The Baby Shift- South Dakota Page 2

  * * *

  Once she was done, she sat on her bed with a satisfied smile. What would she do now? She remembered Ginger’s comment about the library and decided to find it for herself. Up the stairs, it was quiet. Perhaps Ginger had taken the children somewhere. Karla walked down the Eastern hallway until she found a towering door that was slightly open to reveal bookshelves. She slipped inside and gasped. It was the biggest library she’d ever seen!

  * * *

  She spent a few minutes just walking up and down the massive bookshelves. Finally, she plucked a funny sounding book from a shelf and sat in one of the leather chairs. After a few minutes, her eyes began to sag. She must’ve fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, someone was chuckling beside her.

  * * *

  “Are you tired, Karla?” Malcolm asked as her eyes fluttered open. She sat upwards, realizing that she’d fallen asleep, sprawled in the chair. She wiped her mouth for good measure, but thankfully she hadn’t been drooling. “I came in here to fetch a book,” he told her. He was hovering on the other side of the room, but near enough that she could smell his delicious cologne.

  * * *

  “I think unpacking made me tired,” she confessed and glanced around the room towards the window. The sun had already set! “Oops.”

  * * *

  He laughed. “Ginger left a plate for you in the fridge downstairs if you’d like dinner.”

  * * *

  She blushed. “I’ll head down there now.” She dashed over to return her book, looking for the empty slot on the shelf.

  * * *

  “Feel free to bring any book you want to your room to read. As long as you put them back,” he said. She paused and clutched the book close to her chest. It felt as if it was somehow a great gift.

  * * *

  “Thank you, Mr. Cross.”

  * * *

  His smile never wavered. “Karla, please, it’s Malcolm.”

  * * *

  “Malcolm,” she said slowly, tasting the name in her mouth. His steady gaze sent a rush of heat to her face. She cleared her throat. “I’ll be going now.” She dashed out of the room with all the grace of a teenager.

  --

  The children were a delight even baby Charlie. It was odd, Karla considered, that they both had two different eyes. She never questioned it. It was the second week, and they were gathered in the playroom. She’d come back into the room to find Bella excitedly speaking to Charlie, who was watching from his playroom crib.

  * * *

  “What are you two doing?” Karla asked with a grin. She’d only gone to fetch a small snack for all of them.

  * * *

  Bella beamed at her. “I’m explaining to Charlie how to count to ten in Spanish and French.”

  * * *

  “Wow, you can do that?”

  * * *

  The young girl’s eyes glittered. Again, Karla saw the distinctive colors. Bella said proudly, “I can count to ten in Chinese too!” Karla raised her eyebrows,

  * * *

  “Amazing,” she muttered and meant it. Malcolm hadn’t been kidding when he said that he spared no expense with Bella’s education. The eight-year-old had a dedicated set of tutors in different subjects that she met with by computer. “Do you ever want to go to a regular school?”

  * * *

  Bella blinked and placed a finger on her chin. “You mean with other kids? Not really. I have Charlie and Ginger and Dad.”

  * * *

  Karla offered a sympathetic smile. Perhaps it was better this way for Malcolm’s children, but it did seem odd that the family rarely left the house. The mansion’s estate was more like a compound. Only Ginger and Karla seemed to venture outside the wrought-iron gate.

  * * *

  Not my business, she reminded herself as Bella begged her to bring out the coloring books.

  Chapter 4

  He tried concentrating on work. He really did. But there was the sound of rising laughter coming from outside, and he stuck his head out of the office window to investigate. Bella was doing cartwheels in the green grass as Karla watched, waving from a shaded spot on a blanket, with baby Charlie.

  Malcolm smiled to himself and hovered at the window. Had the children ever had so much fun? Even baby Charlie seemed to be more active lately. He tapped his fingers against the glass, considering the last month. Four weeks had already passed since Karla had moved in. Four weeks and three days. Not that he was counting.

  He sighed and glanced at the forgotten coffee on his desk, the regular offering from Ginger, four times a day. There was paperwork to be done. Another bout of laughter hit his ears as he closed the window, smiling and humming.

  Dealing with business usually meant forgoing lunch with the family, but he always strived to make dinner time. Tonight, Ginger was preparing a pot roast. He dove into his pile of paperwork again, trying to push the dazzling sound of Karla’s laughter far from his mind before dinner.

  When Ginger finally came to announce dinner, he was signing off the last of the files that he needed to deal with. He shut his laptop and followed her into the hall. She wiggled her eyebrows.

  “Karla has the kids absolutely exhausted! They might fall asleep during dinner; they’re so tired.”

  The corner of his lips tugged upward. “We’ll see about that.” He spotted Karla first before his children. She looked dashing in a simple black dress. Charlie fussed at her, and she was trying to distract him with some funny faces.

  “He’s tired,” she said with a guilty look. “He may be too tired to eat.”

  “I’m tired too,” Bella whined at the end of the table.

