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 have an opening on Thursdays, Kathleen,” I stated.
Kathleen whipped her head around to look at me. “I have three dogs and three kids. I just…I don’t have the time to do it.”
I smiled. “I’d be more than happy to add you to my client list.”
“Hey, what about me? I asked first.” Claire folded her arms over her chest.
I shrugged. “Sorry, Claire, I don’t do business with bitches.”
Turning to the rest of the group, I said, “I know that me working as Charlie’s nanny is a big gossip story. I hope we can end it all right here, ladies. Yes, I nanny now. Yes, I walk dogs and scoop poop. I also volunteer at the pet shelter, and I work part time at the vet clinic, and guess what—I’m happy. My life is full, and I’m not stressed or worried about what other people think of me, because their opinions,” I turned to Claire, “don’t mean a thing to me.”
Before anyone could say a word, the bell rang. I turned my back on the women and walked away a short distance as I waited until I saw Charlie appear. He was talking to a little girl as he walked out. The teacher followed behind them with a smile on her face.
Most of the kids rushed to their waiting mothers and fathers while the others headed for the pick-up line.
“Charlie!” I called out before he could head in that direction. When he saw me, his face lit up like the Fourth of July. A strange feeling of warmth circled my heart, and I had to fight to keep the sudden onslaught of tears at bay.
Okay, what was that about? The stress of what happened with the moms had clearly made me more emotional than normal.
“Keep it together, Palmer,” I whispered as Charlie came rushing over and threw himself at me, nearly knocking me off my feet.
“Goodness!” I said with a laugh as I bent down. “Are you happy to see me?”
He nodded. “Daddy said you’d be here to pick me up!”
I ruffled his hair and stood. Taking his hand, I looked down at him. “Your daddy has given you a very important job to do.”
“What?” Charlie asked, his big blue eyes staring up at me with anticipation.
“He asked if you would introduce me to your teacher.”
He jumped with joy. “Yes! Yes! Come on!”
A moment later, I was being dragged through the crowd and over to Charlie’s teacher.
“Mrs. Witters! Mrs. Witters!”
The woman turned and smiled when she saw us approaching at full speed. I slowed down, much to Charlie’s disappointment. Once we got to her, I drew in a breath. “Whew. He’s fast!”
She laughed. “He is indeed. Hello, I’m Mrs. Ritter.”
“Ritter?” I asked, looking down at Charlie.
“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “Mrs. Witters.”
Ahhh, the missing tooth. I cleared my throat and looked back at the teacher. “I’m Palmer Bradley, Charlie’s new nanny. I’ll be dropping him off occasionally and picking him up most of the time.”
Mrs. Ritter beamed down at Charlie, then looked at me. “How wonderful. I know Mr. Bryan was beginning to worry about finding a nanny. It appears he did a good job; Charlie has been talking about you all day.”
Glancing down at my new fan, I let out a little chuckle. He was looking up at me with that toothless smile of his.
“Really?” I asked, giving him a wink.
“I told Mrs. Witters you liked to draw.”
I felt my cheeks heat as I looked back at the teacher. “I, um, mostly paint.”
“Perfect! There’s a competition going on in art class that requires our students to pair up with their mom or dad for a group project.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun. I’ll let Mason…um, Dr. Bryan know.”
She gave me a warm smile. “Charlie informed me today that he was hoping you would sign up with him.”
I felt my heart jump. “Me? But I’m not his…I’m not his mother.”
“That doesn’t matter. Not everyone has a mother and father—and some kids don’t have either. It’s all about participating in a group project with someone you care about. It’s clear to me that Charlie already adores you.”
Oh dear. My heart couldn’t possibly feel any fuller than it did in that moment.
I blinked back tears and reached down for Charlie’s hand. “I would love to be a part of the competition.”
Mrs. Ritter clapped and smiled. “Terrific! I’ll sign you both up then.”
As Charlie and I started for my car, I glanced down to see him smiling up at me. “What’s with that smile?”
He shrugged. “I’m happy, that’s all.”
And that was the moment I knew becoming Charlie’s nanny was the right decision.
Mason
It only took me one day to see that I had made the right choice to pursue Palmer to be Charlie’s nanny as hard as I did. I knew the moment Adelaide had suggested her that she would be perfect. From the moment we’d met Palmer in her folks’ restaurant, she’d connected with Charlie in a way I hadn’t ever seen another person do. All of my pushing had been worth it, because I hadn’t seen my son so happy in a very long time.