The little girl’s face didn’t light up when her brother crouched down next to her.
“Hi, Darcy. How’s my baby sister doing?”
Bliss winced at the sound of Cal’s voice. The sight of Darcy sitting off by herself had affected him.
She had missed her brothers when they had been taken away, and Bliss wondered how her life would have turned out if she had been able to stay in contact with them. Maybe she would have never met Stark, or maybe her brothers would have been killed even earlier.
She was glad the sad child had her brother. It was obvious Cal loved his little sister as he ruffled her hair, trying to bring a smile to her face.
Bliss and Drake sat down on a couple of chairs that had been placed against the wall while the children all watched them curiously as Cal picked a book to read to his sister.
One brave, blue-eyed little boy wandered closer. “What’s your name?”
Bliss felt uncomfortable for a second, waiting for the daycare owner to rush the child away from her. “Bliss. What’s yours?”
“I’m not allowed to talk to strangers.”
Bliss didn’t mention the fact that he had been the one to approach her.
“Want a carrot stick? I have some left over from snack time. I don’t like carrots.”
She tried to keep a solemn face as the little boy took out three carrot sticks from his jeans pocket. Bliss didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but there was no way she was going to eat one of the unappetizing sticks nestled in the palm of his hand.
“No, thanks. I don’t like carrots, either. I think Drake likes them, though.” Bliss raised a brow, trying to keep from laughing.
“I’m not hungry. I had my snack before I came here.”
“You sure?” The boy’s face fell.
It didn’t affect Drake. “I’m sure.”
“Come back to the group, Devon. You’re missing the best part of the story.” Jessie came up from behind the boy to lead him back to the group.
Bliss had tensed, expecting her to ask her not to talk to the children. She was floored when she was given a friendly smile instead.
“He’s adorable,” Bliss remarked, relaxing back on her chair.
“I think he knows it, too,” Drake remarked. “I’m going to have some serious competition in a few years.”
Bliss didn’t think so. Drake would be hard to beat, even though she wouldn’t use the word “adorable” to describe him.
Bliss watched as Jessie read to the small group that had gathered around her. When she finished, the children played around the room in different areas. Jessie then came to stand next to their chairs, keeping a watchful eye on the children while speaking to Bliss.
“Hi. I’m Jessie.” She held out her hand, which Bliss shook as she introduced herself.
“You’ve gotten another child since the last time I was here,” Drake commented.
“I’m at full capacity until I can hire another worker.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard.”
“You would think so, but the women applying for the position aren’t passing their drug tests, or they have a police record. I have three children on a waiting list, and I can’t take them until I find someone.”
“If I think of anyone who might be interested, I’ll let you know.”
“I would appreciate it. One mother is going to lose her job if she doesn’t find someone soon. Her last babysitter moved away.”
“I could help out until you find someone you want to hire permanently.” Bliss wanted to take the words back immediately. There was no way this woman wouldn’t realize she used to belong to The Last Riders. While the outfit she was wearing wasn’t as sexually suggestive as most of the clothes she usually wore, it didn’t scream babysitter, either.
Jessie’s face became ecstatic, however. “That would help out a lot. Do you have any experience with children in a preschool?”
“No.”
“Do you at least like children?”
“Yes.”
“Right now, I’ll take that. I don’t mean to be personal, but to save us both some time, will you pass the drug test?”
“Yes.”
Bliss felt Drake’s sharp glance. He had given her the joints, but she hadn’t smoked them. She had taken them to keep him from smoking them. She didn’t like the taste of them and hadn’t wanted to tell him that.
“Do you have a police record?”
“No,” Bliss lied. Shade had made sure her juvenile record had been destroyed. However, none of those charges would endanger the children; they would only embarrass her.
“You’re hired … pending your drug test and the police record coming back clean. I’ll get you an application.” Jessie went to the desk in the corner and pulled out some papers, bringing them back to her with a pen. “If you want, you can do them now, and I can get everything started. It should only take a couple of days if you stop by the hospital when you leave here for the drug test.”