“I’d love to see it,” I tell her, shifting Benjamin onto one knee when I swing my legs off the chair.
Josephine appears unsure until I give her my best encouraging smile, and she slowly turns the canvas around.
“Oh wow, it’s beautiful.” I motion her closer and lean forward as I study the watercolor painting. It’s of a cowgirl who’s been unseated from the saddle on a bucking horse in the middle of a field of wildflowers. “Truly, this is amazing. The amount of detail you’ve added, down to the smallest of flowers, is incredible.” I mean it with my whole heart, blown away by how skilled she is at such a young age.
Forest beams with pride at his daughter. “It’s going to be her entry into the Rodeo art program at school.”
“I entered the competition every year when I was a kid, too,” I tell Josephine. As much as I love painting, it’s definitely not my calling, as it clearly is hers.
“You did?” Josephine ducks her head, her cheeks rosy with my praise.
“Sure did. I even won a few ribbons. But you… The way you blended the pinks and oranges of the sunset…” I say, pointing to the vibrant sky without touching the canvas. “And here, the shadows you added beneath her hat and behind the horse… It’s perfect and gives your painting the depth it needs for them to come to life. You’re so talented, you’re going to win first place in your division.”
She bounces on her toes. “You really think I can win?”
“Absolutely, I do,” I say with my whole chest, reaching for her arm to squeeze it gently. “Next time, I’ll bring my watercolor pencils, and maybe we can work on something together. I bet you could teach me a thing or two.”
“Okay.” She hugs her painting, twisting side to side before she runs back to her room.
“Next time?” Forest asks with the tilt of his head.
My smile drops.Shit.I basically just volunteered to babysit again, and there’s no way I’ll go back on my word to Josephine by trying to get out of it. Plus, Sebastian and Benjamin are pretty sweet and cute, so watching them isn’t theworstthing in the world.
Forest must know it, too, since he’s suddenly grinning from ear to ear.
He won’t be when he finds out how much I’m going to charge him for tonight.
I startle awake, as does Benjamin, when a flash of light flickers behind my eyelids. I’d fallen asleep in the recliner in the darkened nursery with Benjamin sprawled out on top of me, his chubby cheek warm on my upper chest, his head tucked under my chin.
“Sorry,” Forest whispers, fumbling to pocket his phone, staring at me without blinking once.
“Stop looking at me like that,” I say with a scathing but low whisper.
“I’m not?—”
Shooting Forest a glare that I hope he can see, thanks tothe soft blue nightlight, I hum a lullaby, willing Benjamin to settle back to sleep. I don’t want to risk waking Sebastian if he were to start crying. After tonight, it’s all the more obvious why Forest had looked like a wreck at the grocery store—it took hours to get Sebastian to bed. And I don’t blame the kid either. My heart broke for him as he cried for his mommy and daddy, and I had to hold back plenty of my own tears as I held him as much as he would let me.
“What were you doing?” I sing quietly as I rock the recliner back and forth.
Forest scratches the back of his neck. “Nothing.”
“Did you take a picture of me?”
“No,” he whispers loudly, making Benjamin jerk.
“Shhh!” I rub Benjamin’s back. “I saw the flash. You took a picture. I want to see it.”
Forest says simply, “Your dad is here.”
Peering at Sebastian, tucked into his little bed, I cut my eyes back to Forest and lift my hand. “I’m not leaving until you show me your phone,” I sing.
Forest steps back, pressing his palm to his pocket. “No.”
I make a gesture for him to hand it over.
With the countenance of a frightened animal, he finally confesses, “I took a picture of the kids, that’s it.”
“If that’s it, then why won’t you show me your phone?”
