Spencer Westerly.
No. I refuse to do this to myself. I haven’t thought about him in years and I won’t start thinking about him now.
Yes, he had the same last name as the woman who’d hired Hailey, but Spencer needed odd jobs to scrape together enough money to buy used equipment for his garage computer lab. His mother was a nurse. His father had been a physical therapist. Delinda Westerly, on the other hand, was an heiress with a mansion by the ocean. Doesn’t mean anything. All it does is remind me of another time in my life when I felt this lost.
But losing Spencer taught me that I didn’t need him to survive. It made me stronger.
“This will be good for us,” Hailey said, as much for herself as for Skye. Beyond the modest pay, the job included housing along with, most importantly, health insurance.
Parenthood had come suddenly and without instructions. After the funeral and a rough week of realizing how little her brother had planned for such an event, Hailey had tried to get things back to normal for Skye.
As if that were possible after such a devastating loss. Hailey had sought the advice of friends and counselors at Skye’s school. So many conflicting opinions. In the end, Hailey had found an apartment in Skye’s school district so her niece could have consistency with friends and her teacher.
A good plan, until Skye had refused to go to school and when forced, had reacted with such despair that more experts were brought in. Skye completely shut down then—refusing to speak a single word. No one expected it to last, but it had.
In the end, on the recommendation of the school and her therapist, Skye began homeschooling with a certified teacher. Months later, Skye was still withdrawn. She refused to see any of her old friends or speak. Hailey was beginning to panic. The therapist Skye saw once a week was expensive, even with insurance. Financially, they’d been sinking even before she lost her job.
This is a fresh start for us. The therapist said Skye was over the worst of it and that the rest would simply take time. Skye’s teacher, Mrs. Tillsbury, said she was working above grade level as long as all assessments were done in writing. All Skye seemed to enjoy was reading—and only the books Hailey had taken from Skye’s old home. Hailey had tried to speak to Skye about Ryan and Erin. Skye withdrew from any mention of them, but she would sit and listen to Hailey read the stories they had read to her. Hailey didn’t know if those stories made it easier or harder for Skye to heal, but she felt Ryan would want her to keep his memory alive.
Hailey hadn’t expected that the hardest part of raising a child would be the uncertainty of doing any of it right. The therapist accepted Skye’s silence and her quiet nature, as her teacher did, because they hadn’t known the free-spirited, boisterous child she’d once been.
But I did. Hailey blinked back the tears she refused to give in to. Don’t give up on me, baby. I may not have known what to do at first, but I’m learning as fast as I can. We’ll figure this out together. She looked out the window briefly to regain her composure. The taxi pulled off the street and turned onto a massive driveway that led to a stone-fronted mansion. One paycheck and I’ll have my car repairs done. Every step forward is one where we don’t fall back.
Even though it felt intimidating to just pick up and move into the guesthouse of a woman she’d spoken to only briefly on the phone, Hailey forced herself to be optimistic. The job had come like an answer to a prayer. Two weeks earlier, on the way back from a disappointing interview, Hailey had found a newspaper on the bus seat beside her. It had been folded open to the employment section, and this job had been circled. The description had fit exactly what she needed. Fate? A message from Ryan? She wanted . . . no, needed to believe so.
When the taxi stopped in front of the house, a stately-looking older man in a gray suit approached the vehicle and opened the door. Skye’s hand tightened on Hailey’s.
“Welcome, Ms. Tiverton. My name is Michael.” He offered his hand to help Hailey out.
Before taking it, Hailey looked back at Skye. Their eyes met and held. “We need this, Skye. Trust me. Please, honey. I know it’s hard, but I love you. Home is wherever we both are.” Skye nodded solemnly and scooted out of the taxi as Hailey did. Skye seemed afraid, but she was putting on a brave face. Hailey wanted to hug her, but she was afraid it would reduce them both to tears.
“You must be Miss Skye. We’re happy to have you.” He leaned down in a confidential manner. “Even Mrs. Westerly. She loves children.”
“She does?” Hailey asked, a sense of relief washing over her. Her only impression of her employer had been from their brief phone interview, during which the older woman had sounded stern.
Michael straightened and smiled. “Just don’t tell her I said so.” He paid the driver before Hailey had a chance, then collected the luggage from him. “The boxes you sent are in the guesthouse. I’ll walk you over. Take time to settle in. Mrs. Westerly is expecting to meet with you before dinner, which will be at six. She’d like to speak with you first, though.”
“Today?” Hailey had hoped she’d have a day to adjust. She could hardly say no to meeting with her employer, but she hadn’t lined up anyone to stay with Skye. Mrs. Tillsbury had always been okay with staying extra hours if Hailey made arrangements and paid her for her time. She closed her eyes briefly. This is not how I was hoping day one would go.
Skye stepped closer to Hailey. Separation in the new place would not be easy. It broke Hailey’s heart not to be able to give her more time, but they both needed this job to work out.
Hailey turned and bent until she was eye to eye with her niece. “We can do this.”
Skye nodded but held her silence.
Panic nipped at Hailey, but she pushed it back. Our lives were getting smaller and smaller where we were. We didn’t have a choice.
Michael cleared his throat and started walking. “Miss Jeanie is our cook, and she makes chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I’ll tell her I’m craving some, and if I see Miss Skye in the house later, perhaps she could join us for some. You have to eat them fast or Miss Jeanie will scarf them up herself.” He turned and winked. “We should keep that last part between us, also.”
Hailey smiled and nodded toward Michael. “Homemade cookies? What’s better than that? I say yes, but on one condition.”
Skye frowned in question.
Hailey caressed her niece’s cheek. “You have to promise to save me one.”
Skye nodded and some of the tension seemed to leave her.