Rich in Faith (Richness in Faith, Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

Dale’s.
    As I fail at that, I remember the neighbor. “I saw your neighbor this morning. He waved at me. He’s a runner, too, I guess.”
    “I don’t know my neighbors.”
    That statement is curt and abrupt. “Oh. He waved, so I just thought…”
    “They always wave when we see them.”
    “They?”
    “The guy next door. He’s always with a blonde gal. Not sure if they’re married or what. I gotta run. See you tonight.”
    He blows past me, his clean scent mixing it up with my sweaty scent. I hear the rumblings of the garage door opening, then moments later it shuts. Mrs. Stratton won’t be here for fifteen minutes.
    I wonder what time the girls wake up.
    Because that’s how long I have until this place becomes a madhouse.

 
    MIRRORS
     
     
    “WHAT DO THE girls normally do during the day?”
    Clean and now in need of a cup of that coffee Court had offered earlier, I sip the coffee as Mrs. Stratton prepares breakfast. Court had given me the keys to his second car to use while I am Nannying. Maybe the girls would like to go to the beach.
    Cracking an egg on the edge of a bowl using only one hand, Mrs. Stratton doesn’t look up. “I try and stay out of their way as much as possible.”
    I set my cup on the counter top and sit on a bar stool in front of my laptop. “Do you know if they are on any type of schedule?”
    She chuckles. “From what I can gather, schedule is a forbidden word in this house. The deceased Mrs. Treyhune, God rest her soul, was against schedules. It’s my understanding that even when she homeschooled them, they weren’t on a schedule.”
    Homeschooling? That would be a project.
    My inexperience with children is not helping at this point. I’m out of my comfort zone in a mighty way. “Maybe I can begin as if I were tackling a new project. That I have experience with.”
    “Uh huh.” Mrs. Stratton whisks the eggs in the bowl.
    “Hey. It could work. Define the goal then lay out the steps to achieve said goal.”
    “You do that.”
    Her tone and lack of facial communication clearly state her position. She thinks I’m crazy.
    She may not be far off in her thinking, but that only increases my desire to prove her wrong.
    I will admit that this whole scenario has the potential to take my mind off Dale and my broken heart. I haven’t thought of him in at least fifteen minutes.
    “She’s still here.”
    The twins walk into the kitchen. Glancing down at their wrists I see that it is Bristol who makes that comment.
    “I’m glad she’s here. I like her.” Darling smiles my way, and my heart warms a little.
    “Pull up a stool girls. Your breakfast is almost ready.” Mrs. Stratton’s focus stays on her task at hand as the girls shimmy their way onto the bar stools. Neither one of them sits directly next to me.
    No, they sit where they can stare at me. Which is what they are doing, their brown eyes wide and questioning.
    Their hair is still a mess.
    Mrs. Stratton places two glasses of orange juice on the counter. They drink it quickly. She slides a plate in front of each of them before refilling their juice.
    Mrs. Stratton then places a plate next to my computer. “Would you like some juice, too?”
    “The coffee’s good. Thank you.”
    “Are you going to play on your computer all day?” Bristol’s tone is challenging.
    “I’m not playing. I’m working.”
    “Your work is being a babysitter for us. You don’t do that on a computer.”
    It’s obvious Bristol starts her day in challenge mode. It’s a good thing I’m always up for a good challenge. “There are things relating to the nanny position I can do on the computer.”
    She frowns. “It’s just a reason not to pay attention to us.”
    “Yeah.” Darling’s chiming in leads me to believe Bristol is in charge of these two.
    “Wrong. Working on the computer is actually going to allow me to spend more time with you.”
    I take a bite of my yummy eggs. One thing is for sure. I’m going to eat well here.
    The