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“Cam is down and out. I thought he fell asleep last night after he took the baby up because he was tired, but he’s got the flu, and it’s not good.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Well, first off, I’m out of coffee. I reached into my bin this morning for my favorite flavor, which is hazelnut, by the way, and the bin is empty. For me, that’s a thing.”
He rolled his eyes. “Okay.”
“But the bigger thing is that Poppy st
ayed over because we got into the wine after you left, and Cam is super sick, and I can’t leave him with the baby and she needs a lift to her store, and I’ve called the cab company, but Bill’s not picking up. She’s got some big sale on this afternoon and meeting some business guy or something around noon.”
“Can’t you just let her take one of your vehicles?”
“Poppy doesn’t drive.”
A pause.
“Can you help me out? I’ll make you breakfast if you bring coffee.”
Cash sighed and glanced at the coffee shop. It would take him at least half an hour to get coffee, and now he he’d have to drive back the way he’d come and then to the other side of the lake. His jump on the day disappeared as quick as it had taken him to answer his sister’s call.
But it was Blue, and she wouldn’t bother him unless she needed the help.
“I want French toast,” he said, and then headed into the coffee shop.
In the end, it took nearly forty-five minutes to navigate his way through the maze of folks in line. He got it, most of them were off work and had all the time they wanted to chat and whatever it was they did at a coffee shop, but he was in a hurry.
By the time he got to his sister’s place, it was eight thirty. As soon as he walked through the door, she threw herself at him, rifling through the bag in his hand until she grabbed hold of her hazelnut pod.
“Oh my God, I owe you.”
Bemused, Cash shook his head as he tugged off his boots and followed her into the kitchen.
Tawny was coloring at the table, still dressed in her purple onesie with pink polka dots. She looked up as he walked in and cranked her head. “Did you bring Chess?”
Cash slowly shook his head and answered simply, “No.”
Tawny’s face crumpled. “Are you going to bring her tomorrow? She promised to help me find the prince in my castle, and we didn’t have time yesterday.”
“I’m not going to be around for a while, kiddo.” Cash knelt beside her and glanced at the picture she’d drawn. “What’s this?” he asked, trying to change the subject.
“This is me and Mommy and Daddy and Brin.” She pointed to four stick people, and then to a cat. “This is Giselle, and that’s you and Chess. And that’s Poppy. She’s still looking for her prince.” The two other stick people were holding hands, and behind them stood a lone stick figure with a big smile.
“That’s real nice, Tawny.”
The little girl got back to coloring, and he took a seat at the counter while his sister whipped up an egg mixture and got busy making French toast.
“Where’s the baby?”
“She’s down right now, and Poppy is getting ready.”
He appreciated that Blue didn’t mention Chess, because every time he thought of her, he pictured her alone in that damn motel room. Then he thought about Jerry and wondered if he’d stop harassing Chess now that Cash was gone. And that made him think about the asshole who’d hit her the night they’d met.
“Are you mad, Uncle Cash?”
He’d just finished eating and glanced over to Tawny. “No. This is what I look like when I’m thinking.”
“What are you thinking about?”
