Nate snapped his fingers to get Minnie’s attention. She crawled out again, a guilty look on her face, and came to sit by his chair. He might have laughed at the penitent look on her face if it wouldn’t have taken away from Bailey’s discussion with Jordan.
Seth stood nearby and watched the exchange while the younger boy’s chin dropped.
“Sorry, Mama.”
“I’m not angry. I just need you to be more careful.” Bailey reached for her youngest son and gave him a reassuring hug.
“I will.” He wiggled out of the hug and turned to look at Nate. “Can I still play with Minnie if we don’t run?”
Nate glanced at Bailey, whose expression was open even though she looked exhausted.
“If it’s okay with your mom, why don’t you and Seth go watch some cartoons. If you sit on the floor by the couch, Minnie will come and sit with you. Then you can spend time together without getting too riled up. How does that sound?”
Jordan’s eyes brightened. “Can we, Mama?”
Seth didn’t say anything, but he looked hopeful.
“I think that’s a great idea.” Bailey held up her first and second fingers. “Two episodes. And then you need to start getting ready for your baths and bed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The words barely left Seth’s lips beforehe’d turned and walked as quickly as possible back into the living room. Jordan followed, and Minnie trotted after them.
Nate chuckled. “They could use a dog of their own. It’d be good for them.”
When he looked over to see what she thought of the idea, he found her massaging her temples, her elbows resting on the table.
“Hey.” Nate reached across the table and lightly touched her arm. “We’re going to figure this out.”
“There’s just a lot. Trying to keep the store running while keeping track of the boys. Then there’s wondering whether I should leave the farm as is, expand, or sell.” When she raised her head and opened her eyes, there was no missing the guilt there. “I don’t need someone threatening my family on top of it.”
Her chin quivered slightly as tears filled her eyes. She blinked them back as though her very survival depended on not allowing a single one to fall.
Chapter Eight
Bailey refused to cry in front of Nate. Not to mention, the boys could run back in any minute and see her upset. Sometimes, it felt like everything since Joe died had been hard. Everything. She’d made a promise to herself that she’d take care of the boys and do her best, and that’s exactly what she’d done. She’d push through this just like she’d made it through everything else the last two years.
She had to.
Nate’s voice dragged her gaze to his face.
“Talk to me, Bailey. Let me be your sounding board. Maybe it’ll help you at least prioritize what you need to do. Sometimes, having a set list of priorities makes all the difference.”
She glanced down to where his hand was still resting on her arm, his fingers warm against her skin. His thumb lightly brushed her arm twice before he moved his hand. Bailey tried to ignore how she instantly missed the touch.
He was right, though. She needed to get this straightened out in her mind. As it was, every evening, she was somentally exhausted that she’d put it off until the next day. Her mom used to call it mental paralysis when you were so overwhelmed that your brain just called it quits and wouldn’t allow you to focus on anything.
That’s where Bailey was right now. Maybe having Nate here and being forced to list and go through the options was exactly what she needed.
“Yeah. Okay. Let me go grab my notebook.” She’d left it on the side table in the living room where she was going to go through things last night.
As she rounded the couch, the image of the boys sitting on the floor, Minnie curled up between them, had her snapping a picture of them with her phone.
Nate was right. A dog would be good for them, but the thought of taking on another living creature that depended on her to stay alive sounded like too much right now.
She returned to the kitchen table and showed Nate the picture before sitting back down across from him. She took the pen off the notebook spiral and opened to the second section. The page was covered with questions.
Nate gave her his full attention and waited for her to start.
Bailey took a deep breath and intentionally looked away from the wall of handwriting. “We’re getting busy enough this fall that I’m going to have to hire at least one more person to help Rachel and me. Maybe two. As it is now, it’s nearly impossible to manage things and keep an eye on the boys.” She lowered her voice. “You know how Jordan is. I turn my back for a second, and he disappears. I don’t even want to know what it’ll be like next fall when Seth starts kindergarten and Jordan has no one to play with.” Seth barely missed the cutoff to start going to school this year. Realistically, Jordan would be a year older and maybe a bitmore mature then, but she couldn’t rely on that. He’d been one to run off ever since he was old enough to be on his feet.
