Sealing the Deal by Sandy James

things easier for Robert and Emma.
    “Are you doing this because of Aubrey?” Jules asked, drawing Beth out of her thoughts.
    Although her anger at the rejection had faded, Beth wasn’t ready to let Jules entirely off the hook. She still thought it was odd that Jules wouldn’t let her nanny take care of Emma. “Not completely. It will be great to have Robert watching Emma.”
    “We can talk about it more… maybe?” Jules’s voice held little promise that she’d change her mind.
    So why even offer? Beth cut her off before she could say anything else to stir the anger back up. “No need. Robert’s oldest niece runs a day care out of her house. She’s going to take Emma when Robert and I can’t be with her. Since he works from home a lot, it won’t be too many hours.”
    “That’s asking an awful lot of commitment from him,” Dani said. “Especially if you two aren’t even dating.”
    “She’s right,” Mallory chimed in. “Why’s Robert willing to take on all this new responsibility?”
    The same question Beth had asked herself a million times. She kept coming back to the same entirely inadequate answer. “We’re friends, and friends help each other out.”
    Mallory didn’t look convinced. “Robert must be in a hurry to get you and Emma under his roof. Ben’s been pulled off the house in Windsong to work on Robert’s… um… your… er… the house you two are going to share.”
    Mallory’s husband was one of the best contractors in the county. Ben liked being his own boss and wasn’t ready to commit entirely to Ashford Homes, but Robert used his services whenever he had a client who was overly particular or one he wanted to impress. Ben had done a lot of the work on the house Robert was moving into. Seemed like Ben would be putting on the finishing touches as well according to Mallory.
    “I’m glad,” Beth said, shifting her coffee between her hands. “Then it’ll be perfect.”
    “What about gossip?” Dani asked. “You’re telling us that there’s nothing going on between you and Robert, but do you think everyone in Cloverleaf will believe that?”
    “I’m not that naïve.” With a sigh, Beth said, “We’ll just make it clear that we’re friends sharing a fantastic house for the good of a poor orphaned baby.”
    Jules let out an inelegant snort, the first sign of her normally vocal sense of humor. “You make Emma sound like Oliver Twist.”
    “I was being facetious,” Beth retorted, but she smiled as well. She’d laid it on a little thick. “The people who know me will understand.”
    “But will the parents or Jim Reinhardt or the school board?” Mallory drew her lips into a grim line. “Cloverleaf is stuck in the 1950s, Beth. There could be repercussions for your job.”
    “Not if they don’t want me to sue their butts from here to Timbuktu.” And Beth meant it. There were no laws against adults cohabitating, married or not. “It’s time for Cloverleaf to take a leap forward in time. There’s nothing wrong with Robert sharing a house with me and Emma. Even if we were a couple, that’s no one’s business but ours.”
    She might be cavalier with her friends, but Beth’s gut tightened. Being the center of attention anywhere except her classroom made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t like Jules, craving the spotlight. The idea that living with Robert would make her the target of gossip, something that plagued Cloverleaf, almost made her change her mind.
    Jules had been fiddling with her cell phone more than paying attention to the conversation. She got to her feet and hefted her purse off the floor. “I’ve got a house showing in fifteen minutes.” She directed her gaze at Beth. “I take it you don’t want to see those houses tomorrow.” Sarcasm dripped from her words.
    “No, but thanks for arranging them,” Beth replied. Things between her and Jules were tense enough that the other Ladies had to be picking up on it. Hopefully, time would soothe the