Page 15 of Take A Chance

Katelyn sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know you.”

“Well, ask me anything. You’ll get to know me, and we can become friends. Then you’ll feel more comfortable around me and not so sad.”

She looked up with doe eyes and stared at me. Blinking a few times, she glanced at the lump beneath the blanket where I’d seen her stash her bear. “Do you have a mother?” Her honest question took my breath away. The pain she felt was much deeper than just missing her father. She needed connection.

“Yes, I had one, but she passed away. So now I don’t have one.”

“I’ve never had one.” Her tiny little hands dug the bear out, and she clutched it to her chest as a few tears streamed down her cheeks. “I always wanted one.”

“Oh, baby, I know.” As I pulled her onto my lap to hold her, I realized I hadn’t heard a single thing about Katelyn’s mother and what had happened with her. Blake hadn’t even told me about his daughter when I’d gone to the interview. Everything I learned, I learned from Greta or from being one-on-one with her. She felt so tiny in my arms. I wanted to shelter her from anything that could hurt her.

I also felt very irritated that Blake wasn’t here to do this for her. He should have been the one with her, not me. I would talk with him about this, but right now, Katelyn needed something different than she’d been getting.

“How about we do something different today? What do you think?”

She perked up and looked at me. I wiped a few tears from her cheeks and smiled at her. “Like what?” she asked, sniffling.

“I don’t know. Let me think about it for a moment, and you just run downstairs for breakfast. Okay? We’ll have some fun today.”

“Like the clapping game you taught me?” Her eyebrows rose in happiness, and I nodded.

“Exactly like that, and maybe more fun than that too.”

Katelyn tossed the bear onto her unmade bed and bolted out the door of her room. I sat for a moment reflecting on the moment and resolved to change things in her life to make them more child-suitable. I had to talk to Blake, that much was certain, but as her nanny, I had to make the right decisions for her. Whoever Mrs. Pilcher was and whatever ship she ran before I came along, tides were turning.

I stood and collected my purse, heading into the hallway. I returned to my room where I stashed my purse in a drawer before turning back to the hall to find Greta standing in my doorway. “Oh, I didn’t hear you.” I held my hand to my chest as shock hit me. She moved through the house like a phantom at times.

“I heard you talking.” Greta glanced over her shoulder and then looked back at me. “Katelyn’s mother is gone. We don't know if she’s dead or alive. She just dumped Katelyn at the emergency room hours after she was born with a note to call Mr. Emmerson.”

“That’s horrible.” Confused, I walked toward her. “Why did she do that?”

Greta again glanced over her shoulder into the hallway and talked in a hushed tone as she answered me. “Well, from what I could tell, Katelyn’s mother was after Mr. Emmerson’s money or something. They had a fling, maybe one or two dates, and a few months later, she announced she was pregnant. They had a spat about it. I heard them fighting, but I never heard details. Then she was gone.”

“She just left him? Didn’t he want the baby?” My mind reeled. How could a father turn his back on his child? Or maybe he thought she was just faking it. I scolded myself for judging his motives and tried to listen to Greta’s accounts of what happened.

“The woman vanished. He never heard from her again, and when we got that call, he rushed in to be there for Katelyn. He loves that little girl more than life itself. The DNA test proved Katelyn is his, and he took her in. He hired his childhood nanny to raise her, but the old woman is just too old now. So here you are...”

Greta patted my shoulder. “Katelyn really needs someone like you. I hope you get along with him better than the previous help.”

I wondered what that meant, but I thought better than to ask her. Instead, I announced my plan to her. “Well, Katelyn is not going to her lessons today. I’m keeping her home so I can get to know her. We are going to swim.” I smiled brightly, hoping Greta would fall in line with my request, and as if I were Blake himself, she nodded agreement.

“I think that sounds like a marvelous plan. I will get Katelyn’s breakfast ready while you dress.” She strolled away, and I felt happy that I’d finally get some time to get to know the little girl, and all it had taken was putting my foot down.

I dressed and headed downstairs to find Katelyn finished with breakfast. Greta had her in the bathroom down the hall from the kitchen, changing into her swimsuit. I peeked in, and she was all smiles. “Should I put my hair up?” Her shoulder-length waves hung loose around her face as she grinned from ear to ear.

“Nah, we don’t need our hair done to swim.” I tugged the rubber band out of my hair and laid it on the sink, and Katelyn clapped. Greta tousled Katelyn’s hair and picked up her laundry while I grabbed her hand and walked with her out toward the back door. “Can you have Marta bring some towels out?” I asked Greta, who grunted in acknowledgement of my request.

We had slept in a bit, and the sun was already warm. Nearing eleven a.m., Katelyn should have been in a car on her way to gymnastics. Instead, we were soaking in the sun’s rays and enjoying the late morning. Katelyn sat on the edge, dangling her toes into the water, and I jumped in, splashing her. She giggled and kicked her feet, dipping her fingers in a time or two to send water my direction.

“Why don’t you get in?” I asked, trying to coax her off the edge of the pool.

She sat there stubbornly, kicking her feet and staring at me. “I don’t really know how to swim.”

“You have a pool in your back yard, but you can’t swim?” I chuckled. “You play chess, and you can’t swim?”

“Mrs. Pilcher never took me swimming. I never learned.” She kicked water at me playfully. “And I hate chess.” She scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out.

“I don't like chess either.” I mimicked her face then added, “If you let me teach you how to swim, you don’t ever have to go to chess again. How’s that?”

---