“Oh, yeah. And I’m not working today so I’ll be around here all day. I can eat a little something whenever I want to. I just don’t seem to have an appetite at the moment.”
Feral took a bite of his food and nodded as he took another. “Maeve, this is delicious.”
“Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
“You’re welcome,” Feral said.
“It’s very good. Thank you for making it,” Niko said.
“You’re welcome,” Maeve said, keeping her tone even.
A buzzer sounded from the laundry room and Alison got up.
“That was fast! What was it, ten minutes?” Maeve asked.
“I just put it on delicate cycle. Makes for a really quick wash. Let me throw it in the dryer, I’ll be right back.”
Feral watched her as she hurried into the laundry room, knowing something was off, but not sure what it was.
“Do you want to go swimming with me, Niko?” Griffin asked.
“Griffin, Ms. Alison doesn’t have a pool. We are not going over to Alpha Jack’s house to bother them all day again,” Maeve said.
“He said we could! He said to come back whenever I want,” Griffin said.
“I don’t care. They live there, and they shouldn’t have to have everyone filling their house all day every day,” Maeve said.
“Tell you what, buddy. Let me rest a little, and I’ll check to see if anybody else is swimming. If they are, I’ll come back and get you.”
“It’s morning. Why you gotta rest?” Griffin asked.
“Because I’ve been up all night.”
“Why?”
“I work all night, and I’m kind of tired. So, I’ll get a little rest and let you know what’s going on after, okay?”
“Okay,” Griffin said, picking at his food. Then he looked up suddenly. “What are you going to do if nobody’s swimming?”
“Haven’t decided yet. Why, what did you have in mind?” Niko asked, smirking as he watched the boy that had quickly won him over trying to finagle hanging out with him today.
“Nothing. He’s going to hang around the house and help me with whatever I decide to do, and then if Alison doesn’t need us, maybe we’ll go out and take ourselves on a walking tour. You can go do whatever it is you plan to do,” Maeve said.
“Sounds like a great idea. I’m going get a few hours rest, then I’m going to get on my side by side and take a nice slowrelaxing drive around the mountain. It’ll be nice showing you around,” Niko said.
“I didn’t say…”
“Didn’t have to. I decided when you said I can go do whatever it is I plan to do. I plan to take the two of you on a ride to show you the lay of the land. I’m nice like that,” Niko declared.
“Yes!” Griffin said, pumping his little arm in the air. “We’re going with Niko!”
Chapter 18
“Come in,” Rance said, turning toward the door.
Bonnie opened the door and peeked around its edge. “Morning! Can I come in?” she asked, looking first at Gwen and then at Rance.
“You know you can,” Rance said. “What channel are those cartoons on downstairs?” he asked, looking at the television again as he aimed the remote at it and started flipping channels again.
