Page 14 of Clean Sweep
Down, boy.
"My real dream is to branch out on my own. My family all have their place at the company. But I was an unexpected surprise. Baby number five. The odd addition. No one really knew what to do with me, and I needed to find my own place." She shrugged, "turns out, this is what I'm good at. Helping people."
"Does it stick?" I asked, watching her with an almost trance-like obsession.
"Does what stick?"
"The cleaning tips. The families you help?"
"Oh," she chuckled. "Sometimes, yes. I have a private group where they all send me questions and share cleaning tips. One family immediately reverted back to their former ways – but they had bigger issues than I could help with. But others take it on. They just never got taught how to do things or thought that cleaning products were too expensive or a million other myths."
"Do you enjoy it?"
"Love it," she said, flashing me a smile. "There's nothing more satisfying than helping people. And a clean environment, an organized environment, it helps people be creative, restore balance. It gives them the space to reconnect. Your environment is so—" she cut herself off with a laugh. "I'm preaching, sorry."
"It's fine," I tried unsuccessfully to hide a yawn. "I'm seriously interested but it's late and I've barely scrapped together three hours of sleep over the last two days."
"Go," Laura lifted a hand making a shooing movement. "I've got these two. Go sleep."
I blinked. "I couldn't do that."
But god is it tempting.
"Sure, you can. I have stellar baby-sitting references, a great smile and know how to change a diaper." She jerked her head at the door. "Go. If I need anything, I'll call you."
My feet led the way, the temptation of sleep too much. "If you're sure…"
"Go!" she called, laughing. "I got this."
I went back to bed, faceplanting on the mattress and letting out a long, satisfied sigh.
"He's a good daddy," I heard Laura murmur thorough the baby monitor. "You're very lucky to have him."
Leif gurgled and she laughed quietly. "Oh yes, you are. So, so lucky, aren't you?"
I smiled, eyes closed, listening to Laura's calming voice and my kid's soft sounds as I drifted off to sleep.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Four
Erik
Whose idea was this?
I silently berated myself as my sister, my own flesh and blood, gleefully led a camera team around my house, pointing in horror at new hygiene issues to film.
"I found mold!" Someone yelled excitedly from my downstairs bathroom.
"I've got dust," another called from the lounge room. "Layers of it."
A grown man shouldn't sound that excited by dust.
Laura stood in my kitchen, her hair and make-up being touched up as we waited for Liv to get her shots.
This was day two of what I assumed would be a never-ending filming cycle. Yesterday hadn't been this bad.
I'd woken from the best sleep I'd had in months to find Laura had fed, changed and moved the twins downstairs Mozart playing as she'd dangled soft toys for them to grab. She'd made me breakfast, smiled at my sleepy questioning, then directed me to shower.
