AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So far, so good. I mean, it’s early on and I work all day, so I only see them in the evening.”
Izabeth smacks the roll of dough hard against my granite countertop and it makes thepopsound that makes my heart rate temporarily tick up. I hate it. I snatch the opened tube out of her hand and separate the individual rolls onto a cookie sheet.
“How are thefeelings? Still there?”
I know where Iz is steering this conversation, and I want no part in it. “There are nofeelings,” I answer, dropping another uncooked cinnamon roll onto the pan.
“Bullshit. You just told me a month ago you feltsomething. How are there no feelings? What did he do?”
“Let it go.” I peer back down the hallway, wondering what’s taking Maggie and Rainey so long. “I told you. Logan’s a widower. He’s not ready for anything. Now, he’s my roommateandcaring for my niece. There’s no feelings.”
Izabeth glances at me unphased as I stick the pan into the oven and set a timer. “Did he say he’s not ready for anything?”
“Izabeth,” I scold, “Good god—I’m going to find you a new friend, or maybe someone to sleep with, because you’re driving me crazy. Knock. It. Off.”
The thing I love about Iz is also the thing that makes me want to choke her—she’s relentless and runs wildly after anything she wants . . . including information. I’ve heard people drop the ‘nosey’ label about her before. They’re not wrong, but the connotation isn’t quite right. Iz isn’t a gossip—she’s just unbearably curious.
“But . . . didhesay he’s not ready for anything?” She looks at me pointedly and repeats her question like I didn’t hear it the first time.
In serious situations, Izabeth always respects my boundaries. But the potential of me being bent over a bed, moaning someone’s name, makes her forget what boundaries are. “It doesn’t matter what he said. He’s been widowed for less than a year, and my life’s upside down. We’reroommates—something we both need right now—I’m not willing to mess this up for either of us.”
“I’m not willing to mess this up for either of us,” she mocks.
“The girls are better behaved than you are. You know that, right?” Where are the girls? I’d gotten caught up in bickering with Iz and their lengthy hand washing slipped my mind.
I find Maggie and Rainey attempting to clean up water from my now-flooded half bath floor. The two of them are soaked, and we’re all shocked.
“What happened here?” Logan’s deep voice asks from behind, scaring me.
I almost fall into the floor when I spin to face him. I didn’t expect anyone to be behind me; he must have just gotten home. I pray he didn’t overhear any of the conversation I just had with Izabeth. Two days into living together is far too soon to start awkwardly tiptoeing around each other.
Maggie and Rainey look up at Logan and me, their eyes wide and each of their mouths open. They’d not planned to be caught.
“Mags.” Logan squats down beside his daughter. “Can you please explain to me what happened here?”
Maggie’s bottom lip trembles at the realization she may be in trouble. “Rainey said we could make a waterfall, but I told her we shouldn’t. But we tried anyway, and the cup we put on the floor wasn’t big enough. I tried to turn the water off but I couldn’t reach. Rainey had to reach, but a lot more water got on the floor.”
Logan and I exchange a look—neither of us have any clue what happened from Maggie’s explanation.
“Rae. Did you suggest this to Maggie?” Her answer could go either way—be honest and not give a shit about the consequences or panic and toss her friend under the bus.
“Yep.” Okay, at least we’ll skip a lecture on lying. I motion for Rainey to get up and follow me. The half bathroom is overcapacity, with two adults and two kids stuffed inside. She sits down next to me on the hallway floor.
“We can’t make waterfalls in the bathroom, okay?” I try reasoning with my niece.
“Why not? It’s just a floor.”
“Because . . . Rae, look at me please . . . These floors aren’t made to have water sitting on top of them. If you get water on the floor and it stays there for more than a few minutes, it can destroy the wood.”
Not understanding, she retorts, “But you mop them.”
A long-winded lesson on the amount of water she and Maggie dumped onto the floor not being the same as the amount I used to mop goes right over Rainey’s head. I clench my teeth, knowing my explanation isn’t getting through to her. She’s no closer to understanding or caring about why she shouldn’t have done it. A deep breath and smile help me regain my cool.
Logan had his own talk with Maggie in the bathroom. She emerges from behind the door with her jeans soaked and her brown eyes glassy. Logan follows and stops next to me in the hall.
“Noah?” Maggie sucks in her bottom lip as a tear trails down her rosy cheek. “I didn’t mean to make a mess. I’m sorry.”
“Hey Mags, come here.” She shimmies closer. “It’ll be okay. We’re going to get it cleaned up.”
