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“Honor gone?” I asked.
“Yeah, she headed home,” he said as we pushed one of the couches out of the way.
“Seems strange for her to come over here for a file on a Saturday. I thought you scanned everything?” Mark’s business was digital. They had paper copies of some things, but everything else was online.
“We have a deal going through on Monday and she just wanted to make sure she had a backup,” he said. I stared at him for a second.
How could a grown man with a successful business be this clueless?
I was just about to say something about Honor when Riley and Zoey bounced down the stairs from their showers and asked me if I could braid their hair.
“Absolutely my loves. Sit down at Layne’s Salon,” I said. They fought over who got to go first, but Zoey won Rock, Paper, Scissors, so she sat down on the floor while I was in a chair behind her.
“I wish my hair was purple,” Zoey said with a sigh.
“Ask your parents,” I said. I’d witnessed this tactic dozens of times before. They seemed to think if they asked me, I might let them get away with something without checking with their parents first.
“What if they say no?” Zoey asked as I combed through the tangles in her hair. A few of the other girls had returned from their showers and were snuggling into the little nest we’d made.
“I don’t think they will,” I said. Mark and Sadie were super supportive parents.
“But Riley doesn’t want purple hair,” Zoey said.
“So? You don’t dress alike.” Their mom had always hated the assumption that they should dress alike, as if they were one person and not two, so she’d never put them in the same outfit at the same time.
“I know,” Zoey said, and then she sighed. Oh, the stress of being eleven.
“I think you’d look awesome with purple hair,” I said. “You know what? We could get some temporary color and try it out if you want. I bet your parents would want you to do that before you did anything with bleach. Now, what kind of braid do you want?”
Zoey wanted a Rapunzel braid and Riley asked for bubble braids, and then a line formed, and my fingers started to ache after a while, but I didn’t stop until the last girl was satisfied.
“There you go, my lovely,” I said, patting the head of the last girl, who’d wanted a braid crown.
Things were winding down, and most of the girls were under the blankets with their phones and whispering to each other and then giggling.
I checked the time and then went to find Mark. He was in his office.
“Hey, I’m going to say goodnight to the girls and head to my room. I’ll check on the even hours and you on the odd hours?” I asked. We’d done this routine before. It meant not a lot of sleep for me, but I could take a big, long nap tomorrow. I was already looking forward to it.
Mark nodded and then picked up his phone to send a message. One of these days that man was going to cut back on work, but that wasn’t today.
“Okay, time for bed. That doesn’t mean you have to go to sleep, but let’s keep the volume down. Bathroom is down the hall, and I’m staying in the guest room. If something happens, I do not want you to hesitate to get me. You won’t get in trouble, I promise.” I made sure to make eye contact with each of them. I would absolutely much rather have them come to me because some girl snuck in booze stolen from her parents and someone was sick than have them hide it from me, and I knew Mark was the same way. Not two minutes after my speech, he came out and gave the same one.
He joined me in the kitchen as I made myself a cup of tea for the long night ahead.
“Was that good? Do you think they got it?” he asked me in a low voice as one girl was telling a story and the group broke out in giggles. They were so damn cute.
“I think you did a great job,” I said, patting his arm. “They’re going to be fine. This isn’t either of our first rodeo.”
“No, but it gets harder as they get older. And then I remember all the stuff I used to do as a kid and think of my girls doing that, and it scares me.”
“But look at how you turned out. And you’re not alone. They have a wonderful mother leading them, and I’m not scared to lay down the law.”
Mark nodded. “You’re right. You’re right. I’m just stressed with this upcoming deal and all the work that’s ahead of me.” He rubbed his face and yawned. “I’m going to grab a nap before my first check,” he said.
“You got it, boss,” I said, and he waved before he headed down the hall to his room.
I took my tea into the guest room and made myself comfortable. I had a book I was going to finish and then had already downloaded the next one in the series, so I barely even had to pause before diving in.
