The Babysitter - Nancy Bush

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moaning and hard breathing. Jamie had enjoyed sex with Paul . . . for a while . . . but it had never been so eager and overt. She’d always been a little embarrassed and would have died a thousand deaths to have people walking by when she was with someone. Yet Vicky hadn’t seemed to mind, and clearly didn’t think much of it anymore.

      “I want to meet your daughter. Tyler would be heading right to football practice, but we have a dental appointment. Is she out here yet?” Vicky looked toward the front steps.

      Harley was actually engaged in talking to another girl and was smiling. Jamie marveled a bit. How long had it been since she’d actually enjoyed something?

      “She’s the tall one with brown hair talking to the dark-haired girl in the blue sweater,” Jamie said, the weight on her heart lifting a bit. She hadn’t even known it was there until now. If Harley could make this work, maybe things wouldn’t be so bad in River Glen.

      “Oh, with Marissa Haynes, well, Dalworth. Marissa’s a really nice girl. I keep hoping Tyler picks someone like her instead of Dara Volker.” She barked out a short laugh. “Dara’s a slut, unfortunately, and Tyler thinks she’s a hottie, which she is. I should know, right?”

      This was an unexpected nod to her high school reputation and there was no right way to answer it. Besides, she’d said something that had definitely caught Jamie’s attention.

      “Marissa Haynes?” Jamie asked carefully.

      “Oh, I know. She’s Cooper Haynes’s stepdaughter. Her real last name is Dalworth, but she took Cooper’s. You remember him from high school?”

      Chapter Five

      Jamie didn’t have a chance to answer as Vicky went on. “He and your sister were an item once, like in junior high . . . maybe high school. I’m not sure Cooper ever got over Emma. All the guys liked her, but after what happened, you know . . .” She shrugged lightly. “Anyway, Marissa is great, and so’s her mom, Laura.”

      Jamie was just digesting that Cooper was married when Vicky added, “I don’t know if he was the cause of the divorce, but Laura’s been seeing someone else for a while. David Musgrave. He and Laura are looking to buy on the west side of River Glen, but Marissa stays with Cooper a lot, too, because he lives in the old Haynes house.”

      East side of town. Like Jamie’s mother’s house.

      “You know a lot about them,” observed Jamie lightly.

      Vicky pretended to look rueful. “I shouldn’t have said all that. It’s just . . . you and I are such old friends!”

      That was probably stretching it a bit, as Vicky knew Emma, not her little sister. However, recognizing she might have inadvertently stopped a font of information, Jamie put on a false smile and said, “Oh, I know exactly what you mean. It’s really been like old home week for me.”

      Vicky beamed. “We were all so jealous of Laura when she landed Cooper. Who was this girl from Portland, moving into River Glen, snagging one of our most eligible, you know? But she’s really lovely. I’ll have to introduce you.”

      “Uh . . .”

      “Oh, is this your daughter? She’s so pretty!”

      Harley had finally noticed Jamie and she hitched up her chin and gave her a nod, but didn’t immediately come her way.

      “She’s gonna be a heartbreaker,” Vicky predicted.

      Jamie was beginning to see Vicky could be a great connection, even if her motives for approaching Jamie were unclear. They weren’t “old friends” by anyone’s standards. Vicky likely perceived Jamie as a curiosity. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t use their association to her advantage. “Cooper’s with the police force?”

      “Yesiree. He’s like a detective or something. He’s only gotten more handsome with age. Dara’s mom, Meghan, made a play for him when she and her husband were separated, but he wasn’t interested. Good thing, too, because Meghan’s husband was not okay. They’re divorced now. But the rumor is, he knocked her around a bit first. I don’t know. Who can tell what’s true and what’s just a good story? In any case, I wouldn’t let Tyler go anywhere near that house while he was still there, but it’s hard to keep horny teenagers away from each other, right? Wow, your daughter is all leg. She looks a lot like you. Your brown hair and the way you both walk. Is she going to the mixer tonight?”

      “I don’t know about any mixer. This is Harley’s first day.”

      “Normally, they do them closer to Halloween, but some of the moms in the PTA got a rod up their butt. Afraid of drinking and vaping, smoking dope and sex, just everything. So, no Halloween. It’s Autumn Daze, or something stupid like that, but the kids have fun. I’ve gotta run and find Tyler. He’s taking long enough. Don’t be a stranger. Like I said, if you need anything . . .”

      “Let me give you my cell number,” Jamie suddenly decided.

      “Oh? You got hooked up?”

      “Went to Verizon today,” she lied.

      Vicky whipped out her notebook and pen, and Jamie gave her the number. “We’ll get together soon and I’ll introduce you to some of the other moms,” she promised.

      “Thanks, Vicky.”

      “Victoria.” She gave her a quick smile, then hurried up the steps and into the school.

      “Who was that?” Harley asked. She’d hung back while witnessing her mother talking with Vicky.

      “A friend of Emma’s from high school.”

      “She looked like she was talking your ear off.”

      “She sort of was, but I’ll take any information I can get. How was school? Like any of your classes?”

      “No.”

      “That’s what I like about you, Harley. Consistency.”

      Her daughter rolled her eyes. “You’re just always so funny, aren’t you?”

      “Not always. Sometimes.”

      Harley almost smiled but stopped herself. She shrugged and said, “It was okay. Some of the kids are pretty nice.”

      “Like Marissa?”

      Harley turned swiftly her way. “You know Marissa? How do you know Marissa?”

      “I just heard about her from Ick . . . from someone I know.”

      “That lady?” She jerked her head in the direction Vicky had gone.

      Jamie nodded. “Her son’s named Tyler and on the football team, I believe. She said Marissa was a nice girl.”

      Harley squinted. “Tyler.”

      “Did you meet him?”

      “I met a lot of people.” She brushed it off, clearly done with the conversation. She hiked her backpack over her shoulder. “Are we going home or what?”

      The tone. It made Jamie want to scream at her, but she’d learned that approach did no good. Ignoring it wasn’t really an answer either, but she let it go for now because it was Harley’s first day. Tomorrow would be a different story.

      They were walking back toward Jamie’s car when they heard footsteps behind them and Marissa came flying up. “Hey, give me your phone number,” she said to Harley. “We could go tonight to the mixer? You want to?” She glanced up at Jamie and said, “Hi, I’m Marissa.”

      “I’m Jamie.”

      Harley looked at Jamie and said in an accusing voice, “I don’t have a phone.”

      “I could give you my number,” Jamie suggested.

      “Okay.” Marissa swept her phone from her back pocket.

      They

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