Page 38 of Jagger

“Just get on with it. I got work to do.”

As he’d done for months, he shook his head since we were around employees. “Bella. This is Jenny Talbot. She’ll take you and the little Miss Cally to the daycare and show you around. Just don’t listen to half of what she says. She’s a mean sort.”

“Very funny, Mr. Fox. I just keep you on your toes,” Jenny stated with confidence.

“Yeah, that you do. Run along, girls, so I can talk to the other Fox in the hole.”

Bella gave me another strange look as if wanting to say something to me before taking Cally by the hand and following Jenny.

I started to walk away because I wasn’t interested in hearing yet another lecture from my brother. He had no business talking when he hadn’t bothered trying to face his demons. This time he grabbed my arm.

“What do you want, Hunter?”

“I don’t want anything, especially from you. I just wanted to tell you that Bella seems very nice. I don’t know what she’s doinghere and we can use the help right now. Thank you for the recommendation.”

“It got her out of my hair.”

“What really is going on with you? You never hated the holidays before. Why now?”

I got in his face, using the anger toward myself for my actions around Bella as an explosive backdrop. “What the fuck does it matter? You have a life you seem to enjoy now. Live it. Leave me alone.” I jerked my arm free and half expected him to follow me after I started to walk away.

He didn’t.

But his words I heard.

“Whatever is going on with you, I get. I really do, brother. But you can’t allow the nightmares and tunnel vision, the cold sweats and the rage to keep you from living in the here and now. You just can’t. Being locked up inside your mind will only drive you to madness.”

I laughed softly. “It already has.”

CHAPTER 12

Bella

Daycare.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t experienced dropping my baby girl off at the hospital’s daycare dozens of times. She’s spent countless hours with several kind and well-trained women who’d brought my daughter out of her initial shell.

However, for some reason leaving her with strangers right now hit hard, my stomach aching at the thought of leaving her alone.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Winters. Cally will be well taken care of. She’ll have playtime and a nice lady is coming in to read Christmas stories while having a snack. And after our afternoon naps, we’re going to go see Santa. Would you like that, Cally?” Zoe Drake was down on my daughter’s level, already making my little girl laugh.

“Yay!”

“It’s just Bella,” I told her. No more Mrs. anything.

“Bella. It’s a pleasure meeting you and you can check on her any time.”

“Thank you.”

“Welcome to Foxhead Resort. You’re going to love it here,” Zoe offered.

“I think it’s good to be here.”

I returned to the corridor where Jenny was waiting. She was speaking Russian if I recognized the language correctly. She jerked iBuds from her ears when she saw me, laughing from the way I was looking at her. “Trying to get ahead in class.”

“Russian?”

“Yes, tougher than it looks,” Jenny admitted.

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