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I had remained mostly quiet up to this point, but now I realized I could be useful. “I can take him back to my place! I’ll watch him there. Away from you guys, so nobody gets suspicious.”
“That’s nice of you to offer,” Derek said, “but I think we should keep him at my house. It has four bedrooms, and it’s secluded on the north-east side of town. I don’t get a lot of visitors. Nobody can know we have him.”
That’s a good point, I thought. Mom got lots of random visitors at our house: neighbors, friends, and other locals checking in on her. She was a pillar of the Riverville community, and even though it had been a year since Dad died, there was still an outpouring of support for Mom.
“All right!” Taylor cheered. “Sleepover at Chief’s house!”
16
Clara
If I was going to stay somewhere, I needed to get more clothes and a few other things. It was risky leaving Anthony with the guys since they might get a call at any moment, but we decided to risk it. If theydidget a call, they would text me immediately and I would rush back to watch the baby.
With that in mind, I raced home and collected a bunch of new clothes. I didn’t bother dumping out the dirty clothes from this past week—I figured I could wash them at Derek’s place. If this nannying thing went on any longer, I would need to wash and reuse clothes, anyway.
The restaurant was on the way back to the firehouse, so I decided to stop in and make sure Mom was doing okay without me. Angelina, one of our neighbors, was behind the counter taking an order from a customer.”
“One extra large with pepperoni and half pineapple. One large with olives, peppers, and mushrooms. It’ll be about fifteen minutes.” She jotted the order down on a piece of paper, then saw me. “Clara! You’re back!”
“Hi, Angelina. Getting the hang of things?”
“I think so.” She put the order on a wire and slid it back to the kitchen, then turned her head to shout to her son. “Delivery order is waiting, Marcus! What’s taking you so long?”
“I’m going,” the teenager complained. He took the order and went out the back.
“Sorry about that,” she told me, wiping her hands on a towel. “How’s your project going?”
“Project?”
“Your mom said you’re working on a creative project for a week or two. That’s why she needs help here at the restaurant. What kind of project is it? A painting?”
“Um… Yes! It’s a painting! I’m just learning, so it has been tough, but I’m, uh, having a great time.”
She gave me a quick hug. “You’ve been working so hard here since your father passed. You deserve some time off. Your Mom is in the back.”
I smiled at her and went back into the kitchen. I was actually kind of surprised that Mom hadn’t blabbered about the baby. When it came to secrets, she usually couldn’t last a fewhourswithout telling everyone she knew.
Her face lit up when she saw me come around the corner by the pizza oven. “There’s my daughter! Where is the baby?” She looked behind me, as if he might be hiding there. “Are you done? Is the baby gone now?”
“We’re still watching him,” I explained. “We’re taking him away from the firehouse for the weekend, though.”
“You are staying at home?” Her eyes lit up. “Or at Jordan’s?”
“Actually, the baby and I are staying at the Chief’s house.”
She squealed with excitement. “Chief Dahlkemper! So much more handsome than Jordan. Are the two of you…”
“No! Thefourof us are staying there. We’re taking care of the baby together. It’s not a big deal.”
Mom shifted subjects gracefully. “And where is baby? I want to see him!”
“He’s back at the station.”
“Bring him to me tonight!” she insisted. I had never seen my mother so excited before. “On your way to Chief Studmuffin’s house! Only a minute! Very quick!”
“We’ll see,” I said, but I knew I couldn’t do that. It was Friday night, and the restaurant would be busy. Someone would see me with the baby, and questions would be asked.
I kissed Mom goodbye and rushed back to the firehouse. Fortunately, the guys hadn’t received any calls while I was gone.
