“Evil.”I groaned, cracking an eye open.I hadn’t gotten to bed until after two in the morning.
“It snowed!There’s enough snow to go sledding!Come on, Wyn!Get up!Up!Up!Up!”
She bounded out of the room and Mildred ran after her.I sat up slowly and rubbed a hand down my face.I glanced at the sewing machine and my half-baked idea of a project that I’d completed.
Luckily Lenni was a sound sleeper.She hadn’t heard me cursing every time I accidentally sewed my shirt’s arm cuff to the project fabric.
I slinked out of bed and padded to the bathroom.I got ready as best I could to face the day, trying not to look like a train wreck.
It felt like I’d cried for two days straight after I’d given my notice.
Archer had taken the previous day off and he and Lenni had spent a father-daughter day out of the house, leaving me alone to wallow in my feelings.
Alone to hide.
Alone to cry.
I pulled on a hoodie and left the bedroom, covering a yawn as I went.
Archer stood in the kitchen, already dressed and looking far too incredible for it to be so early in the morning.Apparently, he wasn’t suffering from the same lack of sleep I was.
“Coffee?”he asked.
I shook my head.“Green tea.”
Green tea would give me a caffeine boost without frying my already frazzled nerves.
He put the kettle on and while the water boiled, Archer went to the cabinet and pulled out my favorite red mug.
“You didn’t sleep,” he observed.
“What gave it away?”I demanded in exhaustion.“The bags under my eyes?”
“You’re pale.”He took a step toward me.“What kept you up, Wyn?”
“Stop it, Archer,” I snapped.“I don’t want to do this.”
“Do what?I asked you a question.It has a simple answer.”
“A simple answer?”I glared at him.“You think anything about this is simple?”
“No, it’s not simple.That’s why I was up all night thinking aboutyou.”
I studied him for a moment.His eyes were the tiniest bit bloodshot, but unless you were standing close to him, you wouldn’t notice.
The tea kettle whistled.Archer turned off the burner and opened the spout.He added the green tea bag to the mug and then poured boiling water over it.
In my haste to get away from him, I yanked the mug toward me, causing hot water to splash all over my left hand.
“Ah!”I yelled in pain.The mug hit the floor but didn’t break.It did, however, spill hot water across the wood floor.
Archer grasped my other arm and hauled me toward the sink.He quickly turned on the cold water and shoved my burning hand beneath it.
Tears leaked out of the corner of my eyes as my skin throbbed.
A whimper escaped my mouth.
The back door opened, and Lenni came inside with Mildred.
