Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
After one last, lingering look of warning, Mom starts loading up the dishwasher with an assist from me. Once that job is done, I grab the brownies from earlier today and head out to the table with them, while Mom stays behind to wash some pots and pans. But when I get back out to the dining area, Caleb and Dad are no longer sitting there. I walk into the living room and discover Dad is nowhere to be found, while Caleb is lying on the floor next to Raine, helping her color another page from her coloring book.
“Oh, dat good!” Raine squeaks out, leaning her cheek against Caleb’s massive bicep. And just like that, my left ovary feels like it’s rupturing.
“That’s because I have the best teacher in the world,” Caleb replies happily.
“Who?” Raine asks innocently.
“You,” Caleb replies with a chuckle.
“Me?”
“Who else?”
They both giggle uproariously, and, suddenly, I’m hit with two competing sensations: one, my right ovary joining my left in total obliteration; and, two, the sensation of foreboding descending upon me. Suddenly, I know my parents were right earlier in the kitchen: I need to get on Caleb’s good side, rather than trying to fight him, or I’m likely to get screwed.
Feeling overwhelmed, I put the brownies down on the table with a loud thunk, prompting Caleb to look up at me. When his green eyes meet mine, and I can plainly see the look of pure joy on his face, the foreboding I was feeling a moment softens a tiny bit. Obviously, this man screwed up by not wanting to know Raine till now. Obviously, this man has missed out on getting to know the best person in the history of the world. But he’s here now. And it’s in our baby girl’s best interests to have him here, assuming he’s genuinely going to commit to becoming her father. Time will tell. But in the meantime, my only path forward is to help Caleb succeed. Not for his sake, but for Raine’s. And, ultimately, for my own, too.
Mom comes out of the kitchen and gasps when she beholds the happy scene on the floor of the living room. She silently watches Caleb and Raine for several minutes, while exchanging looks with me. But, finally, Mom says, “Rainey, honey. It’s bathtime. Say goodnight to Caleb and thank him for coloring with you.”
Raine loves bathtime, thanks to the colored, foamy soap Mom bought for her to paint with on the tile walls, so it’s a brilliant maneuver. In lightning speed, Raine ditches Caleb like a hot potato, hops up from the floor, and takes my mother’s offered hand.
“Thank Caleb for coloring with you,” Mom says as they depart.
“Tank you, Coobie,” Raine calls to Caleb, batting her eyelashes.
“No, thank you for teaching me,” Caleb says, and I let out a sigh of relief that’s his reply. Mom’s call to action to Raine assumed our girl would be bathing and sleeping here tonight, at our house, as usual, rather than going to Caleb’s lake cabin with him for the night. So, it’s a huge relief he didn’t correct that assumption and ask us to pack an overnight bag for Raine.
When Mom and Raine are gone, I sit on the couch with my heart pounding in my ears.
“She’s incredible,” Caleb says, taking the arm chair across from me.
Yes, I want to say. A fact you would have known already, if you’d bothered to meet her, even once, over the past two years.
I take a deep breath. “She’s really warming up to you.”
“You think?” Looking pleased, Caleb leans back and spreads his muscular thighs. “So, let’s talk some more about that nanny job.”
Crap. I can’t let him dictate the narrative here. I need him to understand we’re holding the power here, not him. Because we’re the ones who already know and love Raine.
“Here’s what I think we should do,” I say, trying to sound casual and unbothered. “You don’t really need a nanny while you’re here in Prairie Springs, because Raine will be staying with us, and you’ll be visiting her every day, either here or at your cabin. Why don’t we wait to find out the result of the custody hearing before we—"
He leans forward. “No, I need you and Raine to stay with me at my cabin, actually. The whole time I’m here in Prairie Springs.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I didn’t see that coming. “But Raine is happy and settled here with my parents and me. So, I propose we—”
“It’s non-negotiable. You’re both coming to stay with me.”
My brain feels like it’s melting. Grasping for words. “But why? It makes much more sense for me to take care of Raine here, like always, while you—”
“The truth is I need to hire you as my sobriety coach for the next three weeks and two days, Aubrey. In addition to hiring you as Raine’s nanny during that same period of time.”