Page 70 of Wounded Cowboy
Her throat gone dry with a mixture of fear and hope, she tapped a contact number on her list and waited for the call to connect.
“Hello, Abigail?” Kelsey said tentatively.
“Kelsey, dear! It’s lovely to hear from you,” Abigail replied, her tone warm and welcoming.“What’s on your mind?”
∞∞∞
One week later
Exhausted after a long day of rounding up cattle, Spring stepped inside his house, expecting the familiar excited cries of“Daddy’s home! Hi, Daddy!” followed by enthusiastic hugs.
To his surprise, an unnerving silence greeted him.
“Hello? April? Abby?” Spring called out.
“Mr. Snowberry. I’m glad you’refinallyhome,” Claudia Harwood said crisply. She only called him that when she was upset about something.
He tensed. Did something happen to the girls? Why didn’t Claudia text me? “Where are April and Abby?” he demanded.
Claudia’s disapproving gaze locked onto him.“In their rooms. Your daughters were quite uncooperative today.” She crossed her arms, her thin lips pressed into a tight line.“They refused to do their homework when I asked them to and ran to their rooms. I didn’t appreciate them ignoring me. Or slamming their doors in my face.”
Spring felt a muscle in his jaw twitch at her tone. As much as he valued discipline, Claudia’s approach grated on him. And over the past four weeks, his girls had become increasingly unhappy with their new nanny.
“Maybe if you tried actuallyconnectingwith them instead of simply barking orders, they might be more inclined to listen,” he suggested, fighting to keep his tone calm.
Claudia’s hazel eyes narrowed.“Let me be honest. Your previous nanny did a terrible job. She spoiled your children and provided no structure or discipline. It’s made my job extremely difficult.”
Spring glared at the woman.How dare Claudia blame Kelsey for her own shortcomings?His daughters had been happy and well-behaved under Kelsey’s care.
“Kelsey understood my girls,” Spring said, fighting to keep his temper under control.“They listened to her because she treated them with kindness and respect while still maintaining order. Perhaps you need to rethink your approach.”
Claudia’s mouth puckered, as if she’d bitten into a lemon. Without another word, she turned on her heel and marched out of his house.
After Claudia left, Spring took a deep breath and steeled himself for his next conversation.“Girls!” he called.“Please come out here and talk to me about what happened today.”
A moment later, April’s head popped out of her room.“Daddy, isshegone?”
“Yes.”
At this, Abby opened her door, too.“Good! She’s alwaysmeanto us, Daddy!”
Guilt twisted his gut. It wasn’t the first time the girls had complained about Claudia. But Spring had been hoping that things would get better after an initial adjustment period on both sides.
It looked like he’d been very wrong about that.
His girls came into the living room. They all sat down together on the couch, Spring in the middle with April and Abby at his sides.
“Girls, I need you to be honest with me,” he began, his voice gentle yet firm.“What happened with Claudia today?”
April glanced at Abby before speaking up, her curly brown hair bouncing as she did so.“She was mean to us.Again. She yells at us all the time, Daddy. She’s not fun like Kelsey was.”
Abby chimed in, her eyes wide and serious.“She doesn’t let us play outside after school, and she makes up new rules all the time. Then she punishes us by taking away our snacks and our phones.”
Anger and guilt overwhelmed Spring.How could I let this happen?He’d dismissed their earlier complaints because he thought his daughters’ unhappiness was only because they missed Kelsey.
“Sweethearts, I’m so sorry,” he murmured, pulling both girls into a tight hug.“I didn’t realize that Claudia was a bad fit for you. I promise I’ll make it right.”
He got to his feet, his temper burning on a slow fuse.“Wait right here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
