Absentminded Angel(Divine Creek Ranch 20)(50)

Leah pointed at the register. “This is no big deal. I know it’ll all come back to you. This, on the other hand,” she said, holding up the receipt, “is a big deal. When you’re done at noon, come by my office. I’ll buy lunch for us if you’ll run and pick it up when you go get Whit. I miss my nephew.”

“Sorry, my maternity leave was pretty industrious,” Presley Ann said with a smile. She waved at Veronica before walking to the back, greeting customers who were busy Christmas shopping. She needed to get her act together. She was surprised she’d never heard of the piracy Veronica had been talking about and was grateful she hadn’t gotten herself pulled into something that she now knew was clearly illegal. Coming from Willie, she should’ve known. Willie had always been the type to cut corners and cheat.

She chuckled to herself when she heard Leah’s quiet, yet terse voice call out. “Willie, could you please come over here for a minute?”

Her feet were killing her as she walked down the tiled hall and knocked on the bookkeeping office door. She stopped at the counter after Evelyn buzzed her in and asked what was the matter. “I need a cash register refresher course, new feet, and a keeper.”

Evelyn laughed sympathetically with her and said, “Give it time and it’ll all come back to you. And I’m telling you, dear, it’s plantar fasciitis you’re suffering with, and Emma can help you with that.”

As noon drew near, her breasts began to ache, and she missed Whit terribly. She wondered how his first morning with his sitter had gone and hoped he was okay. After checking in with Leah, who had suggested lunch from Rudy’s and insisted on giving her money to pay for both their lunches, she stopped by Margie’s house to pick Whit up.

Margie’s daughter Maria met her at the door with a hesitant smile and Presley Ann’s heart dropped.

“How did he do?”

“It was a rough first day. He missed you, but I think he’ll adjust with time.”

Maria’s words resonated with Presley Ann on the way to Rudy’s. She knew it was true. Whit would grow accustomed to Maria’s home and her routine during the day. That didn’t ease the ache in her heart, though, as she listened to the occasional breathy stutter from Whit in his car seat. Maria had told her that he’d cried all morning long. He looked exhausted, and guilt ate at her heart. Her world had righted itself as she’d enclosed him in her arms, and he’d settled right down. A knot formed in her throat as she relived the moment. Thinking he’d have to go back again the following morning inspired a breathy sob from her as well.

Part of her wanted to stop at the fire station to say hello and bring lunch to the guys, but she worried that would make her look needy. The truth was that to see Kendry and Jared was exactly what she needed. She took a deep breath and stifled the emotions. Quality, lasting changes would come to her life only if she was the one making the changes. She couldn’t depend on others to make things better, even if Kendry and Jared were unlikely to see it that way.

“I’m done relying on others to fix things.”

Nothing would change unless she made it change. She nodded in affirmation to herself as she pulled into Rudy’s shallow parking lot off of Crockett St. Her work table had arrived and was set up in her apartment, bolts of cloth nearby, and half a dozen slings and the same number of diaper covers and burp cloths already cut out and ready to be sewn.

If she wanted to keep Whit home with her, she knew what she had to do, and who she needed to rely on. Herself.

She cringed as she stepped out of her car, the pain in her heels was so bad. Evelyn had suggested buying shoes with better insoles until she could see Emma about the pain. Presley Ann hadn’t mentioned that she couldn’t afford new shoes or a visit to the doctor. And she wasn’t asking her dad. She had child care to pay for now and supplies to buy for her business. That had to come first. Her tired old flats would need to suffice for a while longer, even if they were looser now that she’d had the baby.

Whit grinned at her, showing his pink gums, and cooed as she opened his door. “Let’s go get some lunch for Mommy and Auntie Leah.” He heaved a soft baby sigh as she lifted him and held him to her securely while she nestled his little bum into the sling and then enclosed his shoulders and back in the side sections of the sling. He fit there so nicely, and she paused for just a second and hugged him. He looked up at her with his baby blue eyes and gave one more little stuttering breath from his crying jag.

“It’ll get easier, sugar bear. Right now Mommy needs Maria’s help.”