Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Tomorrow morning, I’d talk to Aiden about volunteering at the school.
Holding the sieve over the bread, I said, “Okay, Hadley, tap the sides to get the powdered sugar out.”
She did just that and giggled as the sugar fell like snow. When she told me she hadn’t had French toast since her mommy got sick, I knew we had to make some.
“What’s your secret ingredient?” Hadley asked as I poured some syrup over the French toast.
“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret, would it?”
She giggled again.
Aiden had woken Hadley up this morning before he started to get ready for work. When she rushed into the kitchen, all dressed and ready to go, I couldn’t help but chuckle. The outfit she’d chosen didn’t match at all, but she was happy, so who was I to say anything about it?
“What’s going on?”
I looked up to see Aiden standing in the kitchen. He was staring at the French toast, a look of surprise on his face.
“Um, we made French toast for breakfast,” I said, a bit of uncertainty in my voice.
“Emma put a secret ingredient in it, Daddy! It’s so good!”
Aiden looked at me. “I need to speak to you in my office. Now, please.”
Instant dread filled my stomach. “Of course.” Turning to Hadley, I kept my expression easy. “I’ll be right back, Hadley.”
I followed Aiden into his office and stood in the middle of the room, turning to face him. The moment he shut the door a little hard, I held my breath. He was probably going to lecture me about giving her sugar two days in a row for breakfast. Tomorrow, I’d have to do something on the healthy side.
What he actually said took me completely by surprise.
“You are not her mother, so don’t act like it. She had a mom; she was a great mom, and she loved Hadley. No one will ever be able to replace her. Do you understand me?”
My heart dropped to my stomach and my mouth gaped in utter shock as I took a few steps back. After I got my wits about me, I closed my mouth, swallowed hard, and spoke in a clear, calm voice. Even though inside, I was shaking.
“I’m not trying to replace her mother, and I have no idea why you would even say that to me. I’m doing the job you hired me for. I don’t know how else to do it, unless you want me to be cold and mean to your daughter.”
He stared at me like I was insane. “What?” he finally said, clearly confused.
I shook my head. “I don’t know what I did to make you ever think I would try to replace her mother, but I wouldn’t do that. We talked about Lisa just yesterday on the way home from school, when she said all the kids were drawing pictures of their parents. She drew you, but she didn’t know what to do for her mom’s picture, so I told her to close her eyes and think of a favorite memory in her head and draw that. I…I would never…”
Aiden took a few steps back and ran a hand through his hair. So many different emotions seemed to dance across his face. He dropped his hand, then gave me a stern look. “How did you know about the French toast?”
Now it was my turn to stare in confusion. What in the world was he talking about?
“Answer me!” he barked, making me jump.
That old familiar feeling of fear raced through my veins until I quickly stopped it in its tracks. I vowed when I walked away from Ben, I would never allow a man to yell at me again.
Taking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and counted to five before opening them. I gave Aiden a hard look. “I do not appreciate being yelled at. I’m going to answer your question, then I’ll go get Hadley ready for school and drop her off. Afterward, I’m coming back here to pack my things, and I’ll let Rose know this isn’t working.”
Aiden’s eyes went wide. “Wh-what?”
Swallowing hard, I went on, “Last night, I asked Hadley if she had a favorite breakfast she wanted to make. She told me she loved French toast and hadn’t had it since her mommy got sick. I was just trying to make her something she liked.”
His eyes closed and he cursed. “Damn.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to making your lunches.”
I hated that my voice cracked, that I had shown any weakness. The fact that those awful feelings of fear and failure could come rushing back and overwhelm me once again only proved that I had a long way to go. The emotions I thought I’d buried deep down were still too close to the surface.
As I walked by Aiden, he reached for my arm and gently brought me to a stop.