“Wait, I’ll get it off. Just… wait.” She put her arms on the woman’s trembling shoulders until she stopped throwing her head around. A quick visual inspection proved that there was nothing on her. “See, it’s already gone. You’re fine.”

“He picked it up.” The older woman shuddered, revulsion all over her face. “He brought it to me on his hand. I thought he was showing me a toy.”

The back door opened again and Chris and Jase came outside. Jase took his thumb out of his mouth to say “Spider! I had a spider!”

Miss Bessie shuddered again. “I can’t stand spiders. I can’t believe that sweet little baby was touching that nasty thing.”

Ridley walked over to Jase slowly. “Where’s the spider now, Jase? Is he gone?”

Jase nodded, solemnly. “I lost my spider.”

“It’s okay. Maybe the spider went home.”

“Oh, look! There’s the spider!” Chris pointed at Miss Bessie’s shoulder. She immediately started dancing around again. Chris erupted into giggles. “I’m just joking. It’s gone.”

“Chris! That’s not nice.” Ridley shook her head and turned back to the older woman.

“Some of the neighborhood children are playing outside. I can keep an eye on the boys if that’s all right with you.”

Miss Bessie exhaled, her shoulders drooping visibly. “Only if you don’t mind. I would appreciate that. I wanted to start cooking early, anyway.” She gave a defeated smile before turning and walking back in the house.

Jase tugged the edge of her shirt until she looked down. “She no like my spider.” He sounded so crestfallen that it was hard to keep a straight face.

“You like spiders?” she asked. He nodded.

“He likes all bugs,” Chris interjected.

Oh boy. Ridley was starting to understand why Jackson was having such a hard time keeping a nanny. If there was anything that most women couldn’t tolerate, it was creepy crawlies. Luckily, gardening had forced her to get over her aversion early. You couldn’t work with flowers without encountering insects.

She knelt next to Jase. “Lots of people are scared of spiders. That’s why she ran away. Is there anything you’re afraid of?”

“Um, the thunder,” Jase mumbled around his thumb.

“I don’t like thunder, either. I’d much rather it stays outside. That’s how most people feel about spiders. Let’s keep the spiders outside so Miss Bessie isn’t scared, okay? Maybe later we can play in the dirt some so you can see where the bugs live.”

Jase’s eyes rounded and then he grinned. “Okay.”

“Okay. Let’s go have some fun.”

Chris let out a happy screech before running and jumping over the three steps leading from the patio to the yard.

The sound was reminiscent of summers past and the freedom of entire days devoted to nothing but adventure, friends and fun. There had been many summers that she and Raina had wandered their neighborhood while their mother was at work. They’d ridden their bikes all day searching for hidden pirate treasure, skipped rope and drawn lines on the sidewalk in front of their building for hopscotch. They’d done everything together and every day had been an adventure.

The world had seemed wide open back then.

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Katie Mason. We live three houses down.” The other woman had wandered closer to where Ridley stood watching the children chase each other around the yard.

“I’m Ridley. I actually don’t even live here. Not really, anyway. I’m just visiting.”

Katie nodded, a knowing smile on her face. “Your presence here is dashing the hopes of many of the women in the neighborhood. Jackson is considered quite a catch around here. A single, handsome man living in a big place like this all alone tends to attract attention. He’s probably been hit on by all the single women at some point. Probably by some of the married ones, too.”

“I don’t think anyone needs to lose any sleep over my being here. I’ll be gone in a week or so.”

“I hope you’ll stay for a while. I’m excited to see some new faces in town,” Katie said. “A lot of the wives here are a little older. I don’t get Botox or play tennis so there’s just not much common ground. I thought about getting a job to keep me busy while Don’s at work, but that didn’t go over too well.”

“Don is your husband?” Ridley ventured. A shadow crossed the other woman’s face before she squared her shoulders.

“Yes. Donald is my husband.” She didn’t look too happy about it, though. She sighed and then said, “He’s not home much, so the kids and I are usually on our own. That’s why I was trying to find a part-time job before the kids go back to school. But since I’ve technically been unemployed since getting married, it’s harder than I thought.

“Unemployed? That makes it sound like you haven’t been doing anything. I don’t even have children and I find that insulting. You’ve been raising kids.”

“I’m used to it, believe me.”

Ridley shook her head in disbelief. “If you were watching someone else’s children, you’d be considered self-employed. An entrepreneur with your own business. So why is it any different just because you’re watching your own? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Well, the fact that I don’t have any current skills isn’t helping, I suppose. But the only skill I have is being a wife and mother. There doesn’t seem to be much demand for that lately.”