  “You have to eat your plate and then you can go to bed,” Malcolm told her as Ginger set down the plates. Karla always sat next to Charlie so that she could feed him and watch him as he ate. She remarked more than once that it was unusual for such a young baby to be so hungry all the time.

  “He’s like an animal,” she said with a laugh. Ginger said nothing and Bella chuckled. Malcolm shot his young daughter a careful look. Karla lifted her hands to her lips. “I’m sorry, that was rude.”

  “Nothing but a joke,” Malcolm said with a quick smile. He tried to push down the rising anxiety in his chest. Bella luckily was more concerned with scarfing down her food than continuing to talk about Karla’s joke. In fact, Bella finished in five minutes and downed her glass of milk.

  “Can I go to bed?” she asked with a pout. Ginger glanced at Malcolm and he nodded.

  “I’ll take her,” Ginger said. She usually ate before the family. “I’ll be gone for the night, just to remind everyone. Book club tonight.” Karla nodded as Ginger led Bella out of the dining room.

  “Charlie looks like he’s ready to be put down for bed too,” his young employee muttered. “Do you mind if I go put him down for bed? I’ll bring the baby monitor to the table if that’s okay."

  “Absolutely. He’s exhausted,” Malcolm said with a smirk, watching Charlie barely able to lift his tired eyelids. Had Malcolm been like that as a baby? He’d been lucky to have a babysitter like Karla. She disappeared with Charlie and came back after a few minutes.

  Malcolm glanced around the room. “I suppose we’re alone. Would you like a glass of wine?” Karla bit her lip, a movement that made her look all the more beautiful.

  “A small one,” she said tentatively. “I don’t want to drink too much while listening for Charlie.”

  He smiled as warmth bloomed in his chest. It was nice to hear that she was so concerned with his family. He opened the bottle and poured half a glass for her. She accepted it gratefully and took a small sip. Suddenly, she glanced at him.

  “Malcolm, do you have a girlfriend?”

  He was so shocked that he nearly spilled the wine outside of the glass and all over his suit jacket. She blushed fiercely. “I just,” she began and cleared her throat. “It just seems like you’re such a busy man and I never see you go out of the house.”

  Was he wearing h
is colored lenses? For a moment, his heart panicked. He laughed, covering up the alarm threatening to emerge on his face. “No girlfriend.”

  She nodded as if she’d already guessed it. “Sometimes…Bella mentions her mother.” He took a sip of his wine, feeling the alcohol hit his throat with a grateful feeling.

  “Yes,” he said with a sad smile. “Elizabeth. She passed away a year ago.”

  Karla’s eyes widened, and her gaze fell to the table. “I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s just… Bella mentioned her today, and I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure if you were merely separated or if she’d…” She let her voice trail off.

  “You can talk to Bella about it if you’d like, but I’d prefer if you tried to change the subject if she talks about her mother for too long,” he admitted. “I worry that she’ll make herself sad.”

  Karla cocked her head to the side, looking utterly divine in her confusion. He balled his hand into a fist with tight white knuckles. “I understand,” she promised. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

  “It’s already been a long time,” he said with a sinking heart. He studied the wine in his glass. “I miss her every day, but she wanted her family to be happy after she passed.”

  “Is that why you moved?” Karla asked with uncertain eyes.

  “Part of it,” he said and then tried to conspire how to word his explanation. “I was part of a community that didn’t approve of my being with Elizabeth,” he said slowly. “I moved away from them to be with her and to start our family. After Elizabeth passed away, I thought it would be better if we had a fresh start.”

  His young employee’s eyes were wide with sadness. Again, it was those eyes that tugged at his heart. He glanced towards his unfinished plate and made a half-hearted attempt at finishing it while she sat in silence, nursing her wine.

  When they’d finished, she rose from the table and offered to take the dishes. “Ginger’s off tonight, so I’ll put these in the dishwasher,” she said and then hesitated, hovering near the dining room doorway. “Malcolm?”

  His heart beat heavily against his chest. He licked his dry lips. “Yes?”

  “If you ever want to talk, just let me know. Thank you for telling me everything.” She smiled and disappeared into the kitchen. He dragged a hand down his face and stayed in his seat for a few moments.

  While her eyes had the call of Elizabeth, there was something distinctly different within Karla that he enjoyed. He sighed and left the table, determined to find something to occupy his mind.

  Chapter 5

  Karla woke up with a strange feeling. It was Sunday, her day off. She surveyed her reflection as she piled her hair into a messy top bun. Last night, she’d slept terribly, tossing and turning. The conversation with Malcolm kept playing over in her head. It’d been three nights since then. Had she been too forward? She frowned.

  It wasn’t as if she minded admitting that she found Malcolm attractive, but he was her boss. And she’d truly wanted to connect with him and let him know that he could talk to her. Did she go too far? She kicked herself. There was no point in torturing herself over it now. She’d asked the questions and said everything that she’d said.

  With a sigh, she dressed and grabbed her bag. Sundays were usually dedicated to her own errands and the occasional stop in the small downtown of Coalbrook. As she walked around, eyes seemed to be following her. She grabbed a smoothie and one of the workers, a friend’s younger sibling, noticed her.

