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A huge smile grew over her face. She hugged me quickly, then turned and ran into the school.
I watched her until I could no longer see her, swallowing hard. Making my way back to my Pilot, I headed over toStarbucks. I had to admit, I was relieved I didn’t run into Nancy again. I wasn’t sure I was ready for a showdown on school property.
The moment I walked into Starbucks, Tammy stood up and waved.
“Grab your order and come on over!”
After ordering a hot chocolate and a slice of banana nut bread, I made my way over to her table.
“I’m so glad you made it. How was your first day of drop-off?”
Sitting, I smiled politely and replied, “It was good…I think. I feel like the morning went well for the most part.”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell her it was my first time being a nanny. She also didn’t need to know that every time Hadley reached for my hand, an ache I’d long ago buried deep inside threatened to resurface.
And she certainly didn’t need to know that Hadley’s father could hardly stand to look at me all of a sudden.
“Good. I know it’s been really hard for Lance and Patty to keep up with Hadley’s schedule. Before she started school this year, they could just bring her to the store.”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure who Lance and Patty were, even though Patty had obviously texted me yesterday, but I quickly deduced she was speaking about Aiden’s parents.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue yesterday in the store. I’m not sure what I’ve done to make Nancy dislike me so much. I only just met her Saturday.”
The barista behind the bar called my name. I got up and grabbed my hot chocolate and the warm banana nut bread, then made my way back to Tammy.
“First off, I don’t want you to think I gossip.” She lifted her brows in thought. “Actually, let me rephrase. I do like a bit of gossip every now and then, but harmless stuff. My daddy’s thepreacher at the Methodist church Aiden and his family go to. I’ve known him since we were in elementary school.”
I smiled and took a sip of hot chocolate.
“But I do feel like you need a bit of backstory to truly understand Nancy. She and Lisa were best friends. I’m sure you know Lisa was Aiden’s wife who passed away, though I doubt he’s talked to you about her much.”
“Just a few mentions,” I confirmed.
She nodded. “Yeah, he’s been sort of hiding out the last year or so since her passing.” Tammy lowered her voice. “No one really knows this, so please keep it to yourself…but Lisa and Aiden were having problems in their marriage before she found out she had cancer. It was hard for Aiden to just walk away when Hadley was involved, but they definitely would have gotten a divorce had she not gotten sick.”
My eyes widened in surprise. How did she know all of this?
As if reading my mind, Tammy added, “Aiden and my husband, Dalton, are best friends. He was at our house yesterday.”
“Oh.” That was all I had to say aboutthatpart. I wasn’t sure why she felt she had to tell me the backstory, either, so I decided to ask. “Tammy, why are you telling me all of this? What does it have to do with Nancy disliking me?”
She sighed. “Okay. When Nancy found out that Lisa and Aiden were having problems, she tried with everything she had to convince Lisa to leave him. Said he was married to his job, never made time for her and Hadley—which, by the way, wasn’t true. He loved Lisa at one point, and he’salwaysbeen there for Hadley. Did they have issues? Yes. They married young.Veryyoung. Lisa got pregnant and her parents basically forced her and Aiden to get married. They did, and she lost the baby.”
I gasped. A familiar feeling of sadness rushed through me. I had to force myself to keep my own memories of the child I had lost at bay.
“They ended up staying married because they thought they were in love. Turns out, they were really just stubborn and didn’t want to admit that maybe they loved each other but weren’t actuallyinlove. They’d dated all through high school and got married soon after, after all. Anyway, Lisa never did go to college. She stayed here in Estes Park and worked for Lance and Patty at the store, and her parents never forgave her for what they said was ruining her life by getting pregnant.”
“Wow.” It was all I could say. This was a lot of very personal information.
“At any rate, they stayed together even though things were rough. They separated once, only to find out Lisa was pregnant again. They ended up having Hadley, and for a bit of time, they seemed happy. They cared for and loved each other enough to try to make it work. Nancy, however,alwayshad a thing for Aiden.”
“Even though her best friend was married to him?”
Tammy nodded. “When Tammy was diagnosed with cancer, it progressed pretty quickly. It only took a few months, poor soul. Nancy was at Aiden’s house all the time. Her husband, Roy, was understanding about it. I mean, it was her best friend. But after Lisa died, well…Nancykeptgoing over to Aiden’s.
“She was trying really hard to make herself a part of his and Hadley’s life, and Aiden was having none of that. Then he got pretty trashed one night when we were all out, and Nancy came on to him when he had gotten up to use the restroom.”
My mouth gaped before I shut it quickly.“What?”
