“God yes.” She padded across the kitchen in her fuzzy pink slippers and grabbed the mug, taking a long swig. Her head leaned back, and she closed her eyes as she let out a satisfied breath. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said as she smiled at me. “Good morning.” I reached for her hand and slowly intertwined our fingers, unable to keep my mind from thinking about all of the hills and valleys of her body that my hands wanted to explore.
She nestled herself into my arms, still maintaining a firm grip on her coffee mug. “You remembered how I like my coffee.”
“Did I put enough cream in there?”
“It’s perfect. I could get used to this.” Ella sighed. “A Saturday off and breakfast that doesn’t resemble cold pizza or a hot pocket.”
I chuckled and kissed her forehead gently. “Come on. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
“I just need to feed Bradley Cooper and let him out real quick.”
“Already done,” I said. “Don’t let that cute face fool you. He had his breakfast before I even started on ours.”
The dog huffed and plopped onto the floor as though he were annoyed that I’d just ratted him out.
We took our breakfast and coffee to the table and ate quietly under close surveillance from Bradley Cooper. Ella’s fluffy-slippered foot gently rubbed my leg. It was the kind of gesture that would make you think we did this every day and that we’d be doing it every day after. It both comforted and scared the shit out of me that being with Ella felt so easy.
The sound of the song “Baby Got Back” blared from down the hall, piercing through the silence.
Ella’s eyes lit up. “That’s Liv. I’m gonna grab that.”
“Of course,” I said as she sprinted from the room.
I could hear Ella’s voice as it floated back towards me. “Hey, Mom of The Year! How’s it… what? Liv, I can’t understand you. You’ve got to calm down.” Ella reappeared in the entryway, her brow furrowed. “Where’s Jax? Is Brady there? Are you and the kids safe? Sweetheart, I can’t understand what you’re saying. Someone got in the house?Something?The cat did what? Is she okay?” Ella’s voice was shrill with alarm, and before I knew it, I was on my feet and in front of her. “It’s going to be okay, Liv. I’ll come to you. Hello? Liv? Liv, are you there?” She pulled the phone away from her ear and looked over at me with terror in her eyes. “I’ve got to go. Something’s wrong with Liv.”
My stomach twisted with worry. “I’ll go with you.” I jogged to the living room to put my shoes on.
“I need pants,” Ella shouted and ran from the room, emerging only a moment later wearing jeans and her pajama shirt. She nearly toppled over as she quickly stuffed her feet into a pair of leopard printed slides.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
She shook her head. “All I could make out was that she and the kids were hiding in a closet. She was hysterical, and her phone died. Jax is gone, and I don’t think she can reach him. I’m going to try.” She quickly tapped across her screen and put the phone back to her ear as we ran to my Range Rover parked out front. After a few seconds, she dropped the phone back to her side. “No answer.”
I sucked in a deep breath, fear gnawing at my insides as I put the car in drive. Liv was Ella’s best friend, but she was also like a sister to me. “I’ll get us there as fast as I can.”
Other than Ella’s frantic attempts to reach Jax, we made the drive in a worried silence. She grabbed my hand at some point during the drive that felt like an hour despite the fact that I was driving like I belonged on the track at NASCAR. Every couple of minutes Ella gave my hand a squeeze.
When we finally made it to Liv’s about twenty-five minutes later, Ella launched herself from the car before I’d even fully put it in park. “Liv! I’m coming, Liv!’
I cut the engine and jumped out, sprinting to catch up with Ella who had already pushed her key into the lock of Liv’s front door and shoved her way inside.
“Ella, please. Let me go in there first.” I caught up to her and gripped her arm. “There could be an intruder or—”
“Liv!” Ella screeched. “Where are you?” She looked around the expansive living room and ran to the fireplace where she snatched a fire poker. She held it with two hands as though it were a baseball bat as she tore up the stairs with me on her heels.
“Ella,” I whispered loudly. “Stop.” I held a finger to my lips, as a rustling sound came from further down the hall. Before I could step ahead of her, Ella had already begun to creep slowly toward the noise. She gripped the fire poker, holding it closer to her chest. I was right behind her when a door flung open at the end of the hall. Ella screamed, and I jumped in front of her.
“Stand down,” I boomed, and the sound of a wailing baby filled the air.
“Cash? Is that you?” I heard Liv’s voice before she peeked her tear-streaked face around the door.
I pulled the door the rest of the way open to reveal Liv holding a crying toddler. A small boy who appeared to be about four or five was hiding behind her legs, trembling.
“Liv!” Ella pushed past me and ran to Liv’s side, pulling her and the screaming baby into her arms. “Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry,” Liv choked out. “I freaked out. Jax and Brady went to pick up the furniture we had made for the kids’ rooms. We found this couple that custom makes furniture, but they’re over an hour away. He wanted to get an early start while they were still asleep, but they woke up no sooner than he pulled out of the driveway. And then—”
