CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Tia heard a woman say in a singsong voice as the door opened, “Oh! Look who’s here, Sarah. It’s Daddy! Now, what’s Daddy doing here in the middle of a work day…?”
Caine grinned at the silver-haired woman in the doorway. The woman had a pouting baby girl on her hip. Caine kissed his mother on the cheek and said cheerfully, “Hi Mom. Hello, sweetheart. Come here, you!”
The little girl broke into giggles when Caine took her into his arms and cuddled her. She cooed and blew a little bubble.
“Mom, Sarah, this is Tia,” Caine said, turning to her.
“Good morning, Mrs Taylor, Sarah,” Tia greeted them politely.
His mother looked surprised but welcomed Tia warmly into the house. “Come in, come in. You must be the new...”
“Bodyguard!” Caine and Tia said together.
When his mother raised a brow, Tia went on smoothly, “I’m from Chase Security, Inc. Tia Scott at your service, Mrs Taylor.”
“Oh please, just call me Amanda. And it’s so lovely to have you here, Tia.” Amanda ushered Tia into the kitchen. “Come, I’ll get you a cup of tea. I’m just about to feed Sarah her mashed potatoes. But she’s been fussing and crying a lot this morning.”
Tia noticed that Amanda looked very tired but was trying her best to hide her exhaustion. She didn’t want Caine to think that she couldn’t handle the baby herself. She was determined to take care of her family and she was reluctant to hand her granddaughter over to a nanny. But Amanda was already in her seventies. She didn’t have the same level of energy as before. Caine recognized this, but he also knew how proud and stubborn his mother was.
Amanda Taylor reminded Tia of Kerry. Her elder sister was also very stubborn, protective and possessive when it came to her family. She wanted to keep her family close and keep them safe. Amanda was protective of Sarah, and she didn’t trust a nanny to care for her precious little granddaughter.
Tia saw that she had to tread carefully and win Amanda’s trust. She wanted to help Caine and Amanda. They were good people with big hearts. They adopted an orphan, and were doing their best to give her a warm, loving home.
Nathan had given Tia this assignment because he trusted her. He knew that she would be able to do the job well. Tia was a great babysitter. She had been babysitting her niece since she was a baby.
Sarah began to protest when Caine put her into her highchair. She grabbed his finger in her chubby fist and shook it angrily. When he wouldn’t pick her up, the girl squirmed and twisted in her chair, her lower lip wobbling as she whimpered in distress.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Caine asked. “Aren’t you hungry?”
“She hasn’t eaten anything this morning,” Amanda said, placing two cups of tea on the table and wringing her hands.
“Is Sarah...not feeling well?” Tia asked.
“I checked her temperature. She’s not running a fever,” Amanda said.
Tia went up to Sarah, and the girl stared at her in surprise and confusion for a moment. The little girl had downy red hair, and large green eyes that were flecked with gold.
Tia turned to Amanda. “Can I hold her?”
The older woman swallowed and gave a quick nod.
Tia picked Sarah up and rocked her gently while humming a soothing lullaby. Sarah stopped whimpering and put her head on Tia’s shoulder. In a few minutes, the girl was asleep in Tia’s arms.
Amanda gestured for Tia to follow her. She walked into the cozy nursery beside her bedroom and indicated the crib at the corner of the room. Tia nodded and placed the sleeping child very gently down in the crib.
Amanda pulled the door close after them and sighed. “Were the both of you awake the whole night?” Caine asked. He was waiting for them in the living room.
His mother nodded. “Sarah kept waking up every hour. I kept checking on her but she didn’t need to be changed or fed. She would only take a little milk each time.”
She saw that Tia was listening and said defensively, “Sarah’s a very good baby. She’s been sleeping and feeding well these past two months. It’s only last night that...”
Tia nodded without answering.
Caine sniffed the air and growled suddenly. Both Tia and Amanda turned to him.
Tia’s eyes widened as she inhaled sharply. It smelled like something was burning.
Caine rushed towards Sarah’s room and flung the door open. Tia and Amanda ran in after him.
Amanda screamed when she saw the red blaze in the crib. “No! Sarah!”