1
If she’d been paying closer attention, Dr. Sloan Copeland, M.D. would have noticed something was off the moment she pulled into the driveway. She never left the garage door open and neither did her live-in nanny, Tess, but that day, it was wide open and the contents of Sloan’s complex storage system were on display for the whole neighborhood to see. The Chevy Tahoe Tess used to cart the girls around was there and nothing seemed to be missing when she stopped in front of the neatly arranged rack of garden tools. Still, she should have known.
It was only Wednesday, but the week already felt so long. Her six-year-old twins, Avery and Addison, were acting as if they could smell the end of summer and had started a comprehensive and coordinated boycott against bedtime. They’d even worked in musical numbers with some adorably ridiculous dance moves, but Sloan really would have appreciated that hour of sleep they’d managed to snatch from her with their scheming.
She’d loaded up on coffee and the tiny burst of adrenaline that always hit her system the moment she set foot in the ULA Medical Center, but after hours on her feet operating, she was desperate to get home and reset her system. She was grateful for the fact that Tess would keep the girls distracted long enough for Sloan to squeeze in a quick, hot shower.
Sloan cut the engine to her Mercedes, then hit the button on her garage door opener. Before she could grab her purse out of the passenger seat, the door at the top of the garage stairs opened just enough for Avery’s small face to poke through. Sloan climbed out of the car and smiled at her daughter. “Hey, baby.”
But instead of launching into a detailed description of everything that had happened since the moment she woke up, Avery tucked her lips between her teeth before ducking back into the house.
“Crap,” Sloan said under her breath. She knew that look on Avery’s face. She’d done something bad. It was a toss up between nearly maiming Addison and attempting to set something on fire, if Sloan had to take a guess.
“Hey, love bugs! Hey Tess!” she called out as she walked into the mudroom. No response as she stepped out of her shoes and pushed them under the bench. She could hear an episode ofMy Little Pony: Friendship is Magiccoming from the TV room. Something was off, but Sloan still didn’t catch it. The scene she was met with wasn’t too unusual. Addison sat in the middle of the floor, a small bowl of green grapes in her lap. Avery was standing behind the far end of the couch bouncing on her heels.
“Hi, babies.”
“Hi, Mommy! Hi,” Avery blurted out before biting her lip again.
“Tess said I have to give you this as soon as you get home.” Addison held up a piece of paper. Sloan set down her purse and took the folded COPELAND stationery out of Addison’s hand.
“Where is Tess?” she asked as she opened the cream cardstock.
I’m sorry, but I quit.
“She left,” Addison said.
Sloan blinked and read the note again. “Uh,” was all that came out of her mouth. She swallowed and gave it another try as she looked between the girls. “Where’s Tess?”
“Gone,” Addison said.
“She’s gone, Mommy. Gone!” Avery added.
A sudden, strange pressure gripped the temporal vein on the side of Sloan’s face. “She what?” She kept her voice calm, but the pressure was quickly spreading lower, to her chest. Sloan got it then. Avery wasn’t worried about her own screw up, she was hyped up over Tess flying the coop. Sloan flopped down on the couch and reached for Avery, who climbed over the arm instead of walking around.
“Baby, what time did Tess leave?” Avery was big on telling time these days.
“Three one eight.” Sloan glanced at her smart watch. It was nearly seven.
“She’s been gone for almost four hours?”
“Mhmm,” Avery said with a deep nod.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Sloan asked. She had the number to her office at the medical center programmed into the speed dial on the landline in the kitchen. Once the girls exhibited a reasonable understanding of how that phone worked and that it wasn’t a toy, she told them which number to dial in the case of an emergency—if Tess couldn’t help them.
Addison tilted her head back. “You said emergencies only and Tess said this wasn’t an emergency. She said we could watch TV ’til you got home.”
“She put all of her stuff in a pick-up truck,” Avery said.
“What the—” Sloan hopped up and practically ran down the hall to Tess’s wing of the house. Sure enough, all of her things had been cleaned out of the in-law suite. Drawers and closet completely empty. Toothbrush and toiletries gone from the ensuite bathroom.
“What in the fresh hell?” Sloan breathed.
“You said we couldn’t say hell.” Of course Avery followed her. Sloan turned around and scooped up her little girl.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“This means we’re going to get a new nanny, right?” Avery asked. “Kaydem has a new nanny.”
