Free The Mysterious Stranger (Triple Trouble) by Susan Mallery Page B

Ariel resisted the urge to ask more questions. A voice inside her head whispered it would be better to wait. Almost as if she’d been through a similar experience herself. Had she?
    Forget it, she scolded, pushing aside her questions. Her past wasn’t important right now. She focused on the child and waited.
    “I miss her,” Anna Jane continued in a halting voice. “Sort of. But not like I miss Nana B.”
    “She was your former nanny?” Ariel asked, taking a guess.
    “Uh-huh.” More tears fell. Anna Jane wiped them away. “She retired in September when I went to the new school. She lives with her sister. I miss her so much.” She covered her mouth to hold back a sob.
    “Oh, honey, of course you miss her. She was there for you every day. I know she misses you, too.” Without thinking, she pulled Anna Jane close and rocked her. “I’ve never had a nanny—at least, I can’t remember having one, but I understand it can be a very special relationship. This is so hard for you, losing your nanny and your mother within a few months. No wonder you wanted a friend.”
    “They asked her to come back,” Anna Jane said, then hiccuped. Small hands clung to Ariel, holding tight as if the child would never let go. “I heard them. But her sister had fallen and broken her hip, so Nana B. couldn’t get away. But I wanted her to come back.”
    “I know.” Ariel had to blink several times to hold in her own tears. She continued to rock the grieving child, smoothing her hair and rubbing her back. “You love her and miss her. Sometimes you’re afraid because you think loving her so much is wrong. But it’s never wrong to love someone.”
    “But I love her more than Mommy. That’s wrong.”
    At last. The heart of the problem. She inhaled the scent of little girl and felt the heat of her small body. There was something familiar about the moment. The whisper of a memory teased at her, but she couldn’t bring it close enough to grab it.
    “There is no less or more in love. There’s also no wrong in giving with a full heart. You loved them differently because they had different places in your life. Nana B. shared the little moments of your life. We live in little moments, so we tend to remember them better and miss them more because there are more of them to miss.” She frowned. “Did that make sense?”
    Anna Jane sniffed. “Uh-huh.”
    “Good. So some days you really miss Nana B. and I bet there are some days you really miss your mom. Never think it’s wrong to miss someone or love someone who cares about you. Love is the best part of who we are.”
    Ariel had no idea where her advice was coming from, but Anna Jane seemed comforted by it, so who was she to question herself?
    “I’m scared,” Anna Jane said.
    “Why?”
    “What if they send me away? I heard the lawyer talking about that. About boarding school.” She raised her chin and met Ariel’s gaze. “But if Uncle Jarrett dies and I’m all alone, I’ll be poor and have to live in the attic, just like Sara Crewe. In The Little Princess,” she added, obviously reading Ariel’s confusion.
    Ariel remembered the story. “That’s not going to happen.” She hugged the girl close. “Your uncle is very rich and he’s not going to lose his money, so don’t you worry about living in an attic.”
    “But what about boarding school?”
    “I’ll talk to him,” Ariel promised, then wondered what on earth she was saying. Jarrett wasn’t a real fan of hers and wouldn’t take kindly to any parenting advice she had to offer. Still, this was about his niece, not him. He would just have to get over it.
    She wondered if she would feel so brave when she actually faced the lion in his den.
    At Anna Jane’s hopeful expression she added, “I’ll make sure he understands. It’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”
    “Thank you.” Anna Jane rested her head on her shoulder. “I’m glad you were the one who found my bottle.”
    “Me, too,” Ariel responded,