CHAPTER15
Eden pasted on a smile as she walked into Debbie's house. Just as Alice had said, baby William and the twins sat at the kitchen table eating cheese and apple slices. An applesauce packet sat on the table near William.
Eden did her best to infuse enthusiasm into her voice as she greeted the children. "Hi, guys. Are you having a yummy snack?"
A pout formed on Lucia's face—at least she thought it was Lucia. She hadn't been around the girls enough to tell them apart yet. But she recalled Debbie telling her she used to always put a pink bow in Lucia's hair and a purple bow in Mia's hair to help Austin learn who was who and now, the girls always chose those colors.
The little girl, who now had tears forming in her eyes, wore a pink bow in her curly black hair. "Gamma?"
Eden sat down between the baby and the twins. She reached out to stroke Lucia's cheek. "Grandma had to go bye-bye for a while, so I get to play with you. Do you remember me? I'm... Auntie Eden."
Calling herself their aunt was a stretch, but they had three aunts that they knew well and trusted. If they could think of her as another aunt, maybe it would make them more comfortable with her.
Little Mia's eyes also filled with concern, so Eden gently stroked her cheek next. "We're going to have so much fun. Why don't you hurry and finish your snack, and then we can go outside and play."
Eden's chest remained tight with worry for Bill while she fed William his applesauce. She was more than a little anxious for herself as well over the responsibility that had been heaped upon her.
Panic repeatedly clawed at her throat making it difficult to breathe as she cleaned the children up. She had no idea what she was doing. Hopefully, Debbie's kids didn't suffer irreparable damage from her inept care.
She recalled the childcare class she took in high school, where the students helped care for the kids at the school's day care. It was the easiest A she'd ever earned, and she'd loved playing with the children. Her teacher had always emphasized the importance of keeping the children safe and busy. When they got bored was when they cried for their parents or made messes and got into trouble.
Before letting the kids down from the table, she pulled out her phone and sent Rudy a text.
I'm so sorry about your dad. I'm praying for him. Please let me know how he's doing as soon as you can.
She looked down at the twins as they prepared to go outside. "Should we blow some bubbles?"
"Yay!" they cheered while bouncing on their toes.
"Can you show me where the bubbles are?" She'd seen one of Rudy's nieces blowing bubbles for them a couple weeks ago, but she didn't see where they came from.
They both raced across the kitchen and pointed up to a cupboard.
With William on her hip, she searched the cupboard, spotting the bubbles right away. She also found sidewalk chalk and finger paints. The chalk might help entertain the kids, but Eden wasn't brave enough to attempt finger paints with two toddlers and a baby. William would probably try to eat it.
She managed to keep all three children entertained for all of fifteen minutes with the bubbles before their interest waned, and the girls wandered off to the play gym.
She bounced back and forth between pushing a child on the swings to standing nearby as they went down the slide again and again. Her heart clawed its way up to her throat every time one of the twins climbed the steps. In a rare moment when they were all three on the ground or in a swing, her phone rang, sending her heart to her throat again.
It was too early for news of Bill's condition already, wasn't it? Unless...he didn't make it.
No. He has to be okay.
She pulled her phone from her pocket to find Kennedy's face on her screen.
Please don't let this be bad news.
"Hello?"
"Eden, I just closed up the shop. Are you sure you're okay with Debbie's kids?"
"Yes," she lied. "I'll be fine."
Kennedy let out a sigh. "Good. I can come help you if you need me to, but I feel like I should be with Scott. At least until we know how Bill is doing?"
"Have you heard anything at all?"
"Only that he hurt his back and couldn't move without terrible pain."
