Page 41 of A Place for Daydreams

Still, she told herself, she wasn’t going to let it ruin her evening. She was still having a wonderful time with Cooper and Macey, and the food was delicious. Cooper started telling her a story about the insane amount of gnomes that one of his landscaping clients had, and before long she was almost doubled over with laughter. Macey was giggling too, seeming to be delighted by how much the adults were amused.

“What do you think, Macey?” Julia asked, wiping away a tear. “Do you like gnomes?”

“No.” Macey shook her head. “No beards.”

“She doesn’t like beards,” Cooper said, chuckling. “So gnomes are out. At least for now. Her dislike of beards has only lasted for a week, we’ll see how long it goes.”

“Better not take her over to that house,” Julia teased. “That’s too many beards.”

Cooper belted out a laugh, but in the next moment, he pulled his phone out of his pocket with a frown.

“Work is calling,” he said. “That’s weird that they’re calling so late. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” He leaned over and gave Julia a quick kiss before answering the phone. “Hello?”

Julia watched as Cooper’s eyebrows lifted and his lips parted in surprise.

“Oh, no,” he said. “Yes, yes, I can. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

“What happened?” Julia asked, feeling worried, as soon as he’d hung up.

“There’s an electrical issue at the Greener Pastures offices,” he said. “I guess I’m the only one who has experience as an electrician, and they want me to come in and make sure nothing’s a fire hazard before the electric company can get there.”

“Oh, gosh.” Julia shuddered. “Be careful.”

“I will.” He smiled at her. “I’m sure it’s all fine, but I agree with them that we should be cautious. I need to go in and look things over, but I’ll be back soon. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s not a problem at all,” she assured him, squeezing his hand. “Life happens.”

“I know, but—well, would you be able to tuck Macey in tonight? I don’t think I’ll get back before her bedtime.”

Julia’s heart leapt up. He was trusting her to take care of Macey by herself! She nodded, smiling reassuringly at him. “No worries. I’d be happy to.”

Cooper was already standing up and walking to the back door, where his shoes were. “If you have any questions, you can—no, I guess you’d better not call me for a while.”

“It’ll be fine.” Julia smiled at him. “Please be safe, and we’ll see you soon.”

“Okay.” Cooper finished hurriedly tying his shoes. “See you later, my girls.” He gave Julia and Macey quick forehead kisses and then slipped out the back door.

Macey watched him go dubiously, her bottom lip quivering.

“Don’t worry, Macey,” Julia assured the little girl warmly. “He’s coming right back. Should we finish our dinner?”

Now that she was alone with the toddler, she did feel suddenly nervous. What if Macey had a meltdown and she didn’t know how to get her to stop crying?

But after a few seconds, Macey smiled and nodded. Thankfully, she’d already eaten all of her broccoli, and she liked the rest of her food and didn’t hesitate to eat it.

When their meal was over, Julia left the dirty dishes on the table, deciding to clean up the kitchen after she’d gotten Macey to go to sleep.

“Time for bed, Macey,” she said, scooping the toddler up into her arms. “You’re so sleepy, aren’t you? Wow.”

Macey shook her head, but in the next moment she let out a big yawn and Julia laughed. She carried Macey upstairs to her bedroom, starting to wonder what it was she needed to do first.

What is her normal bedtime routine?she thought, biting her lip.I don’t want to get it wrong. I should have asked Cooper before he left!

She pondered it, and as she was thinking, Macey pressed her cheek against Julia’s. The toddler’s face was so sticky that Juliaknew her next move in an instant. Macey would need to take a bath before going to bed.

“Okay, Macey, time for a bath,” Julia said. “So you can get all nice and clean.”

“Yay!”

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