Her Fresh Start Family. Lorraine Beatty
Strangely enough, she was getting used to him watching out for her. It had been a long time since anyone had cared about how she was doing.
She glanced at the clock. In a couple of hours, she could go home, hide under the covers and watch some mindless pay-per-view movie, and when she woke up tomorrow, she could put it all behind her for another year.
“Nina.”
She looked up as Bret came through her office door. Her heart lurched when two little girls scurried in behind him.
“I have some people I’d like you to meet.”
Caught off guard, she could only stare. No, please, not now. She wasn’t strong enough to face children today. Tomorrow.
From somewhere far off, she heard his voice as he introduced his children. He touched the top of each little head lovingly as he spoke.
“This is Olivia—she’s eight—and this one is Georgiana. She’s five.”
She recalled Bret mentioning he had two daughters, but she’d ignored it. She didn’t want to know about Bret’s personal life. The less she knew, the less involved she’d become.
The sight of the older girl plunged a hot knife into her throat. She was the same age as Molly when... The memories she kept locked away came clawing back, and she was powerless to stop them. She gritted her teeth and tried to look pleasant.
The girls said hello, and Georgie waved, a big smile on her sweet little face. “Hello.” She wasn’t sure she actually made an audible sound, because blood surged loudly in her ears, and her heart thundered so hard her chest hurt. She thought Bret said something about the girls wanting to meet her, but she wasn’t sure about that.
“Can we color?” The little one bounced on her toes.
“Miss Kitty keeps books and colors for the children, and sometimes she colors with us. Do you like to color?”
Olivia’s question stole her breath. Molly loved to color. She looked at Bret and saw his expression fade from proud parent to friendly smile to deep concern. She should say something. Explain, but her heart was being shredded. The two little girls with their pigtails and sweet smiles were yanking the thick cover from her deeply buried memories. Memories that would consume her if she let them loose.
“Girls, why don’t you go back to my office and tell Miss Jackie that I said you can have some cookies. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“But we just met the pretty lady.”
“Go on. Grandpa will be here soon to pick you up.”
Nina managed to say goodbye in a calm voice, but the minute the girls were gone, she turned her back and wrapped her arms around her waist.
“Are you all right? I didn’t mean to barge in. I get carried away with my girls. I think everyone should find them as adorable as I do. I never considered that you might not like children.”
His words sliced through her emotional fog. “I like children.”
“Really? Most people smile when they see little kids. You gritted your teeth and went pale as a ghost.”
Her conscience pressed like an anvil upon her spirit. She couldn’t keep living like this. “I was surprised. That’s all. I wasn’t expecting to see them today.” Tears filled her eyes. She snatched a tissue from the box on her desk, willing herself to stop. Crying would only bring about more questions, and she wasn’t in any condition to answer them.
“Nina. What’s going on? Is there anything I can do?”
“No. I’m fine. Just go back to work.” The sob escaped her throat before she could stop it.
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