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“I have a family with three children in Austin. They—”
“I’ll take it,” I say.
“I can make arrangements for an interview. It seems they’re only available on Tuesday at three in the afternoon. I’ll schedule it and send you the details in an email.”
The line goes dead before I can thank her. I blow out a long huff of air. Just because the lady on the phone seemed busy and in a rush doesn’t mean the family I’ll be working for will be.
Besides, children are easy. It’s the adults in their lives that I seem to have trouble with. I’m not exactly excited about going back to the town that chewed me up and spit me out, but there’s almost no chance I’ll run into anyone that I knew from my past life there.
I attempt to take several calming breaths, but after a few minutes, I feel like I’m breathing fire, growing madder and madder.
It’s like Chase is trying to throw it all in my face. He can’t possibly be serious about the chance of me coming to work for him and watching him and Emily pawing at each other. Hell, I’m surprised she would even agree to come to Texas, especially so far away from a mall.
I close my eyes, taking a moment to remind myself that they don’t matter. None of it matters.
I’m living my own life, and I alone control who is in it. Getting mad that he needs a nanny is a waste of energy. It’s not something I can control.
Only the reminders don’t help, and in the next breath, I’m grabbing my keys and heading out of my parents’ house, more irritated than I was when I got out of bed this morning after yet another night of hardly any sleep.
It’s been two weeks since Chase told me he wished he’d never met me. Two weeks of little to no sleep. Two weeks of avoiding going outside around the times his father would be leaving or returning from work. Two weeks of driving the long way around town and avoiding Main Street because I didn’t even want to see his truck. Two weeks ofavoiding life.
The time is up for tiptoeing around town. I refuse to be a hermit because he’s a bad person. It’s not fair that the town has on rose-colored glasses where Chase Woodson is concerned. As much as they want to point fingers at me for something I didn’t do, let them meet Emily a few times. They’ll be wishing their hometown hero moved away and never looked back.
I don’t see her joining the Parent Teacher Organization when the boys start school next year. I don’t see her smiling and socializing with anyone at next year’s ice cream social. I don’t see her inviting folks to their house for a social event. She probably thinks we all smell like a pasture and bad life decisions.
Why in the hell would Chase even be hiring a nanny if Emily is in the picture? That thought reminds me of the way the kids looked terrified to go anywhere with her, and that flimsy cage I’ve managed to erect around my heart cracks open. Chase is a fool if he believes she’s just going to wake up one day with motherly instincts. The boys will be grown before that ever happens.
I cringe as my tires squeal leaving my parents’ driveway. Every insult I can think of filters through my head on the drive to the hardware store, but I feel defeated by the time I pull up.
I hold my head high as I climb out of my car, ignoring the people on the sidewalk. If I get distracted, I’ll lose my nerve. I’ve told myself I was going to tell him off no less than a hundred times, but this is the first time I’ve made it this far in my plan to do so.
The bell chimes above the door when I enter.
“I’ll be with you in just a minute!” The voice belongs to Henry, not Chase, and I hate the relief that brings.
On not-so-steady feet, I walk deeper into the store. It’s been forever since I’ve been in this place, but it still looks the same as it did in high school. Even the scent of old wood brings back a certain nostalgia.
“Henry,” I say as I approach the man.
He startles, looking guilty when he turns around. He has his hand stuffed in a box that readsBRAKE CLEANER, but when he pulls it out, he’s holding a pack of screwdrivers.
“Rearranging?” I ask.
He frowns. “Something like that.”
“Is Chase here?”
Henry places the box and the screwdrivers on the counter beside him, as if he needs to give me every ounce of his attention.
“Why are you looking for him?”
I chew the inside of my cheek. I have no idea what this man knows. I don’t know if Chase poisoned him against me. The thought that he might have or worse yet, did that with the boys, makes the threat of tears burn the backs of my eyes.
“I think it’s time we had a conversation.”
He nods as if he agrees. “You really hurt him.”
“I did no such thing,” I snap, my lips rolling inward as I fight the urge to apologize.
