AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What?! Oh, no.
"What?" My voice is strained from my unshed tears. "What do you mean?"
"I can't hire—"
"Why?" The chair suddenly feels uncomfortable. "Why can't you hire me?"
"I don't have to explain myself to you."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Oh, no.
"Now, look here, Mr. Jackson—"
A shrill scream from outside stops my words as Tristan and I rush outside. It is Ruby. She's at the foot of the fence with a bloody scratch on her knee.
"Ruby!" We scream as we rush towards her.
I get there before Tristan and quickly bend to Ruby's level. I bring her bruised knee close to my mouth and start blowing on it. I shout to Tristan for a first-aid box, and he rushes in. I finally look at Ruby's face, and I'm instantly thrown. She has Deanna's eyes. Hell, she's almost a split replica of Deanna.
"Ow!" She cries.
"It'll be okay, baby."
"Are you an angel?"
Despite the situation, a smile crosses my lips. I think Ruby is the purest soul I've ever met. The innocence on her face as she asks the question makes me put a hand on her head and rub her hair.
I'm here to save you, Ruby, but not in the way you think, I think to myself.
Tristan returns with a first-aid box. I open it up, fetch the disinfectant and two small bandages, and then dress the wound as Ruby holds onto her dad. I blow gently on the injury, and she gently releases her hold on her dad.
"You're dressed just like me." I take her face in my hand and point out our outfits.
She looks uncannily like Deanna; it's almost scary. She smiles. I touch her face, and I wrap her knee in a small bandage.
"Who are you?"
My gaze settles on Tristan before answering. "My name is Layla. I'm your new nanny."
I hold my breath as I wait for Tristan to interject and disapprove. But he remains silent. I caress Ruby's face as I breathe a sigh of relief.
Everything is going according to plan. You'll be safe soon, Ruby.
Chapter four
Tristan
It is unbelievable that she doesn’t recognize me; then again, we had sex with masks on. I don’t know if I’d have recognized her without her beautiful black and white hair. Seeing her again was surreal, but seeing her without her having the slightest idea about my identity was downright insane.
Business or Pleasure?
Hmph. Her face flushed when I asked her the question, and it’d taken everything I had not to tell her who I was on the spot. I didn’t want to hire her because I knew every time I came home and saw her, the memory of that night would haunt me. I’d moved to New Brooks for a temporary fresh start, and hiring the woman I had a one-night stand with months ago was anything but a fresh start.
It was even worse when the woman was someone who’d known my wife and had probably been friends with her. No matter what I do, I keep letting Deanna down, even in death. The way Layla spoke about Deanna, it was obvious she knew more about her than she was letting on.
She’d claimed not to know how I was involved with Deanna, but she only had to look at Ruby to realize she was Deanna’s kid. So, I was curious about why she was cagey.
I head to the construction site and turn the car down the busy main street. My windows are dark-tinted, so I’m sure no one can see my face as I cruised down the road. Layla had arrived before I left home, and I’d handed Ruby over to her.
