Grunting, Clara slowly arose from bed. Her head was pounding, her back was aching and her heart heavy. She wanted more than anything, to hug her mother, talk to her sister and get one more joke in with her father. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Clara grabbed a skirt and blouse and headed to the shower.
The old wooden steps creaked as Clara walked down to the kitchen. Putting on a smiling face, she greeted Ray, who appeared even more stoic than he had the day before. Dark circles under his eyes told Clara something kept him up at night, she just hadn't figured out what it was yet.
Ray nodded his head at Clara's good morning and took another sip of his coffee. Sam and Ellie accompanied their father at the breakfast table. Ava, she assumed, was still slumbering.
Clara felt stuck. Should she sit and try to converse with Ray? Should she clean the kitchen? Should she getting her own breakfast? Ray's ocean blue eyes gazed into hers and she shivered. How would she ever survive this?
"Sit down and eat, dear" he said, voice still gruff with sleep. "Sleep well?" He asked. Clara was bewildered. This was the most she'd ever heard from the man.
"I did. Thank you," Clara politely lied.
"Well I'm off to the farm," Ray said. "I should be back around noon for lunch."
Clara sighed as Ray walked out the door. The friendly, congenial Ray had only lasted for a few moments.
Clara was interrupted from her thoughts by the loud wailing of a little girl.
"Ava up," Sam said as he picked at his toast.
***
For the rest of the morning, Clara played with the kids, watched cartoons with them and laughed at their jokes. She had to admit, it was nice to be part of a family again.
As Clara prepared lunch, impatiently awaiting Ray's arrival, there was a knock at the door.
Clara looked through the peephole and it was Dorothy, she recognized from the grocery store.
"Hi, Dorothy, how are you?" Clara asked rather jubilantly.
"Clara, I'm afraid, there's been an accident," Dorothy said, a grave look spreading across her face.
YOU ARE READING
The Nanny and The Farmer
RomanceWhen Clara's family is tragically killed after her high school graduation, she takes a journey from West Virginia to rural Wyoming to begin a new life as a nanny for three children. Her boss, Ray, a thirty year old farmer, is a distant man with a ha...
