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“Yeah, he’ll do,” I joke.
“Well, maybe we should head on inside,” Frank says, interrupting our sweet moment with a wide-eyed look and a jerk of his chin towards his neighbours house.
“Yes! Come on, come inside. I’ve gotcake!” Christy exclaims, bouncing on her toes, her energy infectious.
“Cake? That sounds really good,” I say, finally releasing the breath I’ve been holding ever since Cleveland told us the news about Rodriguez.
“Yep, Sandy bought it for me to celebrate my first dance show!”
“You were in a dance show? That’s awesome!” I exclaim, my cheeks hurting from smiling so much. That might explain why I’ve had no answers from either Frank or Sandy. A heads up might’ve been nice, could’ve saved me a lot of fucking stress and Beast a four and a half hour drive.
“Yep! I was the rainbow!” Christy points out happily.
“I can see that,” I say, my heart warming as I cast a glance at Sandy, who is watching our interaction with a mixture of confusion and concern. I don't blame her; my reaction to seeing Christy is enough to warn her that something is wrong. Then again, she needs to understand why it’s so important they answer my damn calls. Perhaps this will be a lesson to all of us.
“I called you both several times. I left messages.”
“You did?” Sandy exclaims, reaching into her handbag and pulling out her phone, pressing the button to turn it on. “Oh I’m so sorry! I turned it off and told Frank to do the same. I didn’t want to interrupt the dance recital.”
“Ireallyneeded to get hold of you,” I say, my tone taking on an edge that I never thought I’d use in their presence.
“Kate,” Beast warns, looking from me to Christy, who’s frowning.
“I can see that,” Sandy says as she switches on her phone and it begins to ping with all the missed calls and messages I sent.
I’m angry, but I know I need to keep a lid on it for Christy’s sake. She doesn’t need to see that side of me, the side where I take action with violence. Besides, no matter how high my stress levels have gotten, Frank and Sandy don’t deserve that. It was an honest mistake, but one they won’t be making again. They have to follow my rules if we’re going to keep Christy out of harm's way.
“I thought that something had happened to Christy—” I begin but once again Frank shakes his head.
“Let’s take this inside, shall we?” he says, looking pointedly at the twitching curtain of his neighbour’s house. Lowering his voice he gives me a tight smile and talks through his teeth like a ventriloquist. “Mrs Parsons is a dear old lady but she just loves to gossip, and this village hasn’t seen as much action since Jackie of number thirty-five had an affair with the vicar.”
Beast chuckles. “Sounds like a good story.”
“Oh, believe me, it is, but I'm guessing it's not as juicy as the one you've travelled all the way here to tell us about?” he asks, knowingly.
“You're right, we should go inside,” I say as Christy skips happily up the garden path, pulling me along behind her.
