ask him more about that. Instinctively, she’d gone into protective mode. She’d sooner offer to help him on Fridays as well if this person who was helping him was anyway questionable or less-than-qualified. Keeping her thoughts to herself, Danica glanced down at the sleeping baby in the stroller, feeling her heart swell, but managed to keep her emotions in check. “Did he just fall asleep?”
“Yes.” Felicia sounded a little exasperated. “He was getting fussy, and so far, the only secret powers I have when nothing else is working to calm him, is either taking him for a ride in the car or on a stroll.” She started up the walk toward the porch steps. “Since it’s such a beautiful morning I figured a stroll was better. Plus, I didn’t want to go too far since I knew you were on your way.”
“Calm him?” Already feeling concerned as she helped Felicia lift the stroller up the porch steps, Danica eyed her in question. “What was wrong with him?”
“Nothing I could figure out.” Felicia invited her into the house, and Danica followed her in. “Orlando did warn me it’d be time for his nap soon before he left, and he tends to get fussy when he’s getting tired. I just haven’t mastered the patience of putting him to sleep without the help of the car or stroller.”
Mastered the patience?
Lulling that sweet thing to sleep was a gift from heaven, not something you’d have to garner patience for. It was one of the many things Danica had missed terribly. Nodding, Danica glanced down at the baby again, this time smiling and finally feeling warmed by the beautiful sight instead of choked up, despite her annoyance with Felicia’s last comment. Orlando must not have shared about the luluing with Felicia. Danica almost told her about it, but something made her keep it to herself instead. “So, Orlando said you’re a child therapist student.” Felicia took a seat on the sofa in the front room, motioning for Danica to do the same. “What school?”
“ELAC.” Danica took a seat on the sofa across from Felicia.
“Full-time?”
Obviously not since she’d be watching the baby four times a week, but Danica would give her the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps Orlando hadn’t given Felicia all the details. “No. Not right now.”
Felicia seemed to wait for Danica to go on, but she didn’t. “So how long will it be until you’re qualified?” As Danica lifted a brow at the question, Felicia quickly added, “To be a child therapist, that is.”
“At least another year. But I’ve had a lot of hands-on experience because my sister is a child therapist and works from home. I’ve been helping her with the kids she works with since she started.”
She kept to herself about the lifetime of experience dealing with Dominic. Felicia seemed nice enough, but Danica didn’t feel the need to sell herself to this woman. Danica had never been good about guessing people’s ages, but if she had to with Felicia, she’d say she was around Orlando’s age maybe older. After the extensive research Danica had done on him, she knew he was twenty-nine. Since everyone always mistook Danica for being much younger than her twenty-three years, she assumed Felicia had also and had likely come to the instant conclusion that she wasn’t qualified for the responsibility of watching the baby. If it weren’t for the fear of possibly losing this chance to be around Oreo, she might be tempted to be catty. Instead, she bit her tongue. But she couldn’t keep it all in. “I take it you’re not the baby’s mother? I mean Orlando mentioned being a single dad, and since you said you usually watch him on Fridays, I just—”
“No.” Felicia sat up a little straighter, glancing down as she tugged at the front of her shirt. “I’m not. But since his mom isn’t around, Orlando knows I’m not opposed to standing in for her.” She glanced at the stroller and smiled. “The little bugger is growing on me.”
Not opposed? Growing on her? Like a fungus? How could she not already be in love with him? Danica smiled as genuinely as she could when Felicia glanced back at her. She should’ve known better. Danica may’ve run with a bad crowd in the past, and she may’ve stupidly gotten into some trouble, but she’d never been that type of girl. The fighting kind. Grabbing Ted by the nuts when he’d try to force her into his car was just her fight