Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
My heart dropped. “She did?”
“Yeah, Opal and Jake had bathed her, and I put her to bed. She wanted you to put her to bed, I guess.”
I smiled. “Did you read her a book?”
He chuckled. “No, I tucked her in and left the room.”
I sighed. “Things are just weird between me and Liam.”
“He told me what happened.”
Surprised by this revelation, I asked, “How he accused me of trying to move in and take Hope’s place? I still can’t even believe he would say that to me. I racked my brain to see if I had given Liam the wrong idea at any point in our friendship, and I never did. I swear to you, Nathan. He was a friend of mine. Just like Hope was.”
Nathan rubbed at the back of his neck. “I know you didn’t. Hope planted that in his head a few months before she passed, and well…Liam’s reason for saying it is not my story to tell.”
I raised a brow. What did he mean by that? “I was her friend, Nathan. Why in the world would she even think that of me? All I wanted to do was help them because I cared about them.”
“Cared? Past tense?”
“Of course not. I thought Liam and I were friends, Nathan. Real friends. I enjoyed hanging out with him, and while I’m not blind to his good looks, I never once had any thoughts like that.”
“You are friends, Aurora. He lost his wife and was in a bad place.”
I jerked my head back. “I know that. She was my friend. I lost her too. And I saw him at the hotel the other morning and offered to help, and he hesitated. That tells me he still thinks I’m offering to help because I have a motive.”
“He doesn’t think that way. I promise you; he doesn’t think that way. I’m here because, Aurora, he needs help.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I wanted to say he would have to find it from someone else, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Instead, I exhaled. “With what?”
“Jake and Opal are going to travel in their retirement, like they had planned before Hope got sick. They’ve put it off to help Liam, but they will be leaving soon. I can only help at The Muddled Moose for so much longer, and Liam needs to get past the issue he has with a promise he made to Hope. Harsh as that may sound. He needs to find a nanny for Winnie. He promised Hope no daycare. Actually, she told him she didn’t want anyone other than family to watch Winnie.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
He nodded.
“Okay. Does he need help finding a nanny?”
He shrugged. “I think he does. He said he doesn’t, but will he really know what questions to ask? I know this is so sexist of me to say, but you’re a woman, and you’ve been with Winnie a while. I feel like you know what to look for.”
I sunk further into my seat. “Does he want my help?”
“He wants to make amends with you, that much I know. Do you think you can stop by tonight and talk to him? Offer to help in the search for a nanny.”
My first instinct was to say yes, for the sake of Winnie. Right before I answered, I remembered my date with Gary.
“I can’t tonight. I have a date.”
My brother’s eyes went wide. “You have a date? With who? James?”
“James? No, we’re just friends. I’ve told you that, Nate.”
He leaned forward. “I also know you left with him the same night Liam said all that shit to you. Plus, he was seen leaving the back alley behind the bookstore that next morning.”
If I thought it possible to do, my mouth would have fallen open onto my desk. “Do you have people spying on me?”
He laughed. “No! It’s a small town, Aurora. People see things and it happened to be Pete who was running that morning.”
“Pete!” I hissed. “I should have known!”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “If it’s not James, who is it?”
“Gary Harris. He’s the new finance director for the city. Cadie introduced us, and he stopped by right before you did and asked me out to dinner.”
For a moment, my brother looked disappointed. He quickly changed his expression and smiled. “I think that’s great; you’re going out on a date. Is he a nice guy?”
“I think so. I don’t know him that well.”
“Well,” he said, while he moved in his seat and cleared his throat. “Is there any way you can swing by and talk to Liam before your date?”
“Again, does he want me to?”
“He mentioned you haven’t called or stopped by, so I think he would really like for you to.”
I sighed. “I’ll text him and see if he is available for me to visit Winnie this afternoon. If he wants to discuss my help with finding a nanny, then that’s fine. But I’m going to leave it in his court.”