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25
Bayou Gauche, Louisiana
FRIDAY, JULY 29, 8:00 A.M.
Molly hurried from the room she’d shared with her sister and niece, then breathed a sigh of relief to see Gabe at the stove with Harper standing beside him. She’d nearly had heart failure when she’d woken to find Harper gone.
But Harper was safe, solemnly hanging on Gabe’s every word as he taught her to fry fish. Both Harper and Manny, in fact. Manny seemed to have found a calling, handling the pan of frying fish like a pro.
“Something smells good,” Molly said, and all three of them whirled around to greet her.
“Gabe is showing me how to make fish for breakfast,” Harper said, but still without a sign of her usual spark. This wasn’t a huge surprise given the trauma of what had happened in their apartment, but Molly’s heart still sank, nonetheless.
It was hard not to feel guilty, since she’d led the trouble to their door.
“Gabe and I caught it off the dock,” Manny explained, then grimaced. “I’ve never cleaned my own fish before. It was... yeah. So much fun.”
Molly forced a laugh for Harper’s sake. “Oh, I’ve cleaned more than my fair share of fish.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “You have?”
“Oh yeah.” Molly took the cup of coffee that Gabe passed to her, leaning up to plant a quick kiss on his mouth. “Your granddad took me fishing all the time. I miss those days so much.” It was as woven into the memories of her father as putting down seeds in the spring. She thought about Gabe’s suggestion that she volunteer in someone else’s garden and promised herself that she would. When all this was over. Maybe she’d even take Harper. “But the fish I fried back then never smelled as good as this does.”
“Secret ingredient,” Gabe said soberly.
“Old Bay,” Manny said with an eye roll.
Gabe laughed. “It was all Burke had in his kitchen and I didn’t bring my spices.”
It was good to see him so happy. The man truly was at home in a kitchen. She took a seat at the table and watched him show Manny and Harper how to prep for the sides. They were chopping chives and... other stuff she couldn’t identify. Apparently for grits.
Her stomach growled. “Is it almost done?”
Harper looked over her shoulder. “Are you hungry, Aunt Molly?”
“Starving.” She patted her knee, and Harper settled in. “How are you, munchkin? I wanted to spend all day with you yesterday, but things got busy.”
“I know,” Harper said in that too-grown-up way. “You promised you’d find who sent those men to hurt us. That’s more important than watching some dumb old movies with me.”
“Well, first of all, any time I spend with you is important and not dumb. Second of all, who made you the judge of old movies? I might have liked them.”
Harper didn’t smile. “Is there a third of all?”
“There is. I am trying to find the bad people and I don’t know how long it will take.”
“Do we have to stay here?” She grew visibly upset. “Forever?”
“Might not be so bad,” Manny said lightly. “We’ve got internet, an Xbox, and this food is good.”
“I didn’t get to play Xbox last night,” Harper pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest. “I had to go to bed, and you and Carlos got to play all night. I heard you.”
“We weren’t playing all night,” Manny protested. “But I’m sorry we kept you awake.”
“It’s okay,” Harper said with a slight lift of her shoulder. “I couldn’t sleep anyway.”
Molly shared a troubled glance with Gabe. Note to self: make an appointment for Harper with her therapist ASAP.
They’d all go, just as they’d done after Jake.
