There it was again. Jack stepping up when Alyssa hadn't asked and didn't need him to. "What do I owe you for those?"
"Nothing. And if you argue with me about it, I'm going to be more pissed than I am about all the shifts you've been picking up." Jack's scowl had her sucking in a breath and swallowing hard.
"Ah...okay, then thank you for supporting Penny's school." She'd think of something she could donate later. Speaking of later. "Will you be back in school by your birthday? Maybe we should organize a party before you finish up for the summer."
"A party?" Penny whispered. She stared across the table, mouth open, eyes wide. "For my birthday?"
"Of course. What do you want to do?" Why was Penny so shocked?
"But…" Penny's eyes sparkled. "I can have a birthday party?"
Frowning, Alyssa studied her sister. "You don't want…?" Then it hit her. Oh God. Had she never had a birthday party?Fuck. Her mother was Gina, of course Penny had never had a party. Hoping to focus Penny's attention on the future and not the past, she said, "It's completely up to you what you want to do. Just let me know and we'll get it organized."
Penny rolled her lips inward and nodded before putting her gaze firmly on the plate in front of her.
Alyssa didn't want to embarrass her sister in any way, so she distracted everyone by pushing her chair back and standing. "I'll take care of the dishes. Just bring them in to the—"
"No, you won't." Mrs. Alverez placed a hand on her arm. "I'll do that. You go up and take a nice relaxing shower then get some sleep. The last thing I need is you falling over in the kitchen and making more mess for me to clean up."
"But, I—"
"Alyssa. You pay me to take care of you."
"No. I pay you to help me with Penny."
"I believe on my employment agreement, my title is housekeeper-slash-babysitter." The older woman arched an eyebrow at her.
Rolling her eyes, she smiled. "Fine. Yes. That's your job title."
"Then let me keep house."
She wanted to argue. Wanted to point out she was capable of clearing her own plate except she didn't get the chance because Jack stood and moved around to her side of the table.
"C'mon, we need to go over your schedule for the rest of the week before you crash." Like he had done before, he gripped her elbow and steered her where he wanted.
"Jack."
"Alyssa."
She frowned at him. "I don't need an escort. I can find the way to my bedroom."
"Really? I wouldn't know. This is a rare sighting of the elusive being known as my wife, so you'll have to forgive me for thinking you need to be shown around."
"Ha ha." Giving up on arguing, she let him walk her through the house. "I'm working every night 'til Friday."
"Please tell me that other than the two shifts at Mercy-Life you're not working more than twelve hours at a time."
Alyssa could hear the agitation in his voice, could tell he wasn't happy with her hours, and while she didn't like that she'd upset him, it really wasn't any of his business.
Okay, that was a lie. They were married, living together, and trying to make Penny a permanent part of her life. With a sigh, she offered, "Look, I know it's a lot and I'm not saying I won't pick up extra shifts in the future but next week won't be like this one."
"I'll believe that when I see it."
He stayed with her up the stairs and into her room—their room if all his things lying around were an indication.
"I get that you need extra money now you've taken on a bigger mortgage, but you have to let me help with that or some of the other bills this family has. Let me pay for groceries and Mrs. A's wage."
"Oh, hell no. I agreed to the groceries but everything else is a direct result of Penny and she'smyresponsibility."
