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Chapter 6

Anna turned over in her bed so that she was facing the edge. As her eyes slowly fluttered open, she was surprised to see Gracie standing in front of her with her Peppa tucked within her arms. She nearly swore, so she bit her tongue and quickly sat up, rubbing her tired eyes. Glancing at the clock, she could see that it was nearly lunch time.

"Gracie, what are you doing in Mummy's room? Shouldn't you be downstairs with Daisy?" She held the blanket over her nude body and gave her daughter a weak smile. Quickly, she tried to glance behind her and her lips fell slightly into a frown when she saw the other side of the bed was empty. Of course, what should she expect? It was the middle of the day and it was good that her daughter hadn't found her in bed with a man.

"Gracie!" Daisy's frantic voice could be heard down the hallway.

"It's alright Daisy," Anna called out. "She's in here. I'll send her back down in a minute."

She could hear Daisy let out a relieved sigh and then walk back down the stairs. Anna bent down to grab her dress from the night before and threw it over her head. Then she grabbed Gracie's hand and walked her to the stairway.

"Go on now, go eat lunch with Daisy and Arya. Mummy's going to shower and then I'll be downstairs with you."

"Want Mummy!" Gracie argued, crossing her arms in protest.

"Gracie, honey, I'll be just a few minutes. Then you'll have Mummy all day. Go on," she encouraged again. The little girl twisted her lips, but sighed and nodded. "That's a good girl."

Once Gracie had made it downstairs, Anna went back to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. She was about to turn to go and take a shower when a note sitting on the pillow next to hers caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed. She stepped forward and gingerly took it off the pillow.

To say she was surprised to find a letter from John would have been an understatement. She had assumed there would be no talk about the night before. After all, it was just a night with no strings, right?

Anna,

I had a lovely evening last night. I hate to leave you this morning, but I must go to my mother's. She has an appointment that cannot be missed. I will be back by lunch tomorrow and we can talk about what all this means.

-John

Anna read the letter once and then once again. Talk about what this means? Her brows furrowed. Did this mean anything? Surely, it didn't. She was the employer and he the employee. She guessed he could want to quit, but by the sounds of the letter he thought they were more than just a night of sex. Anna couldn't lie. It had been absolutely wonderful. She had never been with someone who was so conscious of her needs over his own. John had brought her to pleasure more than she was sure she ever had come with anyone else ever before. It had been eye opening, to say the least.

But none of that mattered. Not really. They weren't dating. She read the letter again, as though there may be some hidden meaning in the words and then folded it up, placing it in her nightstand. No, she thought, they had nothing to talk about. It was already over.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"You've been quiet," Nora commented, picking up her cup of tea and bringing it to her lips. "You usually have so much to tell me when you arrive."

John pursed his lips. He and his mother had just gotten back from her doctor's appointment. He had been grateful that they were now open on Saturdays so that he could go with her and know how she was doing. Thankfully, all was well. She needed a slight adjustment on one of her medications, but overall she was very healthy.

All day, though, he had been quiet. His mind kept going back to the night before. It had been wonderful, so fulfilling. There had been something there and he was sure he wasn't imagining it. It was so very different than when he had been with Vera.

But his mind also kept thinking about what he had learned about Martha and how that might impact his work with her. He knew it wouldn't hurt her care, because he would still do what was needed to take care of her. However, he didn't know how he could hold the same conversations knowing what he now knew.

"John?" Nora prodded. John glanced up from his coffee cup and gave her a small smile.

"I learned more about Anna, as you suggested," he told her. His mother made a small chuckle, setting her cup down in front of her and then refilling it with hot water.

"You call her Anna now?"

John inwardly scolded himself.

"I guess," he awkwardly answered.

"Well, what have you learned?"

John paused. He wondered if it was appropriate to be having this sort of conversation with is mother. It wasn't his story to tell, but his mother had always been a keeper of his secrets. They had always been able to speak about anything without him fearing her breaking his trust.

"She's a strong woman," John began. "Her ex was cheating on her with another woman for years, even had a child with her, before Anna found out."

"Oh dear," Nora said, shaking her head.

"Yes, and he isn't there for the girls, not really," he added. "Anna has to hold a lot on her shoulders. I didn't realize that. I now have more respect for all that she does. The help she has around the house is just so she can keep herself afloat."

"See, I told you there was a reason for all of it."

"Yes," John agreed. His face darkened some. He could still hear Martha's words in his head. It still made his stomach seize up. How could she have felt that way about her own daughter?

