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He looked down the hallway at her closed door. “Is she sick?” he asked, looking worried as he stared up at me.
“Not at all. She just needed a nap,” I told him.
“Like the other day, when you were here?” he asked me, relief in his eyes as he remembered her being asleep on the sofa after he’d woken up.
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“You make her tired,” he said.
Henley choked on a laugh and turned away from us.
“I guess I do,” I replied, smiling for the first time since finding Bryn in her towel.
“I can’t have a cupcake until I ask her,” he told me, looking deflated.
“She already said it’s okay for you to have one,” I lied, knowing she would have no objection.
He studied me closely. “Are you sure?”
“I promise,” I assured him.
His eyes lit up again. When I opened the box, Henley had composed herself enough from the laughter she had been trying to hide to see his face when he got a look at the six Spider-Man cupcakes. These were more elaborate than the first ones I’d had Henley make for him. She must have had more time to spend on these. They couldn’t have come at a better time.
“These are freakin’ awesome!” he said in amazement. “Wait until Aunt Bryn sees these!” Then, he stopped smiling again. “Wait, there isn’t any strawberry ones. She loves the strawberry.”
Henley moved quickly, picking up the box with Bryn’s cupcakes and bringing them over to show Cullen. “Oh, yes, there are,” she said, showing him.
They had elaborate pink roses with the edible glitter she liked to use on the edges.
“Whoa! She will love those!” Cullen said, then turned his attention back to his Spider-Man cupcakes.
“Pick one, and I’ll get you a plate and some milk,” I told him.
He pointed to the one with Spider-Man swinging from a building. How the hell Henley had built all that stuff from fondant, I had no idea. She must have been a rock star with Play-Doh back in the day.
“Do you want me to stay?” Henley asked.
I slid Cullen his milk and thought about it a second. “No. Better not. But later, will you be around, just in case?” I asked, not knowing what mindset Bryn might be in later. If she wanted me to sit and hold her in her room, I would. I’d just need someone to entertain Cullen.
I walked her to the door, and Cullen jumped down off the stool and ran over to her.
He hugged her legs tightly. “Thank you for the cupcakes.”
I saw Henley’s eyes get misty again as she bent down to hug Cullen. “Anything for my favorite customer,” she assured him.
He grinned, then ran back to his treat.
I locked the door behind her and turned on the television to distract Cullen before going to check on Bryn. Slowly, I opened the door, and she rolled over with her eyes fresh with tears and looked at me. Damn, she hadn’t been asleep. She’d been in here in pain. Alone.
I went over to her and pulled her into my lap. “Did you sleep at all?” I asked.
She shrugged.
“Cullen is awake. I gave him a cupcake Henley had brought over,” I told her. “Let me get a cold cloth, and we can wipe your face.”
She nodded, and I sat her down to go to the bathroom. I got the cloth, then brought it back to wash away the tears. The brush I had used earlier was by the bed, and I did another brush through of her hair. Then, I took her hand and pulled her up.
“You don’t need to stay in here alone. There are cupcakes for you, too, and burgers. Fries, too, if I’m not mistaken.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said, her voice thick from crying.
“Have you eaten today?” I asked her.
She shook her head.
“Cullen needs you. I need you. We don’t want you to get sick.”
She lifted her eyes to meet mine and finally nodded. “Okay. I’ll eat some fries.”
We walked to the living room, and the moment Cullen saw her, he held up his cupcake. “Henley brought the coolest cupcakes ever!”
“Wow!” Bryn said, trying to sound excited.
“Yeah, and you got real pretty pink rose cupcakes with glitter,” he told her.
“Yummy,” Bryn replied.
She walked over to the bags of food, and I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her.
“Let me make you something. Go sit down with Cullen,” I said.
She sighed and leaned back against me. “Okay. Thank you.”
I fixed her plate and put a burger on it anyway. She didn’t argue with me, and she looked at it for a moment, then picked it up to take a bite. I felt like I had won a damn prize. She was eating.
“Do you not have to go help your grandparents?” she asked me. “I’ve kept you too long.”
I shook my head. “Handled. I’m staying here.”
