“Yes. And back to what I was saying, you’ll never replace Lisa in Hadley’s life. She was an amazing mother.”
My brow furrowed in surprise. “I’m not trying to replace anyone. I was hired to be her nanny.”
Nancy narrowed her eyes, then glanced at Hadley. “She sure seems to be taken with you.”
Hadley moved behind my legs, as if scared of the woman. I reached down and she took my hand.
“I would hope so, considering she and I will be spending a lot of time together. But regardless, I don’t think this is the appropriate place to be having this conversation, wouldn’t you agree?”
Nancy took a step closer to me and said in a hushed voice, “She was my best friend, and if you think you’re just going to move in on her husband, you have another think coming.”
Well, that explained her coldness toward me yesterday. Tilting my head, I studied Nancy. It didn’t take me long to notice she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. I highly doubted she cared about my relationship with Hadley. She cared about something entirely different.
I stood a bit taller. “Nancy, I’m not sure how you misunderstood me when I introduced myself to you yesterday, and again just now, but for thethirdtime, I was hired by Mr. Bishop to be Hadley’s nanny. Whatever you’re insinuating, I’m sure you didn’t mean to do so with two small, impressionable girls hearing every word. Not to mention the fact that we’re standing in the middle of the produce section of a Safeway. As for myself, I don’t like what you’re implying.”
The woman seemed to remember herself. She pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, glanced around, and then flashed me a fake smile. “If you need anything, please be sure to let any of usmomsknow. I’m sure this is new for you and you’re feeling a bit lost.”
Another woman walked up next to us. She had dark hair that was pulled into a high ponytail and bright hazel eyes.
“Nancy, I think your daughter just ran over to the bread aisle. She’s probably opening up all the bagels again.”
Mom or no mom, I didn’t need to look for Hadley. I was still holding her hand.
Nancy looked around, cursed under her breath, then took off after her daughter.
Letting out the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, I faced the woman. “Thank you so much. I’m not sure what I did to deserve her dislike toward me.”
The woman smiled warmly. “I’ll fill you in tomorrow morning. Starbucks after school drop-off?”
“Oh, um…sure.”
“Great! The name is Tammy Miller.”
“Emma Middleton. I’m Hadley’s new nanny.”
Tammy gave me a rather sly look that said,You poor thing. Don’t you know the whole town knows about you?“Nice to meet you, Emma. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Tomorrow it is. The Starbucks by the school, right?”
She pointed to me. “That’s the one! Can’t wait to get to know you better.”
I waved goodbye to her and quickly ushered Hadley through the store and the checkout, then back to her house. The entire time, I smiled at the thought that I might’ve made a friend here in Estes Park.
CHAPTER SIX
EMMA
MORNINGS AND PANCAKES
Hadley stood patiently on a chair as I mixed the pancake batter in a bowl while she watched every move.
“Can we add strawberries?” Hadley asked, her eyes full of hope.
“Of course, we can! Grab some of those berries I cut up for your lunch and toss them in.”
She did as I asked and giggled as she watched me fold them into the pancake mix.
“Now, I’ll spray the griddle and pour the batter on.”
