Damn it.
Affixed to the upper part of the housing, a small black device points over the tops of the stalls. Almost impossible to see from below. I clench my jaw and take slow breaths through my nose. I yank loose the camera, stuffing it into the tool box balanced on the top of the ladder.
The man has no boundaries.
Protect his ministry my ass.
I move to the next light and remove the second camera installed in the same fashion.
By the time I’m finished in the sleeping bay, I’ve got seven cameras and an ache in the pit of my stomach for what I have to do next. All I can do is pray that Mom doesn’t lose her shit and Rachel doesn’t suffer too much.
I go to Cindy’s office to show her what I’ve found. She’s not here.
“Terri?”
Cindy’s assistant doesn’t even look up from the report she’s working on. “Yes?”
“Is Cindy gone for the day?”
“Until next Wednesday. Her sister’s having a baby; she’s going to Phoenix to help out.”
Shit. “Okay. Thanks.”
Guess I’ll just have to sit on it for a few days. At least the cameras are down.
Sick fucker.
Pushing through the door into the child care center, my gaze drifts around the room. I’m not looking for Danny. Am I?
No. Definitely not.
The hair on the back of my neck prickles. He’s snuck up on me.
Danny leans in and whispers, “Thought you’d never get here.”
I try not to smile. Fail.
He shoves a toddler into my hands. “Here, this one had a blow out. It’s your turn.”
Nice.
“Thanks for saving him for me.” I grimace and make a beeline for the changing station.
I lay Jay Jay on the table. He grabs his tiny feet and pulls them to his chest, grinning like he’s done something amazing.
I smile down on him. “Yes. You did do something amazing…something amazingly stinky.”
The toddler giggles as I pull his shorts down and open the diaper.
The smell. Oh my gosh. I clench my teeth as nausea spills into my gut. I grab the bin at the end of the table and yank the lid off. With one hand on Jay Jay’s tummy to keep him in place, I double over the trashcan, and my lunch dumps into the black bag.
Danny’s warm hand slides up my back. “You okay? It’s bad, but I didn’t know it’d make you upchuck. Here, I’ll clean Jay Jay up. You go take care of you. I thought you were over that bug?”
I shrug, pump a squirt of hand sanitizer into my palm, and rush to the bathroom. My stomach lurches again about the time I hit the lock on the door. I catch most of the mess in my hands; the rest splashes at my feet.
Ham and cheese doesn’t taste very good the second time around.
A knock is followed by the handle jiggling. “Mo? Let me in, babe.”
I swipe the back of my wrist across my mouth. “I’ll be all right.”
“Open up. I brought you some water.”
“Go help with the kids. I’ll be done in a few.” I rinse my face at the sink. I don’t think I’m running a fever.
Another knock on the door. I snap. “I said I’ll be out in a minute. Jeez!”
“It’s Rhonda. Just checking on you. Danny said he thinks you might need to go home. He’s going to give you a ride. I called Donna. She’ll be here in a few minutes, so don’t worry about anything.”
“No. I’m okay now.” As soon as my words are out another bout of nausea seizes me.
When I finish barfing, Rhonda calls through the door, “Just go home and get some rest. If you’re contagious we don’t all want it. Nothing like a room full of puking two-year-olds to ruin a day.”
I wilt. “Fine.”
*
With one hand on my knee and the other on the wheel, Danny drives while throwing looks my way.
Though he hasn’t said anything, I can almost hear the wheels turning.
Finally, I ask, “What, already? Just say it.”
He looks at the road, like he wasn’t looking at me at all. Then those green eyes come back to mine.
I cock an eyebrow. “Well?”
His knuckles go white on his steering wheel as he flexes his hands. “Well. I was curious. You haven’t had your period.”
My…? “What? You’re keeping track of my menstrual cycle?”
“No. I just, I mean, since we first—you know—made love, you haven’t had one. Maybe the puking isn’t a virus.”
My chest freezes and the cold spreads to the rest of me. I count back. Shit.
Danny glances my way again.
“Well, there were a few days when you first started at the center we weren’t together. I’m fine. Not pregnant. You don’t need to worry, Danny. I’m not out to trap you or whatever it is you’re thinking.”