Page 191 of Nyx

"Is there something going on that I should be concerned about?" I ask, turning my full attention to her.

"Aleah isn't feeling well," she says, a hitch in her voice. "She hasn't felt well for the last two days."

My attitude changes immediately.

"Oh, Kayla," I say. "I know that has to be hard for you."

I couldn't imagine having children and not being with them, but not being able to be there to comfort them when they aren't feeling well has to be a different kind of torture.

"What's going on with her?" I ask.

"The foster family keeps telling me it's allergies, but she has a low-grade fever as well."

"Has she seen the pediatrician?"

She shakes her head. "They don't think it's serious enough to take her."

"I can make a phone call," I offer.

"No," she says hastily. "Don't do that."

"If you think she needs medical attention, and they aren't providing it, then I think-"

"They aren't even supposed to be giving me updates on her without going through CYFD," she rushes to say. "If they find out they've been keeping me in the loop, CYFD will make them stop. The foster parents let me call her and say goodnight every evening. They'll take that away from me if they get in trouble. They're good people. What if they get in trouble and Aleah is sent somewhere not as good? I couldn't live with myself if that happened."

"I understand," I tell her. "Keep me updated. Her health is important. If you think it has become serious enough that she needs medical attention, then we have to make the call."

"I will," she promises.

"Okay," I tell her, wondering how hard a choice it might be for her to choose between possibly losing that unregulated contact and the health of her daughter.

"Oh, there you are," Emmalyn says with an easy smile as she walks into the kitchen. "I've been looking for you. Hi, Kayla. How are you today?"

"I'm good," Kayla says with a fake smile.

"I wanted to let you know that people are planning to come over this evening," Emmalyn tells her. "I wanted to make sure that's okay with you."

"The more the merrier," she says before slipping out of the room.

Emmalyn watches her leave, only to turn back to me with a confused look on her face once she's gone.

"She doesn't trust easily," I explain.

"Been there, done that," Emmalyn says with a sigh.

"Same," I say, feeling like I could confide in this woman and trust that she would carry my secrets to her grave. "What's the plan for the evening, and how can I help?"

"Any chance you have a full month's worth of recipes and meal plans for breakfast and lunch for four women and two kids?"

"The fastest way to get them to leave this place would be to put me in charge of cooking," I say with a laugh.

Emmalyn grins back at me. "Didn't hurt to ask."

"I heard about Andrea."

"Yeah," Emmalyn says in a way that makes me think there's more to the explanation Victoria gave me on the phone earlier. "I think she was okay with the guys being outside the house, but it crosses the line of her comfort level to know they were going to be in the clubhouse while she was here. We could've made accommodations to have the guys move to other areas of the property for the women getting services from the shelter, but it didn't seem fair to ask them to move for an employee."

"That's understandable," I say.