Felicia’s apartment on the second floor at the opposite end from their rooms. She knocked on the double doors. It opened slowly and Cassie peeked out. Her round eyes instantly fixed on Danny. “What do you want?”
“May we come in?” Caroline asked politely, ignoring the two children glaring at each other.
“We’ve already had breakfast,” Cassie declared with obvious satisfaction as she opened the door wider. “You can’t be sleepyheads and eat with us.”
“We already ate,” Danny declared triumphantly.
The apartment’s sitting room was quite spacious and light with the morning sun pouring through windows along one wall. Draperies, furniture throws and fringed gaudy lamps were various shades of red and purple. Artificial flowers were displayed on small tables covered with silk cloths and Caroline could smell an invading scent of potpourri coming from a cut-glass bowl.
Cassie pranced ahead of them into an adjoining room which was obviously the playroom of a very rich little girl. Even Danny’s eyes widened as he looked around at the games, toys, paints, clay and inviting electronic gadgets he’d only seen in toy stores.
Cassie knocked on one of the doors at the far side of the room and called out loudly, “That boy’s here.”
The bedroom door opened almost immediately and Felicia glided into the room wearing a long multicolored robe that swept the floor. Her salt-and-pepper hair was held back by a braided band and fell freely halfway down her back. If Felicia was embarrassed by her lessthan-formal appearance, there was no evidence of it.
“I hope we’re not too early,” Caroline quickly apologized.
“Not at all,” she said smiling and in a formal tone, she said, “Good morning, Danny.”
To Caroline’s surprise, Danny responded with a preschool ritual. “Good morning, Miss…Miss…” He fumbled for the right name.
“Felicia. Fe…lis…e…a,” she pronounced phonetically. When he repeated it, she nodded. “Very good.”
Danny beamed. Caroline began to relax.
“Cassie, why don’t you set up the race track for you and Danny? And let him have his choice of cars?” she prompted.
The car-racing game must have been a rare treat because Cassie’s frown instantly changed in to a wide smile. Caroline blessed Felicia for recognizing a pivotal moment and handling it so beautifully. The two children happily busied themselves setting up the track and positioning their choice of cars.
“Would you join me in a second cup of coffee while the children get acquainted a bit?” Felicia asked Caroline.
“Yes, thank you.” She doubted that Stella would be looking for her this early.
Felicia motioned toward the kitchenette. A small round table and chairs were in an alcove off the main room. Caroline didn’t see any dishes in the sink or on the table.
“You must have breakfast early,” she commented as Felicia brought cups and a coffeepot from an apartment-sized stove over to the table.
“Dawn is the best time to greet the world. Vibrations are at their highest then. All shadows of the night flee before the healing rays of the sun, you know,” she said as she sat down opposite Caroline. “Of course, Cassie wakes up several hours later.”
Caroline took a sip of coffee before responding to her unusual remarks. “I can imagine how a person could lose oneself in the grandeur of the surroundings. You must love being here.”
“I’m always ready to go back to sunbaked earth, clear skies and warm nights. Texas is home.”
“Have you lived there all your life?”
She nodded. “My parents worked on Wes’s grandfather’s ranch when they first came over the border. I grew up there. Sadly, Wes lost both of his parents while he was still in college but when he got married, he asked me to come and work for him.”
Caroline wanted to know how she had liked Wes’s wife, but she refrained from asking. Gossiping with the nanny wasn’t exactly the wisest thing to do.
“I really appreciate your looking after Danny.”
Felicia’s forehead was suddenly creased with thoughtful lines. She didn’t answer as she stirred her coffee.
She doesn’t want to do it. Now what?
“Danny really isn’t as difficult to handle as he might appear,” Caroline quickly assured Felicia. “He has a lot of interests and he wouldn’t demand a lot of time if he has something to do.”
Felicia set down her spoon and sighed deeply. “It isn’t that. He’s a fine little boy, I can tell that.”
“Then what?”
“Nothing,” she said but her eyes betrayed her words. There was a haunted look about them.
Caroline was suddenly uneasy. She’d leave the lodge in a minute if she felt it wasn’t safe leaving Danny in this woman’s care.
“If there’s something that might affect my son, I need to know it now. Tell me.”
Felicia took another sip of her coffee, carefully holding the cup steady with both hands. Then, slowly, she set it down and took a deep breath.
“I’ll let no harm come to your boy, I promise.”
Whatever reservation Felicia had had in her own mind seemed to be resolved. In the weighted silence, they could hear the children squealing in the other room. Danny was cheering and Cassie was laughing deeply.
“It will be good for them to be playmates,” Felicia said as she reached across and patted Caroline’s hand. “You do your work and I will take good care of your son, I promise. I have taken care of Cassie since she was born. They trust me and so should you.” Her dark eyes hardened. “You pay no attention to what anyone says. Today is not yesterday.”
Caroline wasn’t sure what Felicia meant by that cryptic remark, but she knew that she wouldn’t rest easy until she found out.
Chapter Four
Caroline left Danny sitting on the floor, watching as a red racer careened around a track. He barely gave his mother a quick glance as she said, “I’m leaving now, Danny. You stay here with Cassie and Felicia.”
“Okay.” His face was flushed and his eyes bright. “I’m ahead of Cassie two laps.”
“You’re going to miss a curve going that fast,” Cassie retorted as if she’d learned that lesson the hard way. “Wait and see! Then I’ll catch up.”
“No, you won’t.”
Felicia gave Caroline a reassuring smile as she eased down in a nearby chair and picked up her sewing basket.
“I’ll be back before lunch,” Caroline said. Everything seemed to be under control. She couldn’t find any rational reason for a lingering apprehension. Quit being an overprotective mother, she told herself, but the lecture didn’t do much good. She wished they’d never left home.
Her chest tightened. What home?
After leaving Felicia’s apartment, she walked the length of the hall to her rooms and spent a few minutes making up the beds and putting things away. Because of her limited finances, she’d shopped for only enough clothes for about a week. One of her first challenges would be to find the laundry room.
After glancing at her watch, she decided she’d go downstairs and see if Stella was ready to give her the tour of the lodge that she’d promised and tell her what rooms she wanted redone.
The eating room was empty except for Trudie Benson who was clearing off the buffet. When Caroline asked about Stella, she nodded. “She had breakfast and I think she left to talk to Tim Henderson. He’s the year-round manager-caretaker,