“Wyoming, please. I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate. I know I need to hire someone to live in, and honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to stand a stranger in the house—taking care of my baby—when I just lost my wife. I’m hanging on by a thread, and my boss has made it clear that any more drama on my part and I’m out of a job. What the hell would I do then?”
His anguish was all too clear, and Wyoming gave in. After all, she loved her brother and Elise, and she was sure he’d do the same for her in a pinch.
Well, maybe not sure. He wouldn’t do a thing. The traitorous thought wormed its way into her consciousness, but Wyoming brushed it aside. She would feel awful if Ward hired someone sight unseen to care for her niece. And she couldn’t believe his boss was being so heavy-handed. Had Ward used up his patience in the past with other absences from work she didn’t know about?
“I’ll move in for two weeks,” she said. “That will give you plenty of time to assess your situation, take out an ad for a nanny or look into other childcare options. I want to be back at Two Willows by Christmas. Got it?”
“Got it. Except—it might be easier to find someone after the holidays—”
“Ward!” That was exactly what her father used to do. Ask for something, then ask for a little more, and a little more…
“Fine. I’ll find someone by Christmas,” he assured her. “Why don’t you get your things? I’ll make sure there’s clean sheets on the guest bed for you.”
“There are. I put them there.” Wyoming stood and gathered her purse.
“Wyoming,” Ward said before she reached the door. “What about Elise?”
“What about her?”
“I told you. I have to get to work.”
She pulled out her phone and checked the time. “At one—which is in two hours.”
“I need to get ready. Get my head on right.”
Wyoming bit back the scathing reply that sprang to her lips. “Right. I’ll take Elise. You get your head on right.”
She scooped up the baby in her car seat and walked out the door.
“You’re back,” Alice said from her perch on top of the refrigerator when Wyoming walked into the kitchen, awkwardly lugging Elise in her baby carrier.
“Alice, you’re an old married woman now. What are you doing up there?” Cass asked, coming in from the front hall. “Wyoming, you’re back already.”
“Just for a few minutes.”
“I’m doing what I’m always doing up here. Drawing. And staying out of your way.” Alice lifted her sketchbook to show them. “If Kate O’Dell ever does get in touch with me, I want to have some ideas ready to show her.”
“Does Kate O’Dell have any say in what she wears in movies?” Wye asked.
“She does when she’s co-directing them. I looked it up, and it turns out she’s half in charge of that Civil War movie she’s in. I hope I hear from her.”
Wyoming was happy to see Alice so contented. She’d spent months creating costumes on spec for a period drama that hadn’t panned out, but it sounded like it was still possible Alice could work with her favorite actress.
“What’s going on? What happened with Ward?” Cass asked Wye, tugging at the refrigerator door. Alice peeped down as Cass withdrew a can of pop and opened it.
“Pass me one?” she asked.
Cass did so.
“I’m packing up and heading back to Ward’s place. I’m moving in there for a few weeks.” Wye hoped her disappointment didn’t show. She’d been looking forward to decorating for Christmas with Cass and spending the holidays at Two Willows. Despite her brother’s assurances, she thought it wasn’t likely he’d hire anyone by then.
“You’re moving to town?” Cass looked as disappointed as Wye felt.
“Who’s moving to town?” Jack asked, coming in from outside, trailed by Emerson.
“Wyoming is. She has to stay at her brother’s place for a few weeks,” Cass told him.
“And Cass isn’t happy about it,” Alice said, nimbly climbing down from the refrigerator to greet her husband with a kiss.
Emerson stopped in the doorway. “You’re really leaving?”
“I really am.” Wyoming didn’t think she could take much more of this. Bad enough to have to leave without everyone going on about it. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, but Ward needs me.”
“You’ll come back every day, though, right?” Cass asked. “The nursery is all set up, so you can take care of Elise here, where you’ll have help. Your brother can’t have a problem with that, right?”
“I guess not,” Wye mused. That would be a lot more fun than being alone with Elise all day. “I’ll need to stop in town in time to cook something for him for dinner, though. He can’t order out every day and still afford a nanny.”
“Can’t he learn to cook for himself?” Emerson asked.
“He wasn’t raised like you,” Wyoming said. “It’s only temporary, and Cass is right. I could come here every day—if you really want me,” she said to Cass.
“Of course I want you. I asked you to move in, remember?”
“What’s going on out here?” The General thumped into the room on his cane. “Sounds like a riot.”
“No riot.” Cass explained everything again.
The General turned a baleful look on Wye. “So you’re going AWOL.”
“I’m helping my brother.” Surely they understood she didn’t want to leave. She’d far rather be here where something was happening all the time than in a house alone with Ward, who wasn’t going to be very good company.
“Make sure you’re back by 0900 hours each morning. Cass depends on you. We all do. Don’t let us down.”
“I—” The General stomped off before she could answer. “I’ll be back by 0900 hours, I guess,” she said to Cass helplessly.
Cass hugged her. “You wouldn’t want to let the General down. See
