Chapter Five
EMMA
GAME NIGHT
A loud scream flew from my mouth as I jumped up and attempted to get out of the tub. My foot caught, of course, and I fell right out of the tub and onto the floor with a loud thud.
“Shit! Sorry, Emma.” Aiden reached for my arm and carefully helped me up.
Ignore the tingles on your skin. Ignore them.
“You scared me to death! Why are you in my bathroom?” I gasped out.
“Um…yeah. I guess I shouldn’t take it upon myself to simply walk in.”
“No, you should not! What if I’d been naked in here, Aiden?” I didn’t mean to sound like I was scolding him, but it was true. The man couldn’t simply walk into my living space.
Aiden’s gaze moved down my body even as his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink, almost as if he was picturing the naked scenario. My eyes widened as Aiden seemed lost in his own thoughts before he finally blinked.
“I’m sorry, Emma. Alice told me you’d just walked into the apartment, and I did knock when I came in. To be honest, you wouldn’t have had time to strip down and get…um…well, anyway. How do you like the place?”
Now it was my turn to blush. I looked away as I replied, “It’s beautiful. Your whole house is stunning. I can’t believe you built all this.”
He nodded, and I could see how proud he was of his work. “My wife, Lisa, didn’t care for the house. She wanted to live in town.”
I was stunned. “Why didn’t she like it? It’s gorgeous here! I feel like this is a secret part of heaven no one else knows about. Well…except for the people in the few houses I passed while driving here.”
Aiden smiled, and it was nice to see light in his blue eyes. “I’m glad you like it. So, um…Hadley and I are going to have game night tonight. I thought it might be nice if you could join us.”
For a moment, I almost declined, but I knew we needed to start to get to know one another. “I’d love to. If you need to run anywhere beforehand, I’m more than happy to stay with her.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Aiden looked at the floor, then back to me. “I know we said we’d be easing you into our lives, but…as a matter of fact, I haven’t had a day to myself in months. I could actually use a few hours away.”
My heart broke a little more for him. Suddenly, I wanted to ease this man’s burden. His smile hardly ever reached his eyes, and the sadness was obvious in his voice. He must have loved his wife very much. Of course, I knew the only thing that could really help was time.
He also looked stressed as well. He certainly needed some time away.
“Of course. Why don’t you head on out, and Hadley can help me get settled in, and then we can make dinner before game night.”
He blew out a breath. “That sounds great. You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Aiden, you hired me to be your nanny. To help you with Hadley. I’m here anytime you need me.”
He stared at me again for a few brief moments, then looked away. Something heavy was on his mind, and once again, I hated that he was carrying it all on his shoulders. I wondered if he had someone he talked to. “Thank you, Emma. I’ll send Hadley up in a few minutes.”
“Great,” I said, trying to keep the nervous shake out of my voice at the idea of being alone with Hadley for the first time. “Don’t worry, we’ll have a blast today.”
His throat bobbed and he looked as if he was going to say something else. Instead, he turned without a word and headed out of my bathroom.
I made my way to the kitchen to see if there was anything I could eat quickly before Hadley arrived. Nothing was in the pantry or refrigerator. Looked like I’d need to make a trip to the store.
A few minutes later, Hadley was knocking at my front door.
I opened it to see both daughter and father standing there.
One with a look of pure excitement, the other a look I couldn’t describe.
Slight worry, maybe? Relief? Guilt? Whatever it was, it vanished when I smiled and greeted Hadley and reached for her hand.
She quickly skipped eagerly into my new apartment.
“We’re going to be fine, go enjoy your day,” I said, shooing Aiden away with my hand.
He nodded and set Hadley’s booster seat inside the door. “In case you need it to go anywhere.”
“Oh. Perfect. We’ll for sure need to make a trip into town for food.”
He looked as if he was conflicted about that idea. I rushed to reassure him we were going to be okay.
“I promise, we’ll be just fine.” I winked at him before turning to Hadley. “Okay, so I think I’m going to need help deciding where to put my clothes.”
“Ohhhh, I can help with that!” Hadley shouted as she pulled me down the small hall. We left Aiden standing in the open doorway.
“Be good, Hadley. I’ll be back in a few hours,” he called out.
Lifting her other hand, Hadley yelled, “See ya later, Daddy!”
I glanced over my shoulder to see him still watching us. He lifted a hand and said, “Call me if you need anything.”
Before Hadley pulled me into the bedroom, I called out, “I will. Have fun!”
* * *
After Hadley and I got my things unpacked and put away, we made a trip into town to pick up some groceries for my place, and some for Hadley and Aiden after I peeked at his pantry.
“What are some of your favorite things to eat?” I asked Hadley as we made our way down the aisles.
