[Second Chances 02]California Dreams by Morris Fenris Read Free Book Online Page B

away from him and tried to get her racing heart to settle down. She liked Samuel. A lot. But she wasn’t ready to deal with the emotions and feelings that he brought to the surface yet. Not yet. She needed more time to figure out where her life was going before she decided to open that can of worms!
    *****
    “Mommy, I’m ready to get out of the tub, now,” Daniella shouted to Grace.
    Grace smiled and grabbed the little girl’s nightclothes and walked into the connected bathroom. “You are? Did you wash behind your ears?”
    “Of course I did. Princesses always have clean ears. How else will we be able to hear our loyal subjects when they cheer for us?” Daniella was still in princess mode, and Grace had dutifully brought the pink and purple nightgown with the ruffled hem and screen-printed Disney Princesses adorning the front.
    “Well, I think I know of at least one little princess that has had a very long day and needs her beauty rest. Come on, up you go.” Grace held onto her small arm as she stood up in the draining tub. Lifting her up, she placed her on the bath mat, handed her a small towel to dry her face with, and then used a larger towel to help her dry her body off.
    As she ran the towel over her back, she noticed a faint bruising over her spine, “Daniella, did you bump into something while we were visiting Aunt Sara?” She lightly brushed her finger over the bluish skin, puzzled at how she could have sustained a bruise in that particular place and not cried or complained about it.
    “No, momma. I didn’t knock over anything. I’s was real careful.” Daniella was so sincere, Grace chuckled and chalked the bruise up to another one of the mysterious marks that often found their way onto her daughter’s skin.
    Daniella yawned and Grace hurried to finish drying her hair, helped her put her nightgown on, and then brushed her hair out before braiding it down the back of her head. “All through.”
    She bent and picked the little girl up and carried her to her bed, noticing that she was already half asleep. The trip really wore her out!
    After tucking her in bed and making sure her nightlight was on, she left the door ajar and headed towards her own room just across the hall. She stretched and ran her own tub of water. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was barely 9 p.m., but that didn’t matter. Daniella was out for the night. Jane had a key and could let herself back in the house. There’s no reason I can’t have an early night as well.
    Grace took a quick bath and then readied herself for bed, looking over her planner for the next several weeks before turning off the light. She had a planning meeting in the morning about the upcoming semester’s programs, and right after New Year’s, Daniella was scheduled to start her new preschool classes.
    The call that an opening had become available had come weeks before their lives had been disrupted. The preschool was one of the few places where children could be tested at the end of May for Kindergarten readiness, regardless of when their birthdays were.
    If they were found ready, they could start Kindergarten at the age of four, instead of waiting until they turned five. With Daniella’s birthday falling in December, she would have to wait another year before she could attend the public schools. She was already too smart for her own good and another year might make her a nightmare for a Kindergarten teacher. She had begun to start sounding letters out and could read simple words already.
    Grace was firmly convinced that she was going to be ready for Kindergarten come August, but the only way to insure that happened, was to attend this preschool and then test into their Kindergarten classes. The private school was expensive, but after her husband’s death, Grace had saved most of his life insurance so that Daniella would have these types of opportunities in the years to come.
    Her schedule running through her brain, it was almost thirty minutes before she