Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I gave his hand a squeeze. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t want to, Mason. Even with you being all stalker-like.”
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“I think the change will be nice,” I said.
Aaaand I’m not telling you that I was insanely jealous when I saw another woman in your home, so there’s that as well.
No, that part I was going to keep to myself.
I parked my car and turned off the engine before I drew in a deep breath. The nerves hadn’t kicked in until I’d pulled into the elementary school parking lot. Mason told me I could either park and walk up or wait in the line. I decided to park and walk up so I could introduce myself to Charlie’s teacher. It was cold out, but it hadn’t started to snow yet today, so it was the perfect opportunity to do a little meet-and-greet. The faster I got it over with, the faster the gossip would die down.
“It’s now or never,” I said, opening the car door and slipping out. I locked it and tucked my hands into my coat as I headed toward where Mason said to wait. As I got closer, a few moms looked at me with curious expressions. I knew one or two of them, since we’d gone to high school together. It was hard for me to believe that girls I went to school with had kids already. Kids old enough to be in school, to top it off.
I saw Kathleen Duncan standing there. I knew she’d gotten married right out of high school and that she’d had a baby not long after.
“Palmer?” Kathleen asked as I grew closer to the group huddled outside the school. She let out a chuckle as she glanced at the other mothers. “It’s true! You’re Charlie Bryan’s nanny!”
I forced myself to give her a carefree smile. I wasn’t stupid. I knew people talked behind my back—and sometimes within earshot, so I could hear them. I wasn’t on the path that people thought I should be on, and honestly, I had never given a rat’s ass what people thought. But suddenly…suddenly it seemed to matter a hell of a lot, and that bugged me.
Stopping in front of the group of women, I looked at each of them while I flashed a wide grin. “I guess Ms. Seaside got one thing right, didn’t she?”
They all laughed, but I could see the millions of questions rolling around in their heads.
“I mean, no one can blame you for taking the job. Dr. Bryan is one hot daddy,” a woman with red hair said as she looked me up and down.
“A zaddy!” Kathleen stated with a laugh.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “I see we have some local gossip column fans among us.”
The laughter and giggles swiftly died down, and Kathleen cleared her throat. “So, will you be volunteering at the school since Dr. Bryan doesn’t have the time?”
My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “I’m sorry?”
The redhead piped up. “Oh, it’s a big deal to volunteer at the school. I mean, the teachers are so overworked and usually all of us moms—and some of the dads—try our best to help out when we can.”
“There’s a sign-up sheet in the office,” someone else said. “When you drop Charlie off for school tomorrow, you should sign up.”
I turned to look where the new voice had come from. Claire Press. I really didn’t like her in high school, and, from the way she was currently eyeing me, I knew I wasn’t going to like her now.
“Maybe. I’ll have to talk to Mason and see what my schedule is.”
They all looked at me with shocked expressions, and then all said as one group, “Maybe?”
I gave them a one-shoulder shrug. “Maybe. While Charlie’s in school, I have other responsibilities.”
Kathleen laughed. “Surely you don’t mean dog walking!”
The group broke into laughter once more, but when I glared at each of them, they stopped. I was determined to get one thing straight with these women: I was not a pushover.
“I most certainly do mean that. I also own my own business.”
“Picking up dog shit,” Claire scoffed. I heard one mom gasp in horror.
“That’s right,” I said to Claire. “Believe it or not, there are some people out there who don’t enjoy that part of pet ownership. And some who are just plain lazy and think it’s beneath them to do it. By the way, so sorry I couldn’t work you into my poop-scooping schedule, Claire. I hope you’re over your gag reflex.”
The entire group swung their eyes toward Claire. Kathleen snarled her lip. “You were going to pay someone to clean up your dog’s mess? You complained about the people who use Palmer’s services when I was thinking about calling her!”
Claire swallowed hard, looking as if she was about to make a run for the hills.