AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maddie chewed on her bottom lip. “He’s a friend of ours. He’s new in town. We invite him to things.”
“It’s no big deal. It will be fine.” She’d avoid those things if he were around. Easy solution to a non-problem. The benefit of moving to the boonies was she didn’t have to deal with anyone she wasn’t interested in.
“Just remember, he gave you a great deal.” Maddie put her hand on her chest. “As a favor to me.”
Sophie wanted to stop talking about him. He made her itchy, and she had a million things to do today. She gave Maddie her best smile. “I promise I’ll be good, Mom.”
She was saved any more discussion when Mitch, Maddie’s husband, called out from the foyer, “Anyone home?”
Maddie called back, “We’re in the kitchen.”
A second later Mitch Riley, Penelope’s husband, Evan, and Shane, Maddie’s oldest brother, stood in the foyer.
Maddie spun around and looked at her husband’s empty arms. “Where’s Lily?”
Mitch cocked his head and grinned. “What? Is she too young to be left alone?”
Maddie put her hands on her hips. “Where’s my baby?”
Shane scoffed, “Relax, Mads. Ce-ce’s got her.”
Cecilia was Shane’s wife, who also happened to be Mitch’s sister, and was five months pregnant herself. Sometimes their complicated family gave Sophie a headache, and she felt one growing at the base of her skull right now. They were all so intertwined in a way that eluded her.
Like Penelope, Sophie was an only child. Unlike Penelope, Sophie had always liked it that way. Connection and attachments were complicated, and she liked to keep things simple. She’d grown up with decent parents who loved her and gave her a stable home and a roof over her head, despite a permanent case of wanderlust. Yes, they were a bit eccentric and flighty, and oh so new agey, always looking for the next step in an enlightenment they never seemed to find. As soon as they’d done their duty and she’d become a legal adult, they’d taken off to explore to their hearts’ content. Her parents were hippie throwbacks, and they made their way around the globe by being international house sitters, living in communes, and taking on charity expeditions. Sometimes they stayed in a place for a month, sometimes years. Right now they were three months into their year in India. They left her alone to live her life, which was fine. Sophie wouldn’t be able to handle the way Maddie’s family always hovered over her.
Sophie talked to her parents once every couple of weeks on Skype, and occasionally they came home. As far as she was concerned, seeing them once a year was the perfect amount of parent time.
Sophie liked her freedom and had no desire to be tied down. She had no idea how Maddie put up with constant family involvement. It would drive her crazy.
The only people in this world she felt bonded to were Maddie and Penelope. Yes, she loved the rest of the group too, loved the Donovans and their big, crazy family, even though they were pains in the asses. But Maddie and Penelope were her rocks. The ones she’d do anything for.
They were more than enough for her. She didn’t need more entanglements in her life. Sure, sometimes at Christmas when everyone was busy with celebrating with family she experienced a sense of wistfulness, but she solved that with nonstop activity. And they always included her, so it worked out.
Maddie’s tension didn’t seem to abate with her husband’s reassurance. “Do you think she’s okay? Maybe I should call Cecilia and make sure she knows the schedule.”
Mitch walked over to his wife and put his hands on her shoulders, kissing her on the top of her head. “Maddie, relax. I took care of it.”
Maddie worried her bottom lip. “I’m sorry I’m so paranoid. I just don’t want anything to happen to her. She’s so small and precious.”
Evan snorted. “Please, that baby is a monster.”
“Evan!” Penelope glared at her husband.
Maddie gasped, swinging in the direction of her brother. “You take that back.”
Evan shrugged. “You are all smitten, but that kid is plotting world domination. You can see it in her eyes.”
Sophie laughed. Evan was right. Lily Riley was a force to be reckoned with. She took spirited to a whole new level.
Maddie scowled. “Don’t say that about my sweet baby.”
Evan pulled Penelope in front of him, like she could shield him from his sister. “Penelope and I took her to the park, and I swear she was holding court in the sandbox. One of the babies threatened to crawl away and Lily cried until the poor kid came back. And then she smiled at me, all cunning.”
“He might be exaggerating a touch,” Penelope said, given she was required to be the most logical person in the room.
Mitch, however, chuckled. “That’s my girl.”
Maddie put a hand on her chest. “Our daughter is not cunning.”
