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The phone in her pocket rang and her heart dropped.Not now. No way!
“Hey, Cassie, you’re messing with me, right?”
“Don’t get your panties twisted, kiddo. We’re cool. I just wanted to let you know we’re thinking aboutcha. Ruby said this new assignment you’re on will be tough, and that you were nervous as a chicken being chased by a hungry farmer with a cleaver.”
Shocked that Ruby said anything about her at all, she bristled. “What did Ruby tell you?”
“Calm down, missy, she only said you’d be staying with relatives and you needed a break, warned us not to pester you unless we were desperate. I’ve got a couple of others carrying phones so you’ll be my last resort. I promise. We’ve got you covered. Go and have some fun.”
Tension released too sudden made Alia drop to the kitchen stool and hold her head in one hand, her loose hair fanning over the counter in a cascade of waves. “Shit, Cassie. Don’t mess with me like this. I figured you had a call for me.”
“Nope, just sending some sisterly love your way, and telling you if you need anything from those of us in the group, we’re here for ya. Bye now, chickie. Love ya.”
“Yeah, yeah. Bye. And thanks.” Alia threaded her fingers though the soft mass of golden-brown strands, lowered her forehead to the counter and took a few deep breaths. Then she gazed around her lovely kitchen, which had been mostly Ruby’s domain, and stood to gather the cookbook and the other articles Ruby had insisted she’d need if she was to look after Kean properly.
The list of directions that sat on top of the pile gave her pause and she quickly scanned them to see her son’s favorite snacks for school, his best friend’s phone number and loads of other information she didn’t know. What kind of a mother didn’t know her own kid needed his soccer shorts clean for Mondays and Thursdays, and that he preferred the white ones with the red stripes rather than the red ones with white stripes?
And… that he hated fresh bananas but loved banana muffins, recipe on page 102. OMG! There were more instructions here than in the FBI Manual on self-defense.
How the hell was she going to cope with this besides keeping Sloan from having a breakdown with a strange kid around and still do her job?
“Mom. The taxi’s here.”
“I’m coming. Just locking up in here.” Before she left, she snagged a tissue, wiped her eyes and blew her nose.Time to toughen up… chickie! This won’t be that bad. Good lord, girl. You’ve stood up to men twice your size and never thought to back down. Now you’re just being a wuss.
She grabbed another tissue.
