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Well, that explained her coldness toward me yesterday. Tilting my head, I studied Nancy. It didn’t take me long to notice she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. I highly doubted she cared about my relationship with Hadley. She cared about something entirely different.
I stood a bit taller. “Nancy, I’m not sure how you misunderstood me when I introduced myself to you yesterday, and again just now, but for thethirdtime, I was hired by Mr. Bishop to be Hadley’s nanny. Whatever you’re insinuating, I’msure you didn’t mean to do so with two small, impressionable girls hearing every word. Not to mention the fact that we’re standing in the middle of the produce section of a Safeway. As for myself, I don’t like what you’re implying.”
The woman seemed to remember herself. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, glanced around, and then flashed me a fake smile. “If you need anything, please be sure to let any of usmomsknow. I’m sure this is new for you and you’re feeling a bit lost.”
Another woman walked up next to us. She had dark hair that was pulled into a high ponytail and bright hazel eyes.
“Nancy, I think your daughter just ran over to the bread aisle. She’s probably opening up all the bagels again.”
Mom or no mom, I didn’t need to look for Hadley. I was still holding her hand.
Nancy looked around, cursed under her breath, then took off after her daughter.
Letting out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, I faced the woman. “Thank you so much. I’m not sure what I did to deserve her dislike toward me.”
The woman smiled warmly. “I’ll fill you in tomorrow morning. Starbucks after school drop-off?”
“Oh, um…sure.”
“Great! The name is Tammy Miller.”
“Emma Middleton. I’m Hadley’s new nanny.”
Tammy gave me a rather sly look that said,You poor thing. Don’t you know the whole town knows about you?“Nice to meet you, Emma. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Tomorrow it is. The Starbucks by the school, right?”
She pointed to me. “That’s the one! Can’t wait to get to know you better.”
I waved goodbye to her and quickly ushered Hadley through the store and the checkout, then back to her house. The entiretime, I smiled at the thought that I might’ve made a friend here in Estes Park.
CHAPTER SIX
EMMA - MORNINGS AND PANCAKES
Hadley stood patientlyon a chair as I mixed the pancake batter in a bowl while she watched every move.
“Can we add strawberries?” Hadley asked, her eyes full of hope.
“Of course, we can! Grab some of those berries I cut up for your lunch and toss them in.”
She did as I asked and giggled as she watched me fold them into the pancake mix.
“Now, I’ll spray the griddle and pour the batter on.”
Climbing carefully off the chair, Hadley announced, “I’ll get the butter out!”
I chuckled at how excited she was. She’d been a bundle of energy since jumping out of bed this morning, even though Mrs. Bishop had warned me she was hard to wake up.
I hadn’t officially met Aiden’s parents yet, but his mother sent me a text last night, saying she couldn’t wait to meet me, apologizing for not being here when I arrived, and giving me a few tips on mornings in the Bishop household. The gist was,neither Aiden nor Hadley were morning people. It turned out Hadley wasn’t a fan of baths before bedtime either. But when I’d promised Hadley over dinner that she could help me with pancakes and making her lunch this morning, she couldn’t get into her bath fast enough last night.
Aiden had barely made it home in time to put her to bed. Hadley wasn’t upset there was no game night though, since she and I had found plenty of things to do. He didn’t say a word to me as he walked into her room, read her a story, tucked her in, then shut her bedroom door.
Finally, he faced me with a furrowed brow. “I always get her ready for bed unless something comes up at work.”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure who he was upset with. Me or himself for cutting it so short to his daughter’s bedtime.
When I excused myself and said I was going to finish cleaning up the kitchen before I headed to my apartment, he’d stared at me with that blank expression again, before offering a nod and walking down the steps and into his office.
