Adelaide raised one brow but didn’t elaborate on what she was thinking.
“Does your brother know she’s, um, willing to cheat on him?” I asked.
Adelaide let out a bubble of laughter. “Trust me, my brother could care less what she does. They’re not dating. They’re just…” Her voice trailed off, and from the blush on her cheeks, I quickly figured out what their relationship consisted of.
I brought my hand to the back of my neck. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m running out of time. I have to find someone soon.”
She chewed on her lower lip. “Let me talk to Palmer again.”
“I don’t think Palmer likes me, Adelaide.”
Her eyes went wide and something moved across her face, but I couldn’t read it. “She likes you, Mason. She’s just not good with…change.”
Shaking my head, I said, “She made it clear she wasn’t interested.”
Adelaide tapped her finger on her chin, obviously in thought.
I stood and closed my laptop. “I’ll figure it out. I may have to look outside of Seaside, maybe find someone who can be a live-in nanny. The house I’m interested in buying has a smaller guesthouse in the back. It was originally the carriage house.”
Her brows rose. “Really? Where is it located?”
I nodded as I slipped the computer into my bag. “Down on Bay Street. Dr. James mentioned that his brother was selling his house. They want to downsize. They do have a renter in the carriage house though, so I’d have to give them time to vacate.”
Adelaide covered her mouth with her hand.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said, trying to hide the fact that the house clearly meant something to her. “Nothing at all.”
Slipping the backpack over my shoulder, I smiled. “Thank you for coming in today. I know we have Fridays off, and you don’t normally work today. But I wasn’t comfortable having Jennifer alone here with me in the office.”
She returned my smile with one of her own. “It was my pleasure, Mason. Where are you off to?”
“There’s an art show in town at the community center. Charlie is fascinated by art, and I promised I’d take him.”
This time, Adelaide couldn’t hide the fact that she was grinning from ear to ear.
“What?” I asked with a slight laugh.
“Nothing. Enjoy your weekend.”
“You’re acting weird.”
Pointing to herself, she replied, “Me? Nah. Have a good weekend!”
And with that, she turned and headed out of my office.
“Over here, Daddy!” Charlie called out as he pulled me to an area that was set up for kids to draw and paint.
A woman about my age bent down to speak to Charlie. “Hi there, what’s your name?”
“Charlie. This is my daddy.”
The woman looked up at me and smiled. “Hi there. Does Dad have a name?”
Smiling, I said, “Yes, Mason Bryan.”
She stood up. “The new doctor in town? That Mason Bryan?”
“That would be me.”
“Ms. Kelsey Roberts. It’s nice to meet you and Charlie. I teach art at Seaside Middle School.”
“Really?” I asked.
She nodded and looked at Charlie. “But after the holidays, I’m moving to the elementary school.”
My son smiled brightly and jumped up and down. Ms. Kelsey Roberts was a very pretty woman, and clearly my son noticed as well.
“What about Mrs. Dobson?” I asked.
“Mrs. Dobson is having a baby, and I’m going to take over her position. She decided she wants to be a stay-at-home mom.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
Ms. Roberts nodded.
I placed my hand on Charlie’s head. “Charlie here loves art.”
She smiled. “Is that so? Would you like to come paint me a picture, Charlie?”
“Yes! Yes!”
As soon as Ms. Roberts took Charlie’s hand, he let out a gasp and cried out, “Palmer!”
My head snapped to the right and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. Palmer stood there dressed in overalls and a long-sleeve black shirt. Her dark blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her blue eyes bounced from me to Ms. Roberts before landing back on me.
“Palmer?” I said, feeling myself smile.
“Do you two know one another?” Ms. Roberts asked.
Palmer nodded before she dropped down and let Charlie practically throw himself into her arms.
Clearing my throat, I turned to Ms. Roberts. “Yes. Um, her sister Adelaide is my office manager, and I’ve come to know the family.”
“Daddy asked Palmer to be my nanny!” Charlie stated.
“Nanny?” Ms. Roberts said to Palmer, as the two women exchanged a look. I couldn’t tell if they were friends or not.
When Ms. Roberts laughed and then looked back at me, I saw Palmer shoot her a dirty look. “Palmer as a nanny? That’s funny.”
Palmer stood, gave Ms. Roberts one last look, and then took Charlie’s hand. “Come on, Charlie, I’ll help you get set up with some paints.”
I watched Palmer and Charlie head over to an empty table. She took out some paper for him and then set up three different colors of paint.
Turning to Ms. Roberts, I asked, “You seem to know Palmer well, Ms. Roberts. Are you friends?”
She stared at Palmer with a blank expression before turning her entire body toward me. “Please, call me Kelsey.”
I nodded. “Call me Mason.”
“Well, to answer your question, Mason, we went to school together. I wouldn’t say we were best friends, but I do know her. She’s always been a bit of an odd duck, if you will. Never really knowing what she wants to do with her life. It’s a shame, really.”
I felt myself frown. “Why is that a shame?”
She blinked a few times. “No, I mean, she’s talented with painting, very talented. I would even go so far as to say she’s better than me. She simply chooses not to let people see her talent, for whatever reason. I guess she likes working multiple jobs.” She shrugged. “To each his own.”
I glanced back over at Palmer. Something inside me tightened as I watched her laugh at whatever Charlie said to her. She was teaching him the proper way to hold a paint brush.
“I agree,” I said. “Some of us take longer to figure things out in life, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Where’s Charlie’s mother? Is she here?”
Subtle. Everyone in town knew I wasn’t married and that there was no mother in the picture.
“She isn’t in his life.”
For a moment, Kelsey looked embarrassed, almost horrified she had asked the question. “I’m so sorry, I forgot that. Small-town gossip and all. I try not to pay attention to it, but yes, I do remember hearing that.”
“No worries,” I said with a smile.
“So, you’re looking for a nanny for Charlie?”
I looked over at where he sat. He was chewing on his lip as he carefully moved the brush over the paper, and the look of concentration on his face nearly made me laugh. Palmer glanced over at him every so often since she was dividing her time between Charlie and a little girl around his age.