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“You’re family now,” Atticus said. “No thanks are necessary.”
8
SAMMIE
After we returned home from Atticus and Annie’s, I gave Chloe her bath and tucked her in, snuggling next to her to read her favorite, Mercy Watson to the Rescue. She’d heard it dozens of times but never tired of the story about a pig who adored buttered toast. The illustrations were beautiful, and anything written by Kate DiCamillo was genius, so even I didn’t mind how many times I’d read it to her.
When we were done, I leaned down to give her a kiss.
“Sleep tight, my love,” I said.
“Night, Mama.”
I reached over to turn off the lamp by her bed. The night-light plugged into the wall came on, thus I could cross the room without bumping into anything. Although we had to share the space, I’d wanted her to have her own bed. Otherwise, I worried she’d never want to sleep on her own. I’d made a little nook for her with a small bookcase, a child’s chair, and her toddler’s bed.
I was at the door when her sweet voice called out to me. “Mama, I want a pig that lives inside with us and sleeps with me in my bed.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because…pigs belong in the barn.”
“We could name it Mercy and it could sleep with me,” Chloe mumbled sleepily. “And it would be my best friend.”
“Go to sleep. You have a big day tomorrow. Thad said he’s going to take us swimming.”
“I love Tad.” Chloe yawned and rolled to her side, a sure sign she would be asleep within minutes.
“I know, honey.” I love him too.
It hit me then, as if someone punched me in the gut. I really did love Thad Moon. I hadn’t allowed myself to hope for anything more than friendship. Yet, today, when we had McCall on the line, I’d felt a slight optimism. Was it possible we could actually break away from the Underwoods? Could the detective find something we could use against them? The idea of living my life in freedom made me almost giddy. A life with Thad, without the worry of my past, seemed too good to be true.
If it seemed too good, it probably was. I needed to keep that in mind.
I shut the door behind me and walked quietly down the hallway and downstairs to the kitchen, a glass of wine calling my name. Both Soren and Thad were at the kitchen table, finishing off pieces of tiramisu from the restaurant.
“Hey, how you doing?” Soren asked, uncharacteristically gentle. “Thad told me what’s going on.”
“I’m okay.” I hated the scrutiny and pity in his eyes. Now that the guys knew my secret, I could expect more of the same. “Is there any wine open?”
“No, but I’ll open a bottle.” Thad jumped up and pulled a white out of the wine refrigerator.
I sank into a chair at the table, suddenly exhausted.
“You want tiramisu?” Soren asked. “There’s another piece. Elliot sent it over earlier. Apparently, a glass fell on one side of the pan and she couldn’t use any of it for customers.”
“Our gain,” Thad said, tugging a cork out of a chardonnay bottle.
“No, I’m not hungry,” I said. The idea of food made me feel woozy. If only I could get a decent night’s sleep instead of waking a half dozen times from nightmares. They were always variations of the same dream in which I opened a door just as John appeared, forcing himself inside before I could shut him out.
Soon, I had a generous glass of wine in front of me. Thad poured a tumbler of whiskey for Soren and wine for himself.
“You guys want to watch a movie?” I asked. “Or do something to get my mind off of my troubles?”
Neither man answered because we were interrupted by a knock on the back door. Thad, still up, went through the mudroom to see who it was. Seconds later, we heard Finley’s voice, then she arrived in the kitchen, looking apologetic.
“I’m sorry to barge in like this,” Finley said. “And I’m probably being paranoid, which I can be, but there’s a really creepy guy in cabin F. He just came to the office asking for extra towels, even though he’s the only one in the cabin.”
