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“Extra stories at bedtime then.”
“With the voices!”
“And the animal sounds…”
“You ladies drive a hard bargain. Deal.” She held out her hand and shook each smaller hand seriously. “Keep an eye on Miss Jeffries for me, alright? She still hurts from her fall.”
“We’ll get her whatever she needs.”
“We promise to stay out of trouble.”
“I’m trusting you to be my backup. This a mission you can handle?” They nodded stoically. “I appreciate it. Eat your breakfast so I can clean up before going over to Rowan’s.” One of the women hired to help at the home entered the room and smiled. “Good morning, Nina. They go straight to you in the morning. So much for sleeping in.”
“I don’t sleep much anyway, Ally. I’ll be with Rowan today. These young ladies promise to be on their best behavior and help Miss Jeffries if she needs them. ”
The middle-aged woman nodded. “They’re angels. Especially for you. You have a knack for little ones.”
“Because I refuse to grow up.”
Fifteen minutes later, Nina walked into Rowan’s house and heard James talking to her in the kitchen.
Rowan sniffed and said, “Crying is always just under the surface, waiting to wreck my makeup.”
“Bitch, you don’twearmakeup,” Nina quipped. “What brought on the waterworks this time? Because girl, you have had a hair trigger for weeks.”
“Thinking about that Folgers commercial with the brother and sister...gets me every time.”
Nina sighed and went to perch on the stool beside Rowan. Staring at her intently, she murmured, “When you lie, you blush and look up like you’re asking forgiveness in advance. They’ve been your tells since you were twelve.”
“Um…”
“Don’t struggle.” Glancing at James, she winked. “She asking a lot of questions?” He held her gaze without a word. “It’s likely to get worse.” She nodded at the blender. “I’ll take one of your shakes if you have enough.”
“Coming right up,” he answered quietly.
Returning to the counter, he started cutting up fruit. Rowan looked back and forth between them and Nina knew what she was going to say before she said it.
Sweet, innocent Rowan.
“Are...you guys havingsex?”
James muttered, “Fucking hell.”
His thumb was bleeding profusely as he dove for the paper towels and wrapped one around the wound. It was quickly soaked in blood.
Hand over her mouth, Rowan rushed for the sink and threw up. It made figuring out what to do first difficult.
Nina said, “I’m not sure who to help first here…”
“Help James,” Rowan managed. “It just hit me wrong.”
Walking to the man with a serious expression on his face and a quirked brow, she ignored the smug vibe of “I told you so” coming off his person.
Unwrapping the paper towel, she groaned. “It’s deep, James. You might need stitches. I’ll drive you.”
Rowan rinsed her mouth and the sink. “I’m sorry, James, bloodneverfreaks me out.” Facing them both, she asked weakly, “Stitches, huh?”
“You up for a little drive?” Nina asked. Rowan shook her head and turned to rest her forehead on the cool faucet. “Alright, let me get Mary-Margaret.” In the office down the hall, she whistled at the assistant. “Little bit of an emergency and I’m gonna need you to spot Rowan.”
