Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34035 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Again, only two days, but enough.
She eased Tara down, opened up her onesie, and tickled her belly.
Caleb had stood but stayed back at the head of the table as she changed her diaper. Once she was done, she wiped her hands on a sanitized hand wipe, wrapped up the soiled diaper, and disposed of it in her trash bin. This was something she’d been able to do.
Lifting Tara up in her arms, she held her tightly.
“Can I give you my honest opinion?” Caleb asked.
“Of course. I would appreciate it.”
“I don’t think you need a nanny or any guidance. A new baby can be tiring and exhausting. Life changes, as expected. You’re responsible for a baby.”
“So, all of this is normal? Me not being able to write or do anything but sit and watch her all day?”
“Yes. It’s all new and you both need to develop a routine together. It will work out, I promise you.”
“Good, but I still want you to help me,” Annie said. “Please, I will pay double whatever your going rate is.”
She needed to know she was doing this right and the only way to do that was to get advice from the professionals. Also, he’d seen her change the diaper, not anything else. Tara also seemed to be behaving really well. Was she just being a little manic?
Babies didn’t come with guidebooks. Technically, now the libraries were full of them, but she remembered her own mother constantly stating that she didn’t have a book to help her. How she had to do everything on her own. Her mother had passed away a couple of years ago, which was why Annie was now on her own.
She loved her mother. She was also the only parent she’d ever known. Her father had abandoned them when she was young, because he didn’t want to be a dad.
“I’m going to help, Annie, but I honestly think you’re more than capable of handling this.”
It was nice to know he thought that, especially as he was a total stranger, but the truth was, she didn’t think she could do this.
Chapter Two
Two Weeks Later
Caleb waited for the creek of the floorboard. He got to his feet and stepped inside Annie’s bedroom.
She stopped and he held up his finger. For two weeks, he’d come to see that Tara’s schedule was a bit off. Babies often were easy to wean into a scheduled routine, but he’d come to realize that the problem was Annie. She worried way too much.
At night, she would often tiptoe toward the crib to make sure Tara was still sleeping. Again, the few books she’d read had talked about the dangers to the crib. In doing that, she often ended up waking Tara, which explained her crying throughout the day and just being tired.
This wasn’t a problem, though. It was easy to fix. He just needed to stop Annie from waking her up. The first week he’d been in residence as the nanny, he’d come to learn her routine, which was why he’d found her inability to write, fascinating. Tara would sleep during the day, because she wasn’t getting enough sleep at night, but at the same time, the noise of the typing would wake Tara up. Annie needed to learn to allow her to sleep, and do her work at the dining room table, which he’d changed. There needed to be boundaries.
So, the diaper room was now in the bathroom. The dining room table was cleaned up, sanitized, and he’d already set up her laptop so she could work. This next week, he’d told her she was going to take care of Tara his way.
“But I need to check on her,” Annie said, whispering.
He pointed toward the door for her to leave. He put his hands on his hips as he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
She clenched her hands but walked around the crib and left the bedroom. He went to close the door, but she put a hand on his arm.
“Please, I need to be able to hear her,” Annie said. “In case she needs me.”
He sighed. “Annie, you’ll hear her.”
She nodded her head, pressed her lips together, and then let go of his arm. “You’re right.”
She looked at the door as he drew it closed.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m okay. Do you want a drink? A coffee? Whiskey?”
“How about a hot chocolate?” he said.
“I can do that.” She stepped around him and he couldn’t help but admire the curves of her ass. She wore a pair of pajama shorts and a crop top. She looked so sexy. Her long blonde hair was a mess from sleeping.
She looked adorable and sexy. He wanted to fuck her so badly.
Two weeks he’d been living with her. Two weeks of breathing in the same vanilla scent, of watching her with a baby. Annie was a natural. She did indeed worry too much.