Page 6

I chuckled, despite the tension in my shoulders. “She’s not a monster, but she is a handful. She’s very good at finding your buttons and poking them. She’s a picky eater. And she can hold her breath until she passes out.”
Liv chewed her bottom lip, giving me a sympathetic look. “Sounds like her mom’s leaving was really hard on her.”
My heart warmed to Liv instantly. I already knew she was a good person, but the fact that she wasn’t judging me for my parenting or condemning Maya... it was a breath of fresh air. “It was hard. Especially because Regina blamed Maya.”
Liv covered her mouth. “She didn’t.”
I nodded sadly. “It wasn’t really Maya’s fault; it was mine, but that’s a story for another day...”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead took a sip of her soda. After a pause, Liv shook her head. “That poor baby. And every nanny leaving is just another reminder...”
I wiped at my eyes, not wanting everyone in the diner to see me cry. “Maya is the only thing I’ve ever gotten right, and I feel like I’m failing her. But I can’t afford not to work and stay home with her.”
“Of course,” Liv said, gazing at the laminate tabletop with ads printed from ten years ago. Oils Automotive had long since changed to my youngest brother, Hayes’s, body shop. “So you need a nanny?”
“I do, and I think you’d be perfect for the job.” Before she could second-guess, I added, “I bought the Fernandez property outside of town, and it has a guest cottage behind the main house, which you can live in free of charge. I’ll also offer you one and a half times what your salary was at the feedlot, even when Maya is in school. You don’t have to clean or do laundry if you don’t want to. I swear all you have to do is keep her alive and fed.”
“Jeez, can you set the bar any lower?” she asked, only halfway joking.
“I’d love to put it on the moon, but the thing is, I’m desperate. All my brothers have jobs, and my dad’s agreed to watch her, but I can tell he’s about had it. He needs to be a grandpa to her, not another dad.”
She chewed her lip, and I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff just waiting for her to pull me back or shove me off. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her all that stuff about Maya, but Liv was a friend. I couldn’t just trick her into a job and then have her be another person who quit on Maya.
“Of course the job would include insurance,” I added. “And if you wanted to try that surgery we talked about earlier, I would cover the deductible and give you ample recovery time.”
Liv’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right?”
I shook my head. “I need someone for Maya. Someone good, like you.”
“Good like me?” Liv brushed her fingers over my arm. “You’re the godsend, Fletcher. This morning I was thinking I’d have to move away from Cottonwood Falls.”
I shook my head at her. “This town wouldn’t be the same without you.” And selfishly, I wanted her to stay to help me. I was out of options.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it. When do you want me to start?”
“Tomorrow?”
With a grin, she stretched her hand across the table. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
5
Liv
My mom looked incredulous when I got home and told her I had a job and was moving out tonight. I swore her curly hair got frizzier the more I told her about the situation—a sure sign that she was overwhelmed.
She sat on the bed as I began piling clothes into an open suitcase. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
I nodded. “Mom, I’ve been dealing with a pigheaded, narcissistic blowhard for the last year. I’ve been miserable, but I’ve done it. How hard could one eight-year-old little girl be?”
She chuckled. “You’d be surprised. Sometimes in the classroom, I feel like pulling out all my hair.”
“But you manage,” I said. “And so will I.”
She seemed unsure as she went to my closet and began pulling out hangers. “What that poor girl has been through... it might do you some good to look up the effects of childhood trauma.”
“That’s the kind of support and advice I need,” I said. “Thank you.”
She smiled, but I could still see the concern in her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait a week or so to move in? You know, feel it out?”