I hurry to the door and pull it open, only to be met with a whirlwind of voices on the front steps. Stella screams, “Where’s Marbles?” before barreling past me like a tiny tornado, followed closely by little Grant and Zoe.
“What…what was that?” I ask, laughing as Gina leans in for a hug, her laughter mingling with mine.
“That,” she says, gesturing at the chaos still spilling into the house. “Was chaos. Poor Tuck isn’t going to know what hit him.”
I greet Ash, Tanner, and Maeve as they tumble inside. Once the door is closed, the house fills with that warm, chaotic hum only kids and family can create. Tuck comes into the hall, dish towel draped over one arm, drying his hands.
“Hey guys, come on in.” He waves us toward him. “We’re all in here.”
I glance at him, and even as he disappears back into the kitchen, I can’t help myself. I keep watching, staring at the spot he just occupied.
“Uh…” Gina’s voice cuts through my thoughts. I turn to find her grinning mischievously. “Why are you staring at Tuck with your vagina?”
9
Tuck
Maria looks a little pale when she comes into the kitchen with Gina and Maeve. Not sick pale exactly. More like the color just drained from her face. I study her from across the counter, and when our eyes meet, she gives me a wobbly smile that does nothing to convince me she’s okay.
What the heck is going on?
Did she suddenly remember she has to hit the books? She has classes tomorrow night. Maybe she’s stressing about that. Still…something feels off.
As everyone immediately drops to the floor to fuss over Marbles, the tiny furball soaking up the attention, I take the opportunity to step closer to Maria. My fingers brush lightly against hers, barely a touch.
She jerks back so fast you’d think my skin burned her. And not in a good way.
My brows pull together. “What’s going on?” I ask quietly while everyone else is busy making kissy noises at the cat.
“Oh, nothing.” Her gaze flicks toward the others, and her teeth scrape over her bottom lip.
Yeah. I’m not buying that for a second.
“Hey.”
She turns back to me and pastes on a smile that doesn’t come anywhere close to reaching her eyes. “I’m just tired and need to hit the books.”
Uh-huh.
“Go,” I tell her gently. “I’ll entertain.”
Her shoulders lift in a small protest. “No, that’s not fair. Everyone is here because of Marbles, and Marbles is here because of my boys.”
She glances down at her watch, and that’s when the feeling hits me that this sudden unease has nothing to do with studying. Her eyes keep drifting toward the door. Like she’s waiting for something…or someone.
Did one of the women say something to upset her?
I’m not sure. But I make a silent promise to myself that I’m going to get to the bottom of matters later.
“Uncle Tuck, Marbles is very cute,” Stella announces from the floor, as she cradles the kitten. I brace myself. Any time Stella starts a sentence like that, it could go anywhere. “Do you think he can come skating on my backyard rink this winter?”
Okay. That…wasn’t painful. Or embarrassing. But I still don’t trust what might come out of her mouth next.
“I’m not sure that’s a great idea,” I say carefully. “I think Marbles is going to be an indoor cat.”
Stella considers this with great seriousness, her brows knitting together.
Josh’s head snaps toward her. “You have a backyard skating rink?” he asks, eyes wide with awe.
