Midlife Rose (Midlife Magic and Mates Book 3) by Vera Rivers

Author:Vera Rivers [Rivers, Vera]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-22T16:00:00+00:00

18

Steph followed me home in her car, but I drove faster than usual, grateful for the lack of traffic at that hour in Ashpoint. The need to be with my daughter, in the safety of my own home, was overpowering me, and the mere sight of my house subdued me some.

I exhaled a sigh of relief to find Collette watching television in the study, the baby monitor on and quiet at her side. It was clear nothing had gone wrong in my absence, and for a half a second, I felt stupid. Collette sat up, her gray eyes blinking as we wandered across the threshold.

“Oh, you’re home,” the babysitter said.

“How did it go?” I asked the young jaguar shifter. Immediately, I regretted my question. Collette inhaled.

“That baby can scream like a banshee,” she informed me honestly. “I thought I was going to lose my mind after an hour and thought about calling you to come home, but when I picked up the phone, she took her bottle, drank it, and went to sleep. She’s been asleep for a while now, but please don’t ask me to come back here again. I don’t think I can handle it. I wish you’d given me a heads-up about how difficult she is.”

Mortified, I gaped at her, watching her cheeks stain crimson. The girl gasped and started to shake her head.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Mrs. Davis,” she whimpered. “I didn’t mean any of that. I-I…”

Steph chuckled from behind me, but I was less amused. At least I knew my powers were still intact, but that was a dose of reality I could have done without.

“It’s okay,” I replied, reaching in my purse for my wallet to pay her. “Rose is not herself lately. I’m sorry she gave you such a hard time. She really isn’t always like that.”

“I really can come back,” Collette added, noting the extra twenty I gave her. “She’s a cute baby.”

I walked her toward the door as Steph headed to the kitchen for beers without saying a word.

“Do you need a ride home?” I asked, hoping she would refuse. I didn’t want to go back out now that I was in, but I wasn’t about to let a teenager walk herself home in the dark.

“No. My boyfriend came over when you were gone, and he’s parked nearby, waiting to come and get me.”

Again, her eyes popped, and I grimaced.

“Good to know.”

Maybe I wouldn’t be calling her back after all.

Collette rushed out of the house, and I locked the door behind her, shaking my head. I should have expected as much from a seventeen-year-old.

Rose was still asleep, and I thought about waking her to feed her, but she looked so at peace, and I knew if she were hungry, she would let me know loudly. I returned to the main floor and found Steph in the study, curled up on the oxblood sofa, toes tucked under her buttocks. She had muted the TV, but it still played in the background, the gentle track lighting glowing through the dark-paneled room.

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