Free Earning Yancy by C. C. Wood

three of the teenage girls who usually babysat for me, but they were all booked. I wouldn’t ask Kathy because she worked enough hours during the week.
    I sighed when I realized I had two options and neither of them were my idea of great. I could call my mom or my sisters, who would be ecstatic I was dating again and completely, infuriatingly nosy. Or I could call one of my girlfriends. All four of them were great and I knew I could trust them to take wonderful care of my baby. They were also nosy, just in a less annoying way.
    I decided that my friends were the lesser of the two evils. Knowing my mother and sisters, they would grill Charles as soon as he arrived to pick me up then turn their hoses and lights to me after I came home. My girlfriends would only grill me once Charles dropped me off and wouldn’t get offended if I told them I had enough.
    I assumed Lucy would have plans with Chris, so I didn’t bother to call her. I knew she would cancel her plans for me and I didn’t want to piss off her brooding boyfriend. I called Chelsea, but she had a date. Then I called Grier, who was inexplicably out of town. She was on vacation a couple of weeks ago, so I was surprised to hear that she was gone again. I had a feeling something was going on with her, but I would have to wait until she was back to find out what.
    That left Tanya. I loved Tanya, but even she said that kids were not her thing. I hated to ask, but I would definitely call her before I called my sisters.
    I selected her name on my phone and waited as the line rang.
    “Hey, Yancy. What’s up?” Tanya seemed cheerful, but it sounded forced.
    “Hi, Tanya. Are you okay?”
    “Yeah, yeah. I’m just tired. I’ve got this case that’s keeping me up late. What are you doing?”
    Now I felt guilty about asking her to help me out. She worked too much as it was, sometimes sixty hours a week. I shouldn’t ask her.
    “Ah, nothing, just calling to see how you were.”
    There was a pause. “You do realize I’m a lawyer and I hear lies enough to know when you tell me one, right?”
    I chuckled but didn’t answer. Maybe if I played dead…
    No such luck. “Spit it out.”
    I sighed. “I need someone to watch Carolena tomorrow. All my back-up babysitters are booked and none of the other girls are free. I really don’t want to call my sisters or my mom because they’ll start asking Charles questions about his education and life goals before he even gets me out the door.”
    “No problem. What time do I need to be there?”
    “No, no, it’s okay. You’re swamped right now and I can tell you’re tired. I’ll just call…”
    Tanya snorted. “Shut up about that and tell me what time to be there.”
    “6:30. He’s picking me up at 7:00.”
    “Okay. Have you figured out what you’re going to wear?”
    I laughed. “Not yet. I’ll figure that out when I get home.”
    “I’ll be there at 5:30. You’re going to need my help.”
    “I think I can pick out my own clothes for a date, Tanya,” I said dryly.
    “Maybe, but I have a feeling you’ll go for the dress that looks nice and sweet rather than the sexy number you should be wearing to keep his attention completely on you.”
    I hummed quietly. She was right. I chose flattering clothes, but nothing overtly sexy or revealing. “Okay, fine. Come over early and help me, but I reserve veto rights.”
    “You only get two vetoes.”
    “Three,” I fired back.
    “Deal. Now, it’s almost the end of the workday, so I need to get back to work because I refuse to be stuck here after 5:30 for even one more day.”
    “Thanks for this, Tanya. I really appreciate it.”
    “You’re welcome. However, this means that I expect to be maid of honor when you marry Mr. Wonderful.”
    I laughed. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if Charles happens to propose to me on our third date. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “Damn straight. See you then. Bye!”
    I disconnected the call and winced when I saw the time. I