She drove home with a whole new outlook on small-town living. When she pulled up into the drive, she noticed the police chief’s children and their babysitter out in their front yard.
As soon as she got out, both girls turned and ran to the edge of their yard and waved. Their babysitter got up off her knees from the flower bed she’d been weeding and walked to where the girls were standing.
“Hello! Do you need a hand?” she asked, seeing all the sacks in the back of Katie’s SUV.
“We can help! We can help!” the girls cried.
Katie smiled. She didn’t need help, but it appeared the little girls had a need to help, which was a whole other thing and nothing she would ever want to discourage.
“Thank you. That would be great,” Katie said.
Roxie smiled, grabbed each girl by the hand, and walked them across the street.
“I’m Katie,” she said.
“I’m Roxie. Resident nanny-babysitter for Sam’s girls. Girls, introduce yourselves.”
Evie giggled. “I’m Everly, but everyone calls me Evie.”
Beth blinked. “I’m Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Beth.”
Katie smiled. “It is so nice to meet you all. Beth, I see a big bandage on your shoulder, so I’m going to give you the bag with bread and chips to carry because it is very lightweight. Evie, do you think you can lift this bag with cookies and spices?”
“Yep. Look how strong I am,” Evie said and flexed her arm, then took the bag Katie offered.
“I cut my arm. Daddy took me to the ’mergency in his police car,” Beth added.
“She got lights and sirens,” Evie said wistfully.
Katie could tell Evie was sorry she missed the ride.
“Well, Beth, I’m sorry you were hurt, but it’s good to know you’re healing now. Here. You carry this bag. It won’t hurt your arm.”
Beth took it with care. She knew all about not squishing bags with bread or chips.
Roxie grabbed two handfuls of grocery bags, and Katie slipped the rest of them on her arms, and into the house they went, following Katie into the kitchen.
“Thank you all so much!” Katie said, and took the bags the girls had carried, while Roxie unloaded hers on the island.
“The girls saw the moving van this morning. I’ll bet you were glad to get your things,” Roxie said.
Katie nodded. “I sure was. I slept in my sleeping bag on the floor last night.”
The girls’ eyes widened, and then they giggled.
“What’s funny?” Roxie asked.
“She slept in a bag,” Evie said.
Katie was trying not to laugh. “Not like a grocery bag. Haven’t you ever seen a sleeping bag before?”
“Nope,” Beth said.
“Wanna see it?” Katie asked.
“Yes!” they chimed.
Katie glanced at Roxie. “Do you have time for all this?”
Roxie chuckled. “Sure do.”
“Then have a seat,” Katie said. “I’ll be right back.” She left the room in a rush and came back moments later carrying what looked like a shiny, puffy red quilt rolled up like an egg roll.
Evie gasped. “It’s red! I looove red.”
“Come into the living room where there’s more room to unroll it,” Katie said, and everyone followed her back to the front of the house. She untied the cord and unrolled the bag onto the floor, then unzipped it enough for the girls to see how it worked. “Climb in,” she said, and pulled the edge back like she was turning down a bed.
Roxie was laughing as they squirreled their way into the bag, rolled over onto their backs, and pulled the top up to their chins.
“It’s snuggy,” Beth said.
“It’s red!” Evie added.
Roxie watched the interplay between the young teacher and Sam’s girls with delight, but she was also noting the shadows beneath Katie’s eyes and the hollows in her cheeks. For whatever reason, she knew Katie was grieving.
Sam had looked like this for the first two years of the girls’ lives. And then one day something shifted, and he began getting better. She hoped something would shift soon for Katie. She seemed like a very nice person.
“Sam tells me you’re going to be the new first-grade teacher,” Roxie said.
Katie looked up, smiling.
“Yes. I’m really looking forward to teaching here.”
“Is this your first teaching position?” Roxie asked.
Katie’s heart skipped. “No. I taught in New Mexico for several years, but decided I wanted a change of pace and of scenery. Tennessee is beautiful. I love all the trees.”
All of a sudden, Evie let out a shriek. Katie’s heart stopped, but then she realized it was delight as she turned and looked. Evie had crawled all the way to the foot of the sleeping bag, and Beth’s feet were on Evie’s head.
Evie’s voice was muffled, but not enough that they couldn’t hear what she said. “Look, Miss Roxie! Beth is standing on my head!”
Katie leaned over and unzipped the bag all the way around, then yanked back the cover.
“Just like peeling a banana!” she said, and laughed at the looks of surprise on the girls’ faces.
“Okay, girls. That’s enough,” Roxie said. “Miss Katie will be wanting to put up her groceries, and we need to finish weeding that front flower bed before your daddy comes home.”
“Okay,” they said, and then got out of the sleeping bag, fiddled with it until they had it zipped back up again, and got up.
“Thank you for showing us your sleeping bag,” Beth said.
“Yes, thank you,” Evie echoed.
“You’re very welcome. It was nice to meet you. Now I know some of my neighbors.”
“Neighbors! We’re your neighbors!” the girls chimed.
Roxie got up, grinning wryly. “You may or may not look upon this as a plus.”
“Oh, always a plus. I’m a teacher. I love the littles.”
Evie paused. “Are we littles?”
“You are to me,” Katie said.
Beth was dancing from one foot to the other. “I know why. ’Cause you’re so tall, we look little.”
Roxie just shook her head and herded them out the door and across the street.
Katie watched until they were safely across, waved at them one last time, and then headed back inside and went to work.