Page 2 of The Perfect Catch (Tennessee Terrors #3)

CHAPTER 2

CASSIE

“Y ou got traded ?”

My head snaps up at hearing that word, the crayon in my fingers skidding over the outside lines of the whale I was coloring. I narrow my gaze at Marissa, my employer and friend, and watch the emotions start playing over her face. Her cell phone is cradled between her cheek and her shoulder while she tries to juggle a squirming eighteen-month-old on her hip. As her nanny, I should get up and go help her by taking the baby off her hands, but I’m rooted in my seat, frozen with trepidation

“Are you serious?” Marissa’s voice raises an octave and she turns her back to me. Oh, no, this can’t be happening again to them! Her husband, Alec, plays professional hockey here in Nashville, and while there’s always a chance for a trade if there’s not a no-trade clause in your contract, I don’t think they were expecting this to happen to them so soon. They were traded to Nashville four years ago and I’ve been their nanny for three of those years. But I guess this is just part of the business, which I don’t know if I would be able to handle if I was in Marissa’s shoes.

I glance at Luna, their four-year-old daughter, who is sitting across from me coloring. She’s too busy concentrating on making her elephant pink to notice something’s amiss with her mother.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe this!” Marissa turns around, shock registered on her face. Her eyes are watering and at first glance, I think they’re tears of sadness, but then her mouth curves into a huge smile and I realize that those are tears of joy streaming down her face.

What the heck is going on?

“Is this really true, Alec? You’re not playing a prank on me, are you?”

Alec is known to be somewhat of a prankster on the team, but he knows Marissa will kick his ass if he ever pulls something on her. My left leg starts to bounce with nervous energy, the anticipation of finding out what is happening is killing me.

“Home,” she whispers, and I lean to the side, craning my neck to make sure I’m hearing her correctly. “I can’t believe we are going back home.”

‘Home’ is the city of Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada. Two thousand, three hundred and forty-two miles away. Kelowna is where they were before being traded to Nashville.

A startled gasp escapes my lips, causing Luna to look up at me. “What’s wrong, Cassie?”

“Um.” I look around, scrambling for some excuse to give her since it isn’t my place to tell her the news. “I colored outside of the lines.” I pick up my piece of paper and hold up the drawing to show her.

“That’s okay. I do it all the time, silly goose!” She also holds up her paper and starts to giggle. That sweet sound pierces my heart and the realization that I might never see her and her sister again makes my stomach ache.

“This is a dream come true, Alec. I’m so happy right now!” I turn my attention back to Marissa and watch her start to walk briskly around the kitchen island. “I’ve got to call my mother. I love you and I’ll see you soon?” She nods at whatever he’s saying on the other end and tells him goodbye.

“What’s going on, Marissa?” I ask as soon as she hangs up. “Did I just hear what I think I heard?” I don’t know if Luna understands what the word “traded” means and I don’t want to be the one she hears it from.

“Oh, Cassie, it’s the best news ever!” I stand up and meet her in the middle of the kitchen where she hands the baby over to me. “We’re being traded back to Kelowna. Can you believe it?”

My shoulders slump and I can’t hide my disappointment. “No, not really.”

Marissa and Alec have been the first family to take me in as a nanny—a profession that was only supposed to pay the bills while I became a famous artist. Instead, I’ve fallen in love with them and they’re like the brother and sister I never had. My art career has taken a back seat and instead, I sell print on demand products of my art on my website when I have free time.

Her smile starts to fade at the sadness in my voice. “Oh gosh, that’s right. You wouldn’t be able to come with us, would you?”

“You know I can’t leave my dad.”

My father is my best friend and there’s no way I could ever leave him. We’ve been through so much together with my parents’ divorce and my mom’s alcoholism. He was and is my knight in shining armor. When I was a kid, he would shelter me from my mother when she was drunk. As an adult, he took me back in when I found my ex-boyfriend having sex with my roommate. He’s been the one person who I can always rely on. My moving out-of-state would crush his soul… and mine. We have a special bond and while I do want to travel the world someday, my home is always going to be where my dad is.

“I completely understand.” Marissa nods and walks up to wrap her arms around me and the baby in a group hug. “You know, just because you won’t be our nanny anymore, doesn’t mean you’re getting rid of us. You’re stuck with being part of our family forever.”

