The Baby Favour. Andrea Laurence

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СКАЧАТЬ was it for tonight. She rolled her shoulders and reluctantly stepped out into the hallway. She could hear the sounds of the television downstairs. It was about Luna’s bedtime, so Carroll was probably giving her a bath.

      Scarlet crept down the floating staircase and went into the kitchen. She was surprised to find Carroll there, making herself a cup of hot tea. Her face looked a little puffy and her nose was red. “Good evening, Mrs. Spencer,” she said as though her nose were pinched closed.

      Scarlet frowned. “You sound awful, Carroll. Are you coming down with something?”

      Carroll shook her head. “I don’t know. I hope not. I almost never get sick and I know now is a horrible time. You’re so busy, and if I give this to Luna, she won’t be able to visit her father at the hospital.”

      That was true. The chemotherapy had basically destroyed Jay’s immune system along with the cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer had recovered better than Jay had from the treatment. He would catch any bug he was exposed to and, at this point in his illness, a bout of the flu could be deadly for him.

      Carroll set down her tea and launched into a fit of sneezes, followed by a rattling cough that Scarlet didn’t like the sound of. She reached out to touch the woman’s forehead and it was burning up.

      “You’ve got a fever. I think you’d better take your tea and get to bed right now. I have some medicine upstairs you can take. I suggest you visit the walk-in clinic first thing in the morning. That flu medicine has to be administered within so many days of symptoms for it to work.”

      “What about Luna?”

      That was a good question. What about Luna? Scarlet squeezed her eyes shut and resigned herself to her fate. She’d tried, she’d fought, but in the end, fate won out. “We can handle her until you’re feeling better. I’ve made a lot of progress on my next painting.”

      Carroll’s eyes grew wide. “No, no. Maybe I could call someone...”

      Scarlet would have none of it. “No arguing. Now get to bed right this instant. Is Luna already down for the night?”

      “No, ma’am. Mr. Spencer is playing with her on the deck. I asked him to keep her for a minute while I made tea.”

      That wasn’t ideal. Scarlet was hoping the baby was already asleep so she could avoid the nursery for as long as possible, but she would do what she had to. “Okay. The two of us can take care of her until you feel better. Now, to bed!”

      Scarlet watched as Carroll reluctantly carried her mug with her out of the kitchen toward her room. She steeled herself for what she had to do and went out to the deck to look for Mason and Luna, the two people she’d been trying to avoid.

      The deck was empty, as was the pool. Curious, Scarlet walked around to the gate and steps that led to the beach. There, she found Mason and Luna playing in the sand. She stepped down to the beach, kicked off her shoes and walked through the sand to where they were playing.

      The summer sun had finally set, but the sky was still bright and people still walked up and down the beach. There was a nice breeze for a summer’s night, reminding Scarlet that she’d spent too much time working and not enough time enjoying the property they’d worked so hard to afford.

      “Look, Luna. Your aunt Scarlet has come out to play with us!” Mason picked up the baby and turned her to face the house where Scarlet was walking toward them.

      The baby immediately lit up when she saw Scarlet. She grinned wide and dropped her handfuls of sand to reach out for her.

      “Someone has missed you,” Mason said.

      Scarlet stopped short, biting at her bottom lip. She ached to scoop the baby up into her arms and cradle her to her chest. To smell the top of her head and draw in the endearing scent that reminded her of nights rocking Evan to sleep.

      Instead, she crouched down out of arm’s reach. Holding her during Rachel’s funeral had been hard enough. “I doubt that,” she said in a soothing voice she used for babies. “What are we doing out here?”

      “We are playing in the sand. I figured she’s about to have a bath anyway, so why not?”

      Scarlet nodded. “Well, it appears as though Nanny Carroll has the flu, so I’ve sent her to bed. This dirty little girl is ours to deal with for the next few days.”

      Luna reached down to pick up a little red plastic shovel and then dropped it. “Uh-oh!” she declared. So far, she’d mastered mama, dada, no, uh-oh and dog.

      “Uh-oh is right,” Mason repeated. “Are we going to be able to handle her on our own?”

      “She’s a baby, not a wild animal,” Scarlet said. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

      “And what about you?” he asked. His dark blue eyes focused on hers, saying far more than his words ever would. “Will you be fine?”

      Scarlet bit at her lip and stood up, dusting sand from her hands. “I guess we’ll find out.”

      “Have you gone into the nursery yet?” Mason asked as he followed suit and lifted Luna into his arms.

      For a moment, Scarlet was struck by the image in front of her. Her tall, strong Mason casually holding a baby in his arms. It was a simple thing—hardly unusual to any passersby—but it was enough to make her heart catch in her throat.

      “No,” she replied, turning away. As her gaze fell on the ocean, she spotted the splash of a pod of dolphins not far offshore. “Look!” She pointed out at the sea.

      Mason turned and pointed the animals out to Luna. “Look, Luna. There are dolphins. They’re jumping out of the water. Aren’t they silly?”

      Luna’s eyes grew wide and her tiny little mouth formed an O of excitement. She started to clap enthusiastically as they watched them leap out of the water.

      “They’re dolphins. Can you say dolphin, Luna? Doll-fin.”

      “Dafin!” she exclaimed. “Dafin!”

      Scarlet smiled, turning away from one of her favorite creatures on earth to look at Mason and Luna. The two of them together watching the sea with excited grins made her chest ache. This was the life she’d lost. The future she’d never have with him because he’d decided what was best for her instead of asking what she wanted.

      “I think our job here is done,” Mason said at last with a satisfied smirk. “She loves dolphins. Next, we just need to get her a baby wet suit and a surfboard.”

      Scarlet’s smile dimmed a little. She remembered him making the same threats about teaching Evan to surf. The idea had terrified her at the time, although they’d never gotten that far. “I think she needs to master walking more than a few steps without falling down before she starts shooting the curl, don’t you?”

      Mason sighed with feigned disappointment. “I suppose. We need to get her in baby swimming lessons, though. She’s already behind all the kids that started with those ‘mommy and me’ classes. She’s going to be doing the backstroke before her second birthday.”

      Scarlet just shook her head and headed back to the house with Mason СКАЧАТЬ