They finished their shopping, and as promised, the tree was wrapped in netting and ready to be loaded onto the SUV by the time they got to the register.
“Do you want to take him for a bit?” Grayson asked Evangeline as they waited in line. “Maybe just get him outside to walk a little and he’ll be calmer in the car.”
“Of course,” she said, happy to take the little one into her arms.
It was only as she walked outside with him that she realized maybe Grayson hadn’t wanted her to see how much this trip had cost.
A moment later, he headed her way, along with Wyatt, carrying the giant tree together, another employee hurrying after them with the shopping bags.
Grayson looked so happy that all her worries were forgotten.
He’s a good man, she told herself. You can just tell.
She headed to the car, wondering what kind of woman might be good enough for Grayson and Leo Ward.