“Pancakes. Hamburgers. Bacon. Chocolate. Doritos. Shrimp!”
I stared down at her. “Wow. That’s some list. How about fruit?”
She nodded. “I love fruit.”
“Veggies?”
Her little nose scrunched up. “I don’t like veggies.”
Placing my hand over my heart, I gasped. “What? Oh, Hadley, we are going to have to introduce you to some of my favorites.”
She giggled and reached up for my hand. My heart ached a bit in my chest. Aiden was right. It was clear she’d been longing for a female figure in her little life. I wondered what type of mother Lisa had been. Was she caring and attentive, or more like my mother…caught up in her own world?
I chastised myself for such thoughts. Of course, she was caring and attentive. How could she be otherwise with this little girl?
“Let’s head over to the produce, and I’ll pick out some things that we’ll try this week. Does your daddy take his lunch to work?”
Hadley shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Do you take yours to school?”
“If Grams packs me one, but most of the time she and Daddy are late in the morning, and I buy lunch at school.”
I nodded. That was all about to change. It was going to be home-cooked meals from now on. No more bacon and chocolate. Or was it Pop-Tarts Alice had said?
Hadley helped me pick out some fruits and vegetables that looked good to her and some that she already knew she liked.
I wasn’t sure what the last few years had looked like for their family.
I imagined if her mother had been fighting cancer, there were probably not a lot of home-cooked meals before her passing.
I didn’t know when she’d died, precisely, but I could only hope that Lisa didn’t suffer for very long.
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for a husband and daughter to watch their loved one go through something like that.
“This is so much fun!” Hadley declared, taking my hand once again.
“It is fun, isn’t it?” I replied, giving her a tap on the nose.
“You do know you will never replace her.”
The familiar voice from behind caused me to pause and glance over my shoulder.
Putting on the fake smile I had perfected years ago, I turned to fully face the woman. “Nancy, right? From dance class,” I said.
She gave me a once-over as Hadley greeted another little girl who looked to be her age.
“Is this your daughter, MaryLou?” I asked, grinning at the little girl next to her.
“Yes. And back to what I was saying, you’ll never replace Lisa in Hadley’s life. She was an amazing mother.”
My brow furrowed in surprise. “I’m not trying to replace anyone. I was hired to be her nanny.”
Nancy narrowed her eyes, then glanced at Hadley. “She sure seems to be taken with you.”
Hadley moved behind my legs, as if scared of the woman. I reached down and she took my hand.
“I would hope so, considering she and I will be spending a lot of time together. But regardless, I don’t think this is the appropriate place to be having this conversation, wouldn’t you agree?”
Nancy took a step closer to me and said in a hushed voice, “She was my best friend, and if you think you’re just going to move in on her husband, you have another think coming.”
Well, that explained her coldness toward me yesterday. Tilting my head, I studied Nancy. It didn’t take me long to notice she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. I highly doubted she cared about my relationship with Hadley. She cared about something entirely different.
I stood a bit taller. “Nancy, I’m not sure how you misunderstood me when I introduced myself to you yesterday, and again just now, but for the third time, I was hired by Mr. Bishop to be Hadley’s nanny.
Whatever you’re insinuating, I’m sure you didn’t mean to do so with two small, impressionable girls hearing every word.
Not to mention the fact that we’re standing in the middle of the produce section of a Safeway.
As for myself, I don’t like what you’re implying. ”
The woman seemed to remember herself. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, glanced around, and then flashed me a fake smile. “If you need anything, please be sure to let any of us moms know. I’m sure this is new for you and you’re feeling a bit lost.”
Another woman walked up next to us. She had dark hair that was pulled into a high ponytail and bright hazel eyes.
“Nancy, I think your daughter just ran over to the bread aisle. She’s probably opening up all the bagels again.”
Mom or no mom, I didn’t need to look for Hadley. I was still holding her hand.
Nancy looked around, cursed under her breath, then took off after her daughter.
Letting out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, I faced the woman. “Thank you so much. I’m not sure what I did to deserve her dislike toward me.”
The woman smiled warmly. “I’ll fill you in tomorrow morning. Starbucks after school drop-off?”
“Oh, um…sure.”
“Great! The name is Tammy Miller.”
“Emma Middleton. I’m Hadley’s new nanny.”
Tammy gave me a rather sly look that said, You poor thing. Don’t you know the whole town knows about you? “Nice to meet you, Emma. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Tomorrow it is. The Starbucks by the school, right?”
She pointed to me. “That’s the one! Can’t wait to get to know you better.”
I waved goodbye to her and quickly ushered Hadley through the store and the checkout, then back to her house. The entire time, I smiled at the thought that I might’ve made a friend here in Estes Park.