Page 60 of The Billionaire’s Nanny

"I am now." Carrington switched the lamp on. "Come here."

Grace came to the footboard and put one hand on it.

"Are you sick?"

"No."

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"No," Grace said.

Carrington got up, put her robe on, and walked her back down the landing. The nightlight was still illuminated and the closet door was firmly latched. The blanket was shoved down into a heap at the bottom of the bed, as it always was by eleven. Grace got in and sat up against the headboard with her knees drawn up.

"Do you want me to read to you until you sleep?"

"Not tonight."

Carrington brought the water over from the nightstand. Grace took two swallows and handed it back with a thank you. Still, she didn’t lie down. Carrington looked at her. Grace was being careful with everyone, the way you’re careful with people who might not keep you.

"Do you want me to sit here?"

"You can if you want."

Carrington put the glass back on the nightstand and sat down on the bed. She pulled the covers up over Grace's knees, and Grace let her.

"Lie down," Carrington said in what she hoped was a soft voice.

Grace lay down, then she rolled onto her back again.

"Can Lucy come here tonight?"

"She's asleep."

"Okay," Grace said, and lay there awake.

Carrington stood by the bed with her palm flat on the covers. If she brought Lucy up to this house tonight she was going to take her to bed, knowing full well that the caseworker would arrive in the morning. She went out onto the landing and called the cottage anyway, and Lucy picked up on the second ring.

"Grace is awake," Carrington said. "She's asking for you."

"Two minutes."

It was closer to five minutes. Carrington heard the courtyard door creak open while she waited on the landing. Then Lucy came up the stairs in a coat thrown over the T-shirt she slept in and untied shoes. She had one hand in her hair, pushing it away from her face.

"Ms. Cole."

"She's in bed. She won't tell me what’s wrong."

Lucy walked past her, down the landing, and into the room.

Carrington followed Lucy as far as the doorway and stopped there. Lucy didn’t turn on the light or ask Grace what was wrong. Instead, she took her shoes off, lay down on top of the covers on her side facing Grace, and put an arm under her head, saying nothing at all.

After a while, Grace started talking about Kayla, the aquarium in June, and whether the school bus took the long way on the coastal road or the short way. Lucy said maybe six words the whole time. When Grace ran out of things to talk about, she flipped around to her other side.

Ten minutes, and Lucy had not asked her one question. She had not explained anything to her or talked her down. She had simply given Grace space while staying close. Carrington had never been able to do that without filling the silence. She felt the urge to walk into the room and place her hand between Lucy’s shoulder blades, but she stayed where she was.

Lucy gave it another few minutes, then inched out of the bed so the mattress wouldn't give her away and picked her shoes up in one hand.

"Can you leave it open?" Grace whispered, still facing the wall.