  “I’ve heard you’re working for those shifters,” he said in a whisper as he handed over her smoothie. She laughed. This rumor again!

  “I don’t think they’re Shifters,” she explained with a shrug. “Just shy.” She left before he could spout off any more conspiracy theories. Small towns always had gossip; she considered as she glanced around a clothing boutique. Something flashed outside, a person moving too fast next to the window. She stared outside the store’s windowfront, but there was nobody there now. Goosebumps covered her skin. She decided to move on to the next store.

  Again, a funny feeling came over her. It felt as if there were a pair of eyes glued to her. She shivered even underneath her cardigan. None of the store clerks seemed to notice her. Finally, she told herself that it was nothing. She was imagining things. She threw away the smoothie in the garbage can outside and began walking back to her car. The early afternoon sun hid behind the oncoming gray clouds. She frowned as she neared her car. The parking lot was less busier than usual, but the streets had seemed deserted today.

  As she approached her car, a body suddenly stepped out from the line of trees near the lot. She pulled back with a gasp. “Dave?” It was her old manager, a stooping older man with nervous hands. He’d been the one embezzling money!

  His eyes darted around from behind his black frame eyeglasses. “Karla,” he said in an unnerved voice. He seemed to be sweating. “What a surprise to see you.” She held back, a few steps away from her car, the key poised in her hand almost like a blade.

  “Were you…waiting for me?” she asked.

  His cheeks grew red and he replied in a flustered tone, “It was a coincidence.”

  “I’d like for you to move away from my car,” she said in a flat tone. She gripped her crossbody bag closer to her. His hands fidgeted wildly.

  “Of course,” he muttered and stepped away, farther from her. His eyebrows narrowed. “I wanted to ask you something.”

  “What?” She dropped all pretense of friendliness.

  His look soured even more. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  Her mouth dropped. “What was me?”

  “You’re the one who—” he muttered, the angry talking becoming incoherent. Before he could get another word out, she yanked open her car door and slammed the lock button. Without looking at him, she peeled out of the parking lot with surprising speed. Only after a block did she look up to see in the rearview mirror if he was following her. He wasn’t. There was nobody behind her as she left the downtown area. She breathed a sigh of relief. That was crazy! Her, the one to rat him out? It was his own fault that he’d gotten caught.

  “I would’ve found a new job before I ratted him out even if I did know,” she muttered to herself on the drive back. Her hands shook as she tried to grip the wheel tighter. She hadn’t noticed the tears down her cheeks until she parked the car in front of the house. Most of the lights were off inside, she noticed with a grateful look. At least she could run inside before anyone saw her sorry state.

  She was booking it to her room when she collided with a firm surface. A very firm surface. Her hands pushed the surface away, and she looked up with tearful eyes, her nose stinging lightly, at Malcolm’s confused face.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, and then he snapped his mouth shut as he surveyed her face. She tried to keep more tears from rolling down.

  “I just—”

  “What’s happened?” he asked in a commanding voice. It was unlike anything she’d ever heard coming out of his mouth. “Has someone hurt you?”

  She shook her head wildly. “It was nothing. I’m sorry.” She pulled herself away and dashed towards her room, leaving him in the hall. With a swift movement, she shut and locked the door, letting herself sink to the ground.

  Her boss saw her crying! Stupid Dave! She cradled her head against her knees with a groan. There was a firm knock at her door. She rushed to stand and wiped the tears away from her eyes, noting the smeared mascara coming off on her hands. She swore under her breath before asking, “Yes?”

  “Karla, it’s me.”

  Malcolm, of course. She tried to arrange her face as she opened the door. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. His brow furrowed.

  “The other night, you told me that you wanted me to know that I could talk to you.” He paused and swept his gorgeous eyes over her face. “The same goes for you, I hope.”

  A sound caught in her throat. She wiped away her eyes. “Perhaps I can get a drink.”

  His w
orried face melted into a wry smile. “Let’s go to the parlor.” With a warm squeeze of his hand on hers, he led them to the sitting room that she’d first met him in. He grabbed a

  bottle of whiskey in a crystal bottle and poured two small glasses for them both.

  The story spilled out of her. “I ran into my old boss. He embezzled money from the company. I had nothing to do with any of it. I found out when everyone else at my office did. That was the day everyone got let go since the business shut down. But, today,” she stopped as her voice broke. “He was waiting for me by my car. I felt as if he’d been following me all day. He accused me of being the one who blabbed about his stealing, but I didn’t know anything.” She realized that she was digging her nails sharply into her palms. He reached out a tender hand and left it on the table. She took it and squeezed it gratefully. The touch sent a spark up her arm. She pulled away with pink cheeks.

  “Thank you,” she said and finished her drink. He offered her a sympathetic smile, but his face was pained. Anger bubbled beneath him. She shivered, considering his stormy eyes. It was almost as if they were changing color.

  “We’ll take extra security measures around the estate,” he promised. She couldn’t explain the look on his face. It seemed…like an animal who was defending his own territory.