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Their nods grew more vigorous. “Yes, mem,” they chorused.
She pointed a stern finger toward the tunnel leading back to the front of the library. “Go now, then.”
Rig, at the head of the line and most likely the ringleader, paused to give her a hug. “I love you, Uh-NEE,” he breathed before breaking into a run.
Before she could respond, Crag also threw his arms around her waist. “Love you!” His words muffled against her shoulder. Then he too took off. Gorge, at the end of the line, offered a winsome smile and lifted his puckered lips for a kiss.
She pursed her lips to suppress a smile and took his dirty face in her hands. Brushing his hair out of the way, she tipped his head to the side and placed a kiss on his cheek instead.
“I love you, Uh-NEE.” He smiled adoringly at Anrid beneath shaggy, brown bangs before pelting after the others, bellowing, “Wait for me, you two! Wait for me!”
Anrid leaned against the wall and buried her face in her hands. They were so darling and so naughty it was indecent. No child should be allowed to be that cute.
No wonder Kora didn’t want the responsibility of the children. How on earth did one keep them in line when they made you want to give them the world even as they tore yours apart?
“Eh, you lot! I found you!”
Speak of the devil.
Kora’s voice echoed down the tunnel the children had disappeared up.
“Uh-NEE found us first!” Rig yelled.
“We were good. Yes, we were!” That came from Gorge.
Anrid rolled her eyes. Good, my foot!
She was tempted to march up there and set the record straight, but she wasn’t in any mood to deal with Kora. Instead, she stooped to collect an armful of books. Should she re-shelve them? It seemed the proper thing to do, but she didn’t know how to organize them. After glancing at the volume in her hand, she realized she couldn’t even read the title.
Maybe she should sort them into piles, separating out the damaged ones, and then offer to help the librarian put them back later. To her dismay, an appalling number of books would need to be put into the “damaged” pile -- the spines wrenched open and the pages manhandled by little fingers. She bent to grab another book.
“Is this your handiwork?” A voice drawled behind her.
She bolted upright and spun, embarrassed to be caught with her rump in the air.
It was Kora, no surprise there. He smiled at her, expression hooded and unperturbed.
“This is your doing.” She all but snarled the words at him. The icy pain in her fingers returned with a vengeance, and she curled them into tight fists. “If you hadn’t set the children loose and left them to their own devices, this wouldn’t have happened.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she gaped at him in horror.
She hadn’t meant to say any of those things. They just sort of...leaped out of her.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, as tears of dismay and humiliation pricked at her eyes. “I didn’t mean that.”
To her surprise, a genuine grin split his face. He shrugged as if it didn’t matter and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yes, you did. Don’t apologize for it.”
She blinked. “I-I suppose I did mean it a little, but I shouldn’t have said it the way I did.”
“No harm done. I’ve endured much worse scolding.”
Anrid couldn’t stop the low laugh that escaped her. “I’m sure you have,” she answered with a meaningful look his way.
Kora winked and then turned his attention to the mess his little game had caused. “This is a disaster. I suggest we leave it for the librarians and sneak out of here before anyone notices.”
He sounded so genuine she couldn’t help but gawp at him, appalled. “I could never!” she gasped out. “That wouldn’t be right. You really shouldn’t say such things.”
“Why not? It’s what I think.” A wrinkle twisted his eyebrows. “Or would you rather I lie and say only what people want to hear?”
She didn’t like that he had a point. The line between truth and lies, honesty and tact, were rather blurry. “No,” she answered. “But perhaps you should keep some thoughts to yourself. People might misunderstand you.”
