AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We are?” She turned toward Heather.
“No, we’re going on a trip. I texted you several times last night.”
Cassie frowned. “My phone... Uh...”
Heather raised her palm. “We got a call late last night that Ty’s dad fell and broke his hip. He’s in the hospital and his mom is really upset.”
“Holy shi—er, moley! Is he going to be okay?”
Ty shrugged. “A broken hip is always a concern at his age.”
“His age?” Cassie frowned. “He’s not that old.”
“Old enough to make it a worry, apparently. I tried to text you but—”
Daisy cut her aunt off. “But Momma was toooooo busy winnin’ at slap an’ tickle.”
Cassie shot Tyler a glare and mouthed, “This is your fault.”
Tyler’s lips twitched and he ate another mouthful of pancakes.
“So, wait... Are you headed down there, Ty?” Cassie asked him. “What about Christmas?”
“Yes,” Heather answered. “John won’t be able to travel for a while. Tyler’s whole family decided to have Christmas at the family home instead of coming out here. We’ll do Christmas here next year.”
“That’s all been decided already?” Cassie asked in shock.
“Sorry,” Tyler apologized. “But you’re welcome to come. My mom said you can come down and stay at the house with us. There’s plenty of room for you and Crazy Daze.”
“Yeah!” Daisy screamed, plunking down her glass so hard, OJ splashed over the rim and onto the table.
She couldn’t do that. She just couldn’t pick up and leave. She not only just got to Manning Grove, she now had a job. “I just got this job, I can’t leave. And I don’t want to uproot Daisy already. Even if it’s only for a couple of weeks.”
“It’s not a permanent job, Cass,” Heather reminded her. “You can probably get it back later or find a new one. Maybe you-know-who will be found during the holidays and things can get back to normal for you.”
“Who got lost?” Daisy asked, her head spinning around the table.
“No one got lost,” Cassie assured her, then shook her head. “I’m not ditching this job. It’s paying me cash. Even you said one like that would be hard to find.”
Her sister sat back and nodded. “Yes, you’re right.”
“And I need the money,” Cassie needlessly reminded her sister.
“What will you do about Daisy? Do you want us to take her with us?”
What?
Heather continued, “It would only be for a little more than two weeks. Until after New Year’s Day.”
After New Year’s Day? She couldn’t live without her daughter for that long. It was bad enough Daisy’s father disappeared from her life. Not only that, she couldn’t stick Heather and Tyler with her—as Judge called her—sassy daughter.
That also wouldn’t be fair to Tyler’s parents, especially since John was currently hospitalized and would need time for recuperation. An active, loud five-year-old would not help.
“Yeah, Momma, I’ll get more presents that way.”
“No, you’re not going down to North Carolina. You’re staying here with me.”
“I don’t wanna stay with you,” Daisy huffed. “I’ll lose at slap an’ tickle. Maybe Uncle Tyler’s momma will play with me an’ I’ll win.”
She shot Tyler another deadly glare. “Again, it’s not a game for kids, Daze.”
She could just imagine what a nightmare it would be once Daisy went back to school and asked the other kids to play slap and tickle. She could be the first kid in history to be expelled from kindergarten.
Daisy crossed her arms over her chest, made a mad face and huffed, “Fine.”
“Finish your breakfast,” she told her daughter and turned toward Tyler. “When are you two leaving?”
“We decided to drive, so tomorrow morning. We’ll take turns and drive right through.”
Cassie grimaced and nodded.
“Momma, can I go watch cartoons?” Daisy hopped out of her chair. “Pweeeeeeze.”
It was no surprise her five-year-old was tired of the adults talking. “Please,” she corrected her daughter.
“Please,” she harrumphed with a sharp head nod.
“Yes, you may.”
Daisy squealed loud enough to make everyone but her wince and she dashed from the kitchen.
“At a reasonable volume,” Cassie called out to her daughter. Of course, she didn’t get an answer.
“At least the decorations are already up, but I still feel bad leaving you two alone for the holidays,” Heather said.
“We’ll be fine. We were alone last Christmas at the house.”
“I thought Mom and Dad came over.”
Cassie’s lips thinned. “They went on that cruise, remember?” She lifted her eyebrows.
Heather frowned. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that cruise since we spent the holidays last year at Tyler’s brother’s.”
That trip was conveniently booked when Cassie suggested they get together for Christmas. Her parents took a last-minute two-week cruise in the Caribbean.
“My only concern is what to do with Daisy when I’m working. Any suggestions?”
Paying for a babysitter—if she could even find one—would cut into her small pile of cash. It would delay her leaving her sister’s house. Even so, she had no choice but to find someone to watch her daughter. She couldn’t bring her along to the bar.
