“I’m not sure you should be jumping on the bed. Haven’t you ever heard the story about the Five Little Monkeys?”
“Wheeeee!” Sabrina said, not listening.
“Hey, Sabrina? Sweetie?” Julie stood and walked around to the front of the bed just in time to catch Sabrina as she jumped off the mattress again.
“Wheeee!”
“No more jumping on the bed,” Julie said, becoming a little more forceful.
“You’re not the boss of me.” Sabrina climbed up on the bed again and began to jump. So this was what Beth and Lawson had meant when they’d warned her that Sabrina was a handful.
“Okay. Time to relocate.” Distraction seemed like the best plan of action.
“Sabrina, let’s go watch a cartoon!” Julie tried to sound enthusiastic about the idea—anything to get the bundle of energy to take a rest. She hoisted Sabrina onto her hip and headed toward the living room. Julie still needed to pick up all the toys that Sabrina had strewn and refused to pick up on her own. She also needed to prepare lunch.
Setting her down on the couch, she putMickey Mouse Clubhouseon the TV.
“Are you hungry?” Julie asked.
“Cookies,” Sabrina said, grinning from one dimpled cheek to the other.
“I don’t think filling you with sugar is a good idea. Grilled cheese it is.” Julie headed toward the kitchen. She was second-guessing any future children she’d ever considered having. She didn’t have high hopes for finding love again during her childbearing years anyway.
Julie dipped inside the refrigerator and pulled out the items she needed. She was just about to unwind the twisty-tie on the bread when Sabrina’s scream tore through the house, piercing straight to Julie’s heart.
“Sabrina?” she gasped, dropping the bread on the counter and running down the hall. Her heart was beating so hard, it actually hurt as she ran. “Sabrina?” she called, turning into the room to see the little girl curled up on the floor and holding her head.
“Oww!” she cried. “It hurts!”
“What happened?” Julie went to her side, inspecting every square inch.
Sabrina was sobbing now. “Oww!” She held her hand to her head, right above her ear.
“Did you hit your head? Were you jumping on the bed?” Julie’s gaze went to the bedpost right behind Sabrina.Oh, God.She’d fallen and hit her head on the wooden post. The worst-case scenarios, which Julie was sure she didn’t know the half of, flashed through her mind. “Let me see.” She tried to pry Sabrina’s hand away, but it only made her cry harder.
“Oww! I want my mommy!” Large tears spilled over her ivory cheeks. “I want my mommy!”
“Okay.” Julie nodded, pulling her cellphone from her pocket. She might get fired over this, but right now she was more worried about cracked skulls and brain damage. She pulled up Beth’s name in her contact list and waited impatiently as the phone rang and Sabrina screamed in her ear. “Come on, come on, come on.”
The phone went to voicemail. Beth had told her she’d be available at all times. Julie dialed again, her fingers crossed, praying that Beth would pick up. She didn’t.
“How are you feeling, Sabrina? You okay?”
“Noooo!” Sabrina cried, shaking her head vigorously. “No. It hurts a lot! I need Uncle Lawson! It hurrrrts!”
Julie’s mouth fell open. She really,reallydidn’t want to call Lawson. He’d been nice enough to get her this job, and she’d gotten his niece hurt in a matter of hours. But what if Sabrina was seriously injured? Julie needed to call somebody. “Okay.” She scrolled through her contact list again. Beth had given her Lawson’s number as a second contact in case of an emergency, which this was. Or might be.
The phone rang twice and then Lawson’s voice came on the line. “Hello?”
“Lawson?” Julie hated the way her voice shook.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as Sabrina screamed louder beside her.
“It’s Sabrina. She fell and hit her head.” Tears were in Julie’s eyes now, too. She’d only walked away for a second to prepare lunch. How could things have gone so wrong?
“Calm down,” Lawson commanded. “I’m five minutes away. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay.” Julie took a breath, keeping her eyes on Sabrina. “It’s okay, honey. Your uncle is almost here.”
