Paying Their Piper with Passion and Love [Loving in Silver 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Lynn Stark Page B

of the voice. It was a smiling woman holding a toddler. Well, she guessed it was a toddler. She had seen them on TV. After some juggling, and the child clinging to her like a monkey, a hand was thrust out toward her. “The name’s Christy. I run the daycare. You’ve come about the job?” She was looked over with interest, but not in a rude manner. She seemed to recognize abject fear when she saw it. Her gaze filled with amused sympathy.
    Piper shook her head. Silver curls bounced. “No, I mean yes! No,” she groaned, glancing around at the children surrounding her like grinning piranhas. “I can’t do this. I have absolutely no experience with children. I don’t even remember touching one since I was their age.”
    How had she managed to go her entire life without coming in contact with children? It was amazing, but somehow she had managed to do so. Even her best friend throughout her school years had been an only child.
    Christy laughed, merriment sparkling in her eyes. “That’s okay. I’ve had three others apply for the job. At least you were honest about not having experience.” The merriment turned to a devilish gleam. “Do you want to hold Maizie? She’s a sweet imp, just like her mother Gracie.” When she made the appearance of handing the tiny, dark-haired girl to Piper she all but threw up on the woman’s shoes. “Oh, sorry about that.” Christy laughed, about as insincere as any person could be. “But I couldn’t help myself.”
    Hoping she didn’t faint, and feeling like a regular ogre when Maizie smiled and waved at her, Piper swallowed hard. She forced an unwilling hand to wave back. “If you could just help me get out of here, I’ll go look for a job I’m more suited to.”
    Escaping from the daycare center brought nearly as much relief as escaping from her father’s estate. Piper paused out on the sidewalk, trying to catch her breath. A full-blown panic attack had been close. But now that it was receding and she was beginning to feel calmer, the embarrassment set in. How could she possibly be scared of little kids? It’s not like they were in a habit of biting or anything. Yeah, they were noisy. And they appeared a little clingy and needy, but other than that, how bad could it really have been?
    It would have been horrible, she told herself. If one of them got hurt she wouldn’t have a clue to what to do. And the runny noses! Piper shuddered as she suddenly remembered to put on her coat. The air was still icy cold and there was the threat of snow, according to the weather man. And according to Colt spring was just around the corner. She somehow doubted that. It was nearly May and snow was still a regular occurrence in the area. The warmth of southern California was the only thing she missed. She had been enjoying sunshine and wearing shorts and T-shirts for almost two months there, instead of jeans and a T-shirts. Flip flops, too. She missed flip flops.
    Unhappy with her failure to find a job, Piper wandered down the sidewalk. People greeted her like an old friend, lightening her self-loathing, chicken-livered self. It was one of the things she liked about Silver, had liked it during previous visits. People were so welcoming and she liked to think it was more than wanting the money out of her wallet. Winter visitors were the main source of the town’s annual income. The influx of people wanting to enjoy the excellent skiing, and other winter activities, was eagerly anticipated as soon as the first snowflake fell.
    Sighing, Piper knew she had to make a decision. In all fairness, she shouldn’t be taking a job away from anyone living in Silver. Especially when she had enough money to start a business of her own. At least a small one. She could support herself and maybe hire one or two people, depending on the kind of business.
    The more she thought about it, the more Piper liked the idea. She wouldn’t be taking anything away from anyone and would actually be contributing to the