“Yeah, I can make it.”
Sera soft voice snapped me back to attention. “No. Here, let me carry you.”
I reached down and swung Sera up into my arms.
Gia moved with us, hissing slightly as my arms went around the girl. “Careful. I wouldn’t squeeze too hard.”
“I know how to carry my daughter,” I grouched at her before I could stop myself. Sighing, I kept moving, making my legs take me over to the sofa, where I carefully put Sera down next to her favorite throw blanket.
“There you go, baby. Can I get you anything?”
Sera, who was looking pale again, shook her head. But her little hand reached out for my pant leg. “Actually, maybe the bucket. Just in case. I don’t want to mess up the couch again.”
“Mess up the couch?” I turned, finding Gia standing there stoically holding the bucket out.
“Don’t worry. I cleaned it up already.”
I blinked at her, taking the bucket as she pushed it into my belly. I grunted and then watched as the young woman walked away. She was moving slowly, but her chin was sky high as she moved back toward the kitchen.
“I’ll get your cereal, okay, babes?”
Sera nodded, sinking farther into the sofa cushion as the movie began to play again. I pressed the bucket against her fingertips and then, after watching her for a long minute, moved to walk after Gia.
She hadn’t gotten far. She was leaning over the countertop in the small kitchen space, the muscles in her back bunching as she seemed to stare down at the counter. Off to the side by her hand was a freshly poured bowl of cereal, a box still open behind it.
“Gia, hey, I know you don’t know me, but I’m—”
“Colton. I figured.” Her shoulders rose and fell with a ragged breath. “You sound the exact same in email as you do in person. Which I know sounds weird. But it’s true.”
I licked my lips, preparing to send her out. To tell her she could keep the remaining days’ money, but she had to get out of his cabin. And fast. Because she’d done a shit job keeping my daughter safe and healthy, and I didn’t want to be mad at her. But I was.
“Look, I know what you’re here to do, okay? And I’ll leave in just a few. I just need…” Her body stiffened, her hands drawing into fists. “I just need a moment.”
It struck me for the first time that this wasn’t a guilty response. Or even a shameful response. It’s something else. “Gia?”
She had been sick before, but that had been days ago, when Sera had called me and told me that her nanny had been so ill.
“I’m fine.”
I moved to stand next to her, looking away when I saw her raise a hand to swipe a tear away from her cheek. “I’ll be fine in a second. I just—God, the smell.”
“The smell?” When did I become such a parrot? I looked around the kitchen. “The smell of the cereal?”
“She threw them up so many times the first few days, but it’s still the only thing she says that sounds good. But God, I can barely stand the sight of them.”
Realization dawned. Clearly this woman had been picking up and cleaning up a lot of vomit these past few days. Suddenly feeling a little ashamed of my earlier train of thought, I pressed a hand against her back, noticing the clammy feeling of her skin before picking up the bowl of dry cereal.
“I’ll take it to her.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, breathing hard through her mouth as I left the room. As soon as I got to the couch, Sera hit pause and reached for the cereal.
“Are you sure you’re ready for these?”
“I’m sure.” Sera’s face was serious as she took the cereal and then, ignoring the spoon, quickly began to use her fingers to eat.
I sat next to her, noticing the clean, lemony scent of the furniture shampoo. “Hey, I need you to tell me a little more about what happened. How long have you been sick?”
Sera put another two bites in her mouth, nodding. “It was awful. The first day or so, I thought it was just Gia. She was so sick, Dad. It was awful. But she ordered pizza and made sure to get breadsticks, even though answering the door made her throw up a whole bunch more. And then yesterday, I woke up in the middle of the night and could not stop vomiting. It was nasty. But Gia got me cleaned up and didn’t even get mad when I got her messy too. She ended up sleeping in the bathroom with me, but I managed to get up today.”