"Is there something else?"

John sighed, but nodded.

"I just…I learned some dark things about Anna's past, that now has me understanding why she's so cold to her mother. Not everyone is as fortunate as I was to have a mother like you," he said, offering his mother a smile. Nora shifted in her chair, reaching over for a biscuit. John quickly assisted her and then sat back within his chair. "Martha is actually quite lucky that her daughter still cares about her. I don't know if I could be as forgiving as Anna."

"Well, what makes you think she's forgiven her? You said she's short with her and doesn't want to be around her. I would gather she hasn't forgiven her mother, and maybe her mother doesn't deserve it. I don't know, since you haven't told me what, exactly, happened. But it does seem as though she does still care for her. If she didn't, even a little bit, her mother wouldn't be in her home."

John pondered these words. Yes, he thought, his mother was right. Anna hadn't forgiven her mother and John found that he couldn't blame her. He was struggling with this new information. He didn't know why he was struggling so much with it. Was it because he cared for Anna? This was something he would need to figure out.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna quickly gave the kids the television and their tablets and rushed into her office, hoping to miss John when he came back to the house today. If she pretended she was overwhelmed with work, surely he would drop this nonsense about 'talking about it.' And she wasn't pretending, not really. She had a lot on her plate. Work was overwhelming her life. She needed to see about hiring more people. And she hoped that Baxter would be able to come back soon. Daisy was a great help, but she didn't have the time Anna needed to help her full time with her kids. If Jake wasn't such a deadbeat, maybe she could have some help from him. But she had learned early on not to rely on him. He'd show up when he showed up and otherwise, she knew not to expect him.

The downstairs door opened, signaling that John was back at the house. She could hear the shuffling around of feet and that he was telling the weekend cover goodbye. Her eyes settled back onto her laptop. If she was lucky, her mother would be in dire need of something and John wouldn't have time to sneak upstairs.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. She could hear John's footsteps coming up the stairs and then heard the door swing open. Then, oddly, she heard both of her girls' feet rushing toward the doorway. She glanced up to see that they were rushing toward John.

"John! John!" They called, excited he was there. Her lips fell into a thin, unrelenting line. What was that all about?

"Go on back to the living room, girls. I need to talk to your mum," he said to them. They listened and Anna could hear their feet heading back into the living room. She shifted her eyes back to her laptop and quickly began to type.

A knock came at the door. It was glass, so he could clearly see her. She glanced up and gave him a tight smile.

"I'm busy!"

"It'll only be a minute," his lips curled up into a gentle smile, which made his eyes twinkle slightly. Anna felt her heart hammer within her chest.

"Alright," she barely got out. John stepped into her office and took the seat across from her.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. I just thought we should discuss…."

"We really don't have to."

"But we should," John disagreed. "I enjoyed the other night."

"I did too," Anna said, meeting his eyes and chewing on the inside of her lip. What was going on? She was finding it harder and harder to remain professional. She swallowed hard. These feelings coming over her were making her uncomfortable. She needed to just end it now, before it could become any more confusing and complicated.

"I'd like to take you on a date," John stated, throwing Anna off-guard. She nervously chuckled, tapping her fingers against her desk.

"What? I….that's really not necessary," Anna argued, shaking her head. But John remained unfazed. He had his elbows on his knees, leaning forward ever so slightly.

"I think it is." He sat up. "We had good chemistry in the bedroom." Anna's cheeks turned pink and she could feel a warmth flowing through her just at the thought of his hands back on her.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean…."

"I think it does," John said with little room for disagreement. "I haven't felt that connected to anyone before, Anna. I'd like to take you on a date, see if there's something more there. Then if there is not, well we tried."

"John, I….."

"I don't like to play games, Anna, and I have a feeling that you don't either. If we don't go out and try this out, then we'll never know. And it could make things awkward here."

"You don't think going on a date will make it awkward? Say we do date and have a bad break up, then what?" Anna countered, eyeing him carefully.

"Then I'll leave," John simply replied. "There can be more caretakers for your mother. But I don't think we'll have any problems. It's just one date."

Anna thought over his words for a moment. The sane part of her said she should tell him absolutely not, but then she recalled how excited her girls were for him to come back today and she did enjoy their time in the bedroom. There definitely was a spark of some sort. Perhaps he was right and that they would always wonder if they could have been something.

"Alright," she finally answered, bringing her hands together under her chin. "You can take me out on a date."

"Great. I don't think you'll regret it."

To be continued...

How will the date go? More soon! Thank you for reading!