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“Hello, Burke. Don’t worry, I won’t be here long.”
His family reacted with shock at both his question and her answer. She’d hoped to be gone before they realized things had gone so wrong between her and Burke. Not that she knew exactly what had happened.
It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t let it.
Channeling the unaffected façade she’d perfected living with her father, Rissa turned to Charlie. “I’m going to get the Q Lab prepped for next week. Would you like to see what I’ve got planned?”
The boy’s face lit up. “That would be awesome. Can I, Dad?”
Nash chuckled. “Of course. Do you have your phone charged?”
Charlie patted his pockets. “I don’t have it at all.”
Rissa attempted a smile. “You can use mine. Once you send your dad a message, he’ll have my number. That way you can keep in touch.”
“Thanks, Rissa. Let’s go.”
They picked up their dishes and put them in the dishwasher before changing into their boots and escaping outside with Frizzle at her side. Well, Charlie probably wasn’t escaping, but it was definitely her plan.
She didn’t doubt for a second that Burke’s arrival was a surprise to his sisters and brothers. Their obvious joy and delight had been the opposite of the worry that sat low in her belly. She’d made the situation awkward simply by existing.
“Frizzle sure likes the snow.”
Thankful for the distraction from her own thoughts, she managed an almost-real smile. “She does. We haven’t seen it often, but so far, she’s in doggy heaven when she can check out all the snowbanks.”
“Do you live in the Question Lab all the time, or do you have a home base?”
A shudder ran through her at the thought of her previous home base. She’d lived in a postage-stamp-sized room, but Dan had known where she lived. She’d never return to the Carolinas. “The Q Lab is home. It’s cozy, but it works for us.”
“And you get to see a ton of different places.”
They kicked the snow off their boots, but left them on. “The floor is easy to clean, but I think I’ll buy some of the moccasins Amber stocks at the inn. I have slippers I wear when I’m inside, but the moccasins will be warmer.”
Charlie nodded. “We’ve got them at home, too. And another pair at the farmhouse for when we’re there. Nimii makes them by hand. She lives in Phail, and she’s going to teach me how to make them one day.”
A thrill shot through Rissa. “She makes them by hand? That would be an incredible episode for the How Do They Make It? section of the Q Lab website.”
Charlie grinned. “We can call Nimii later and see if she has time to do it while you’re here. I bet she’ll like that. It’ll be good marketing for her business.”
Rissa wasn’t sure her website got enough traffic to warrant that statement, but she’d love to help the talented woman in more ways than simply buying a pair of her own moccasins. An episode where Nimii taught Charlie and Rissa would be fun, as long as Nash and Olivia approved. It was always fun to learn a new skill, even if she’d never been good with sewing. It was good for kids to see adults stretching outside their comfort zones. Making mistakes and learning from them was important in science and in everyday life.
“Where do you sleep?”
Charlie’s question brought her back to the present. “That’s a good question. Can you answer it?”
He laughed. “I heard you say that a bunch of times at school last week. Okay, let me think about it.”
Frizzle barked and bounced to get Charlie’s attention. He squatted and patted her. “Are you going to help me, Frizzle? Show me your bed.”
That was an excellent try, but Rissa didn’t think Frizzle knew the word bed.
Proving her wrong, the Yorkie barked and pranced to the back of the RV.
Charlie grinned and followed. “Are you tricking me or giving me a clue?”
Rissa wasn’t surprised when Charlie asked no more questions. After watching him work at the school, she knew he thrived on challenges and liked to talk things through with his friends. Sure enough, he talked to Frizzle as he studied the RV’s layout.
“You’re not sleeping in the bathroom, although it’s very cool that you have one in here. A shower, too. Dad and I rented a trailer once. The table dropped, and the cushions turned into a mattress. Is that where you sleep?”