I give her a tight smile, fighting to keep my emotions at bay. It’s easy for her to say this now, but we’ll see how often I hear from her in six months.

“You need to come out to Kelowna and see how beautiful it is. Oh, I know!” Marissa backs away from us, her brown eyes dancing with mischief. “You can help me and the kids move back and while you’re out there, Alec can introduce you to one of his younger teammates. You will fall in love, get married, and live next door to us forever.” She claps her hands in excitement as if this is the most brilliant idea she’s ever had.

I scrunch up my nose at her nonsense. “No offense, but I would never date an athlete.” I’ve never been into sports, and being part of Alec and Marissa’s world has made me even more of an anti-fan. The moving from city to city when traded, all the practices and games that take athletes away from their families, not to mention the psychotic women who try to go after your man just because they’re a professional athlete?

No. Thank. You.

“Never say never, Cassie. You can’t help who you fall in love with.”

“I most certainly will never fall in love with an athlete.” I stick my tongue out at her to lighten the mood and she laughs.

“I don’t want us to leave Cassie.”

We both turn and look down at Luna, who apparently has been listening in on our conversation this whole time. I glance back at Marissa with a raised eyebrow, not knowing how she wants to handle this now delicate conversation.

She walks closer to Luna and squats down to be at eye level with her. “I know you don’t, sweetheart, but Cassie has to stay here with her family.”

“I don’t want to leave!” Luna crosses her little arms against her chest and stomps her foot against the hardwood floors. Her eyes are narrowed and that cute little mouth of hers is puckered into an angry pout. We are minutes away from a full-fledged temper tantrum.

Marissa glances up at me and my eyes are screaming at her to do something to bribe this kid back into her happy world.

“We are moving somewhere very exciting though! Do you want to know where?”

“Where?” Her little voice is filled with doubt, not really believing her mother.

“We are moving back to where you were born in Canada. To the city of Kelowna where mommy and daddy met and fell in love.”

Luna just stares at her mother, showing no signs of being impressed or happy with this news. Can’t say I blame the kid because if I were her age, that wouldn’t excite me either. I can see the wheels in Marissa’s brain turning, trying to come up with something better to cheer Luna up.

“Guess who also lives in Kelowna?”

“Who?”

“Nana and Papa, which means we will get to play with them every day!”

That frown turns upside down and Luna’s sweet face lights up with happiness.

“Does this mean we can have sleepovers with them all the time?”

“Every weekend!” Marissa confirms. I press my lips together to keep from laughing, knowing full well she has every intention of hitting up her parents to babysit almost every chance she can get out of them.

“And will Nana make monster cookies for me every day?”

“Well, maybe not every day—” Marissa starts but then changes her mind when Luna’s lips start to turn downward. “Maybe every other day.”

“I don’t know what that means but it sounds like every day to me, so yay!” Luna starts jumping up and down and we both can’t help but laugh at her antics.

“Why don’t you come with me and we’ll call Nana together to tell her our happy news?” Marissa holds out her hand for Luna, who grabs it immediately. I tighten my hold onto Charlotte while we both watch mother and daughter run up the stairs in pure joy and happiness. Luna’s giggles ricochet down the stairs back toward us and a fresh wave of sadness rocks me.

I’m going to miss these little girls so much.

And I’ll be out of a job.

Loneliness and abandonment start seeping into me like quicksand and before I can push it all away, the voices of my past trauma start blaring in my head.

Of course they’re leaving you too.

Your mother left you.

Your boyfriend left you.

Everyone eventually leaves you.

I mentally tell myself to shut up, knowing that I’m being ridiculous right now. This is neither the time nor the place to have my pity party for one. I can do that later in the privacy of my room with a pint of Moose Tracks ice cream.

I watch them until they are out of sight and I hear the door to Marissa’s bedroom close. I look down at Charlotte, whose gaze meets mine at the very same time. We stare at each other for a few seconds before her bottom lip starts to quiver. Those mahogany-colored eyes, so much like her mother’s, start to water and I know in a few seconds, our brief moment of silence will be shattered by her piercing wails.

“I feel the same way, kid.” I gently kiss her forehead and start rocking her, wishing I could cry right along with her.