Was that the sort of woman Landon dated? Ever since Jaxon had mentioned Landon was out, she’d pictured him with a blonde rodeo queen in cowboy boots and a halter top. Kate pushed away the image. “Why not tell him you’re out with a clingy brunette and let him wonder.”
“He already wonders, better make her respectable.”
Audrey trotted down the stairs and flounced into the kitchen. She wore pink cowboy boots, and her long brown hair flapped behind her in two braids.
Jaxon whisked the girl into his arms. “Miss Benton is going to watch you tonight, and you’re lucky you ate your dinner because she brought cheesecake.”
“What’s cheesecake?” Audrey asked.
Kate opened the cupboard and took out a plate. “Most cheesecake is just a regular dessert. This cheesecake is what fairies serve when they have tea with royalty.”
Audrey slid from her father’s arms. “Then we’d better have it now, or Uncle Preston will eat it all when he comes home from his friend’s.”
Jaxon retrieved the cheesecake from the fridge. “Good point.”
While Jaxon dished out the dessert, he gave Kate instructions about Audrey’s bedtime routine. Then he gave her his phone number and pointed out a list of emergency numbers taped to the inside of a cabinet. “Call me if you need anything,” he said, “and feel free to make yourself at home.”
He kissed Audrey goodbye and headed to the door, calling another, “Thanks!” over his shoulder.
Audrey finished her cheesecake, proclaimed that fairies had better cherries than real people, and said, “Let’s play princess and evil queen.”
“All right.” Kate carried the dirty dishes to the sink. “What does the evil queen do to the princess?”
Audrey blinked her large blue eyes. “Depends. Sometimes she locks her in a tower, sometimes she gives her a poisoned apple, and sometimes she sends her into a deep, deep sleep.”
Kate drummed her fingers together and attempted an evil sounding cackle. “Very well, my dear. Would you like a lovely red apple? Or if there’s not an apple around, a lovely…” She opened one of the cupboards and scanned the food there. “Handful of fishy crackers?”
Audrey tilted her chin, making her braids swing. “I’m not the princess. You are.”
Kate straightened. “I’m the one who gets locked in a tower, poisoned, and put into a deep sleep? Is that how you treat all of your babysitters?”
“Yep,” Audrey said cheerfully.
“Ah, now I know who the emergency numbers are for.”
“Being an evil queen is better because they get to tell princesses what to do.”
The girl did have a point.
Despite Audrey’s villainous ambitions, she was only mildly bossy as she ordered Kate to turn thread into gold on an overturned wheelbarrow in the backyard. Everything went smoothly until an hour and a half later, when Audrey was getting ready for bed. Then she complained of a stomachache. This was most likely because when she changed into her pajamas, she insisted on spinning in circles to transform into a disguise. A good disguise evidently took so much twirling you fell onto the floor several times in the process.
Kate chose a book from Audrey’s shelf and pulled back the blanket on her bed. “Lay still while I read you a story. That will help settle your tummy.”
Audrey plopped down on the edge of her bed. “I still feel dizzy.”
Kate kneeled in front of her and put her hand on forehead. No fever. “If you don’t feel better after the story, I’ll call your daddy and ask what he—”
Without warning, Audrey leaned forward and threw up. Not a little. Her dinner, the cheesecake, and apparently everything she’d drunk that day spewed onto Kate’s shirt, jeans, and the bed. Kate stifled a gasp, took hold of Audrey, and rushed the girl to the bathroom in case more spewing was imminent.
Audrey sat on the tile floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, while Kate breathed through her mouth and used a washcloth to brush the bigger chunks of vomit from her shirt into the toilet. This didn’t make her much cleaner. Even parts of her hair were wet.
Audrey scooted away from the toilet. “I think my throw up is all done.”
“Good. I’m glad your tummy is feeling better.” Kate had to fight her own gag reflex. Characters who spun around to transform into disguises should definitely be banned from children’s shows.
Audrey frowned. “My mouth tastes gross. I’ve got gunk on my jammies.”
Kate washed off her hands and handed Audrey her toothbrush. “I’ll bring you clean pajamas.”