“So, about Bean,” she said.
“Yeah, I’m sorry to have imposed. I promise, I’m working on it,” Seth said. “I know no one wants a kid hanging around.” He laughed and self-consciously dragged his fingers through his hair.
“But I do.” She realized how creepy that sounded and felt her face heating again. “Gosh, I’m making a mess of this,” she said sheepishly. “But I’m on a sabbatical from work—temporarily.” Lest he think she’d been fired for something unacceptable. At least she hadn’t been yet.
He seemed confused. “Why, are you studying something?”
“Oh. No. It’s more like...” She hesitated. There was no way to make her reasons for being home sound logical. “It’s for... self-improvement.” Which sounded like she was on the verge of being fired. “It’s a thirty-day break. Sort of. The point is, I’musually home in the afternoons and will be for the next month. If you like, I could watch Bean. I mean, until you get it sorted out. I’m not trying to steal him or anything.”
Seth’s eyes rounded.
Oh Lord, please stop talking.“Bad joke!” she said too loudly. “Of course I’m not. I’m just... I can help. That’s all.”
Seth’s expression morphed into a mix of surprise and healthy skepticism. “I’m not sure what is happening just now, but...” He appraised her. “Are you offering to babysit?”
“In exchange for Bean walking Aggie.”
Bean’s head came up at that and Aggie leaped to her feet, sensing something was about to happen. “I can walk Aggie?” Aggie’s bread loaf butt began to wag. “How far can I walk her? Like a mile? Two miles?Fivemiles?”
“Ah... around the block?” Lorna offered.
“I can walk her around theentire block?” Bean cried. “Aggie, did you hear that? We can walk around the entire block!”
“Hold up there, buddy.” Seth put his hand on his son’s shoulder and turned back to Lorna. “I really appreciate the offer, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Of course he didn’t. He’d have to be crazy to leave his kid with her and these creepy figurines. Especially after her lame joke about stealing him. “I understand,” Lorna said, deflated. “I’m actually very safe with kids, but I understand.”
Seth squinted at her. “What? It’s not that I think you’re not safe. I didn’t mean that at all.”
“Oh.”What a relief.But then... “What did you mean?” she asked, even though she was pretty sure she didn’t want to know.
“Dad, please. Please please please please,” Bean begged. “I can get my badge for helping an old person.”
“Hey!” Lorna protested. “I’m not that old.”
“You’re not?” Bean asked in all innocence.
“Benjamin,” his father said. But he turned his inquisitive gaze back to Lorna, as if he, too, thought she was old.
“I keep completely to myself. I’m harmless, really, just a cat lady. But with a dog. I live right here, and Bean would be a help with Aggie.”
“Why?” Seth asked.
“Why... would he be a help?”
He blinked. “No, why are you a cat lady who keeps to herself?”
Why had she said anything at all? “I...” She paused, searching for the right words. “It’s a long story. It’s...” What? Self-preservation? A yearslong shame spiral? “I don’t know, to be honest.” She smiled sheepishly. “It’s weird, right?”
“No,” Seth said. “For what it’s worth, you do not come across as a lonely cat lady. And for the record, I said it wasn’t a good idea because I don’t think it’s right to impose on neighbors. This would be a big imposition.”
Yes, it would be a huge imposition to most. “Not to me.” She hoped that was true. She hoped she wasn’t making a huge mistake that would scar Bean for life.
“Well... thank you,” Seth said, giving an incredulous laugh. “Honestly? It would be a great help to me if you could do just this week. Until I line up a babysitter. I’m working on it.”
Lorna grinned. He said yes! “Sure,” she said. “There is one small thing, though. Bean said you wouldn’t let him have sugar, but we’re on a quest to find the dessert he wants to try to bake. If you don’t mind making an exception, I promise not to overdo it.”
“I won’t let him have sugar?”
