Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
My eyes widened in surprise. How did she know all of this?
As if reading my mind, Tammy added, “Aiden and my husband, Dalton, are best friends. He was at our house yesterday.”
“Oh.” That was all I had to say about that part. I wasn’t sure why she felt she had to tell me the backstory, either, so I decided to ask. “Tammy, why are you telling me all of this? What does it have to do with Nancy disliking me?”
She sighed. “Okay. When Nancy found out that Lisa and Aiden were having problems, she tried with everything she had to convince Lisa to leave him. Said he was married to his job, never made time for her and Hadley—which, by the way, wasn’t true. He loved Lisa at one point, and he’s always been there for Hadley. Did they have issues? Yes. They married young. Very young. Lisa got pregnant and her parents basically forced her and Aiden to get married. They did, and she lost the baby.”
I gasped. A familiar feeling of sadness rushed through me. I had to force myself to keep my own memories of the child I had lost at bay.
“They ended up staying married because they thought they were in love. Turns out, they were really just stubborn and didn’t want to admit that maybe they loved each other but weren’t actually in love. They’d dated all through high school and got married soon after, after all. Anyway, Lisa never did go to college. She stayed here in Estes Park and worked for Lance and Patty at the store, and her parents never forgave her for what they said was ruining her life by getting pregnant.”
“Wow.” It was all I could say. This was a lot of very personal information.
“At any rate, they stayed together even though things were rough. They separated once, only to find out Lisa was pregnant again. They ended up having Hadley, and for a bit of time, they seemed happy. They cared for and loved each other enough to try to make it work. Nancy, however, always had a thing for Aiden.”
“Even though her best friend was married to him?”
Tammy nodded. “When Tammy was diagnosed with cancer, it progressed pretty quickly. It only took a few months, poor soul. Nancy was at Aiden’s house all the time. Her husband, Roy, was understanding about it. I mean, it was her best friend. But after Lisa died, well…Nancy kept going over to Aiden’s.
“She was trying really hard to make herself a part of his and Hadley’s life, and Aiden was having none of that. Then he got pretty trashed one night when we were all out, and Nancy came on to him when he had gotten up to use the restroom.”
My mouth gaped before I shut it quickly. “What?”
“Yeah. Luckily my husband decided to check on him and showed up in time. Aiden dealt with a lot of guilt after Lisa died for reasons of his own. Anyway, he didn’t speak to any of his friends for weeks. He finally started coming back around to our house about four months ago, but then work got crazy. Sunday night was the first time he’d been over to hang out in a really long time. It was good for him, so thank you for that.”
“I didn’t really have anything to do with it, other than watch Hadley. But that’s my job.”
She smiled. “I know I just dumped a lot on you, but I felt like you needed to know about Nancy and why she’s being such a bitch to you. And yes, my granny is probably up there shaking her finger at me and calling me a gossiping whore.”
My hand covered my mouth, and I attempted to hide a smile. Clearing my throat, I replied, “Thank you for letting me know. It makes some of her comments clearer. People don’t really think my position is some cover just to get close to Aiden, do they?”
“Of course, they do. The ones who don’t know Aiden. Then again, it’s time for him to move on and date. Dalton works with Aiden, and he’s been trying to get him to go on a guys’ trip to Vegas. Maybe if he has a one-night stand or something, it’ll help him move past all the guilt he feels.”
Forcing a smile, I took another sip and pushed aside how that statement made me want to scratch my skin. Why did the idea of Aiden being with another woman make me react at all? I hardly knew the man.
“So, now that we’ve gossiped enough about your boss and my husband’s best friend, let’s talk about volunteering at the school.”
My stomach dropped instantly. “Excuse me?”
“Yes! I mean, just because you’re Hadley’s nanny, doesn’t mean you can’t be involved with the other moms at the school. Poor little Hadley doesn’t have anyone to come for Muffins with Mom, or a mother to volunteer to be co-room mom with me.”