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“Nah, come with me. The sooner you meet my sister, the sooner she’ll get off my back about finding a nice girl.” He leaned over and kissed the tip of my nose. “And they don’t come any nicer than you, princess.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” I whispered back as a nice tingle warmed my lower belly.
“Fuck,” he groaned out while looking at the ceiling of the car. “New rule. You can’t call me Daddy when we’re within five-hundred yards of a family member.”
Giggling, I blew out some of the nervousness trying to build now that I knew where we were, and why we were there. I mean, most people might think it was a little early for me to be meeting any of his family. Then again, Tyle wasn’t like most people, and so far, that had worked out to my advantage. Besides, this wasn’t like a big ‘meet my family’ production, so that took some of the pressure off me to be perfect. To be honest, I liked that he was the kind of big brother that would help out his sister in her time of need. It said a lot about him and his character.
After Tyler led us up the walkway, I paused to stop and smell a pretty pink and white rose as big as my fist. As I was closing my eyes to inhale, the shrill screech of a woman’s scream rose from inside of the house. Tyler took off like a bullet, leaping up the stairs and tearing inside of the house while I was still in the process of rising from smelling the rose. I blinked, stunned for a moment, then ran inside after him, hoping like hell nothing terrible had happened as another piercing scream rent the air.
Stepping into the foyer of the house, I could hear Tyler angrily saying, “Mindy, for fucks sake, keep pressure on it.”
“I am keeping pressure on it, you asshole, and don’t say fuck in front of my kid!”
“We need to get you to the hospital.”
“It’s fine.”
“You cut it to the bone!”
“I just need a bandage,” a woman said in a gritty voice tight with pain.
Rounding the corner, I let out a little muffled curse as I saw Tyler and a woman that was like a smaller, blonder version of him with the same square jaw and high forehead, standing in what looked like a small puddle of blood. She wore a pretty blue pair of shorts and a shimmery yellow blouse splotched with bloodstains. Her hand was wrapped in a purple kitchen towel, and I could see it starting to darken with her blood as we stood there.
“Nora!” Tyler said as he looked between me and the injured woman, who had to be his sister. “This is Mindy,” he said, confirming my suspicions. “She cut herself pretty bad chopping carrots, and I need to get her to the hospital. I hate to ask this of you, but can you watch my nieces and nephew until their dad, Juan, gets back?”
“And, when he gets back,” Mindy growled, her cheeks becoming an alarming pale shade, “kill him for me. Then tell him, if he ever forgets his cell phone at home again, I’m going to shove it up his—”
“Okay,” Tyler said in a loud voice. “Madison, Viola, I’d like you to meet my friend Nora. She’s going to be staying with you guys for a little bit while I take your mom to the hospital.”
Mindy had her purse in her good hand and a tall girl with black hair wearing all black clothing and stark red lipstick helped her get the strap over her neck with shaking hands. Another girl, this one younger and not rocking a goth vibe, stood there nervously chewed on her thumbnail as she watched us with big, dark brown eyes. She held a blond-haired baby boy on her hip who was probably close to two. He clutched at his sister while looking around in confusion, his lower lip quivering slightly. When he caught sight of his mom, he burst into pathetic tears and reached for her.
Mindy, looking even waxier than before, snapped, “Madison, get Viola and James out of here. Viola, put James in his playpen then go next door and tell Mrs. Galindo to call her husband at the restaurant. Tell him to get your dad home—NOW. Nora, I hate to ask this, but can you keep an eye on everything while I’m gone? It shouldn’t be long until my husband Juan gets home. The restaurant is right down the street.”
“Sure, sure, no problem.” I tried to look calm and competent even though internally I was more than a little icked out by her wound. “I’m a certified YMCA babysitter. They’re in good hands.”
Mindy gave a weak laugh, the pain evident on her tight face. “Thank you.”
