Country Romance - Carolyne Aarsen Page 0,23

scare you," Mrs. Flikkema said, holding her hand up as if to soothe her. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

Adele shot a quick glance at the truck, but as far she could see the kids were still all buckled in. She turned back to Mrs. Flikkema. "Everything is fine. I'm just headed out for the day."

"I see that. I didn't think you had a truck," Angie said, waving to the vehicle parked on the street. "I thought you had a car?"

Nosy much. Adele wanted to brush her off but figured that would be rude.

"I do..." She hesitated, not sure how to get herself through this potential quagmire. "But I just-"

"Are those the Sutton twins in your truck? Wyatt's kids?"

Guess Millar's Crossing was smaller than she thought.

"Yes. That's who they are." Her mind chased fragments of ideas, trying to figure out how to spin the situation.

She may as well get as close to the truth as possible.

"Funny thing happened the last couple of days," she said with a smile she hoped looked more sincere than it felt. "I had to visit Wyatt Sutton as a favor for a friend, and he told me his nanny was gone and he was looking for some help. Dean gets along well with the girls, so I thought I would help him out."

She gave Mrs. Flikkema a bright smile, as if this was the most normal thing in the world. To come visiting a town, and then get a temporary job. Why not?

And she was skating close enough to the truth that anything Mrs. Flikkema might hear would reinforce the scenario she just laid out.

Mrs. Flikkema didn't need to know what was going on in her life, and she wanted to make things as easy as possible for Dean and Wyatt. So this was the best story to go with for now.

Angie Flikkema nodded, as if absorbing this information. "Yes, I know he's been stuck when the kids’ nanny left him to take care of her mother. She’s been with him since Theresa took off. I still can't believe that woman left him in the lurch like that." She shook her head as if commiserating with Wyatt's situation. "That man, actually, that family, has had a tough go the past few years."

Her curiosity was piqued, but Adele knew she couldn't allow Mrs. Flikkema to indulge in the gossip she wanted to impart.

The kids were in the truck and she didn't dare leave them alone too long.

She edged away, hoping Mrs. Flikkema got the hint. But the woman moved closer, warming to her topic.

"Theresa was nothing but trouble," Mrs. Flikkema said with a tight nod of her head. "I know there's been a few people who saw her out and about with other guys. And her with two little kids at home. She was brazen."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure that must've been difficult. But the kids are in the truck... I need to go." She was getting too much information for her liking. She had to stop this, hoping the kids wouldn't overhear. "Take care, and I'll be back tonight."

She strode away, hoping and praying that Mrs. Flikkema wouldn't follow her. She dropped her backpack on the front passenger seat of the truck and walked around to the driver's door.

Mrs. Flikkema was right behind her, opening the back door and poking her head inside. For someone who ran a Bed and Breakfast, she had few boundaries.

"How are you kids doing? Having a fun trip into town? Nice for your mom that she could get a job here," Mrs. Flikkema said to Dean. Her bright eyes skipped from the twins to Dean and back again as if hoping she could find out something more.

"I'm sorry, but we have to get going. I also need to get some groceries." Adele almost face-palmed herself. Why was she giving this woman so much information?

But this seemed to satisfy Mrs. Flikkema. She stepped back from the truck, closing the door.

"Will you give my greetings to Wyatt?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest. "And hopefully I'll see you some time tonight. Nice for Wyatt to have help, that's for sure."

Adele didn't like her smirk or the way she had made her last comments. As if Adele had other plans up her sleeve other than being a nanny to Wyatt's kids.

But again, she wasn't about to encourage the woman anymore. So she just nodded, got into the truck, turned it on, and drove away, tossing