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Smiling, Nora shook her head. “You’re so silly.”
Dropping her hands, Evie reminded her mother, “You said we could makeDedectiveSteele a card after we got dressed. I’m dressed, see? Now your turn.”
“I did say that. But mommy needs a shower before I get dressed, so how about you play with Titan for a few minutes, and I’ll be out soon, okay?”
Evie made a face, signaling she was not exactly thrilled by the amount of time a shower would add to her wait, but she nodded and then went in search of the maltipoo. Twenty minutes later, dressed in holey black jeans and a red sweater, her hair hanging heavy and damp down her back, Nora-Jean padded barefoot from her room with a small plastic tub full of art supplies.
“Al’right, Evie-B. Mommy’s ready now,” she announced as she passed Evie’s open door, headed for the dining room table.
Indulgent as she knew it was, after she unpacked the paper, crayons and colored pencils, she poured herself a third cup of coffee before settling in beside her daughter. They both made Steele a card, Nora helping Evie with her letters. It was almost unbelievable to Nora that she had a kid old enough to almost read all by herself—but it also made her incredibly proud to know she was raising such a smart little girl.
“When can we give it to him?” she asked as she admired her handy work.
Nora began to clear the table of their scraps as she replied, “Auntie Belle will be by in a little while to pick up Titan. We’ll give them to her so she can give them to Detective Steele.”
“I wanted to give it to himmyself.”
“I know, baby, but we can’t today. He needs to rest. We can try to visit him in a couple days, okay? Besides, we’ve got band practice later.”
Evie perked up at this news. “Okay!”
Without another word, she got down from her chair and called after Titan. Nora finished clearing the table, then moved onto the kitchen and finished cleaning up after their breakfast. Once she started, one chore turned into another and another until the apartment was as tidy as it could be. It was nearly an hour after Evie had finished lunch when there was a knock at the door. Nora was switching out her second load of laundry, and Evie raced from her room at the sound.
“Can I get it?”
“You know the drill,” stated Nora as she picked up the basket full of warm, clean clothes and propped it against her hip.
She followed after Evie down the hall and watched as the little girl stopped at the front door. With one hand poised on the handle, she cried, “Who is it?”
“Mitzi Belle!”
Evie did a little bounce then raced for the table to grab her card before she unlocked and swung open the door.
“Auntie Belle, we made cards for Dedective Steele,” she announced, thrusting her creation at Mitzi. “Will you give it to him?”
“Of course, I will. This is so sweet of you.” She paused, affectionately ran her hand over Evie’s hair, then studied the card more closely. “He’s gonna love it, Evie Belle. Thank you.”
Evelyn smiled up at Mitzi proudly then returned to the table to grab Nora’s card, giving Mitzi a chance to step inside.
“This one is from mommy,” she stated as Mitzi closed the door. “And also, I played with Titan a lot and he slept with me so he wasn’t all alone at night.”
“Best babysitter ever.”
“Al’right, let your auntie get past the door, Evie-B,” insisted Nora. She winked at her little one as she continued toward the living room, depositing their basket of clean clothes on the coffee table. “How is he?”
Mitzi scooped Titan in her arms, who had been dancing around her feet in excitement, and came to join Nora on the couch. “He’s okay,” she answered, carefully stowing the cards in her purse before setting it on the floor. Submerging her fingers in Titan’s soft curls, she smiled and said, “You should have seen his room earlier today. The Steeles brought Sunday dinner to him, since he couldn’t make the trip. Sweetest picnic I’ve ever seen.”
“Sounds about right.”
“He’ll be discharged later today. I couldn’t talk Gale out of doing a grocery run, so I’m meeting her at his house in an hour so she can stock the fridge before I bring him home.”
Nora nodded then reached for an item of clothing to fold. Mitzi and Steele had been a couple for almost as long as Mitzi had been back in Shelby. Nora was getting used to hearing her best friend call the man by his birthname—something only his mother ever did—and she knew Mitzi was now a welcome guest at the Steele’s dinner table every Sunday. Nevertheless, it was odd hearing her talk about the family which had once been Nora’s, too.
It had been a long time. Too long for her to still miss it. She silently berated herself for letting thoughts of Lawson occupy her mind as much as they had the last couple days. It was making her nostalgic. Or, perhaps more appropriately, unrealistic. It didn’t make any sense for her to be jealous.Especially considering the circumstances. All that mattered was Steele was surrounded by the best support system anyone could ever ask for.
“Enough about me,” murmured Mitzi, nudging her foot against Nora’s. “How was the wedding?”
“It was fun. More fun than I thought it was going to be.” She chuckled softly in remembrance. “I swear, the bride and groom could have danced all night. The band and I were pickin’ songs to play on the fly for at least an hour. But it was a good time.”
