The Grump, The Bride & The Baby (Calico Cove) by Hailey Shore

Author:Hailey Shore [Shore, Hailey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

12

Vanessa

Roy and I sat on the couch together. I tapped my right foot on the floor so hard, Roy had to put his hand on my knee to stop me.

Blissfully unaware of the tension in the room, Nora played with her contraband toys on the floor. The alligator and lion roared at each other. Mrs. Hughes sat in my usual chair across from us.

“Nora looks happy and healthy, Roy,” she said, making a note in her notebook. “I see you also got an appropriate family car.”

“I did.”

She glanced around the small living room. “Place looks clean. Orderly.”

“That’s me,” I said, as if I was trying to impress a teacher. “I help with that now. So Roy can work.”

“I’m sure that’s a relief for Roy. He was working very hard as a single parent and a fisherman. I’m glad he has help.” So far Ellen Hughes was pretty nice and I wasn’t sure why Roy was so tense around her. It didn’t seem like she wanted to take Nora away. “I do need to make a note in your file that there has been a change in the house. Usually there’s a very extensive interview and vetting process for anyone who spends a significant amount of time with the child.”

“Oh, well, I mean, you can vet me all you like,” I said. “I’m not hiding anything.”

“I’m sure you’re not. Would you care to tell me how this marriage came together so quickly? I believe when I asked about anyone in your life romantically Roy, you said there wasn’t anyone in the picture.”

“It wasn’t sudden,” I interjected.

Roy turned to me, waiting for what I was going to say next.

“We’ve known each other for years. We dated. Two summers ago,” I said hesitantly. “But I…well I had some growing up to do. I didn’t realize what we had. How happy we made each other. I took it for granted and I’ve regretted walking away from him ever since. So I came back.”

Roy’s hand, the one still resting on my knee, gave me a squeeze.

“I see. Now you think you are mature enough. For marriage? For motherhood?”

I swallowed. “I’m trying to be. I’m trying to be everything I can be for Nora.”

My case was helped by Nora toddling over to me and trying to give me the stolen plastic lion. “Bah?”

“We’ll play later, honey.”

“Bah, bah.”

“Yes, I see your lion. Totally legit toy. Nothing wrong with it at all,” I said.

Nora wouldn’t stop, so I took the toy. Then handed it back to her when she reached for it. I did it three more times while Mrs. Hughes watched.

Mrs. Hughes sighed. “Roy, Vanessa…I’m not here to doubt your commitment to each other or to judge the speed with which you got married. I’m only here to make sure that Nora’s best interests are taken into consideration. To that end, if she develops connections to people and then suddenly those connections are gone, it can have a significant impact on a child this age. Do you understand where I’m going?”

“I do,” Roy said.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.