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I already had half a suspicion about who might be visiting Kingston. Opening the door confirmed it.
“Hey, Gena,” I said with a knowing smile. “Come on in.”
She was dressed in a pair of high-waisted, dark-wash jeans and a simple light-gray tank top. Casual but cute. Her light brown hair was curled but tousled, and her makeup was perfect, that light and calculated style that made it look like she wasn’t wearing any at all.
Kingston would definitely approve.
Her face went blank as her eyes met mine.
“Oh! Felicity!Heyyyyyy.” She dragged the word out for so long, she ran out of breath. She gasped before speaking again. “I just thought I’d stop by to, um…” She glanced around, cheeks flushed, then pulled the basket she’d been hiding out from behind her back and shoved it toward me. “To bring you this!”
“A gift basket? That’s so sweet of you.” I made a good show of studying its contents. Fancy local cheese and some cured meats from the co-op, which looked pretty tasty, and a bag of avocado cilantro lime Fredrick’s, a flavor Gena knew I didn’t like. They tasted like savory limeade mixed with dish soap. The four-pack of mango-flavored double IPAs also didn’t seem like the kind of gift a nurse would bring a breastfeeding mother, and the DVD in the basket ran more to Xander’s taste than mine. “Hellraiser, huh?”
“Oh, well, Kingston said—I mean, I hear it’s good.” She forced a smile as her cheeks flushed even redder. “I thought you might…like it?”
“He’ll tear your soul apart,” I read the tagline out loud, then laughed. “Yeah, sounds like exactly my kind of thing.”
I waved her in and closed the door behind her. If I was feeling cruel, I might have pointed out that I couldn’t exactly crack into any of the IPAs she’d brought, but I was pretty sure she already knew she’d been found out.
“Is today your day off?” I asked as she braced herself against the wall to take her sneakers off.
“Oh. No, um… well, actually, I guess it is.” She grimaced. “Just, every day is my day off now.”
I gasped. “Roger fired you?” It only took a second for the guilt to set in. Kingston, the basket, and any teasing I’d been planning on doing were quickly forgotten. “Is this because of the concussion?”
“Of course not. I mean, he says it’s because I’ve taken too many days off—”
“Gena!” I grabbed her arm. “Oh my God, itisbecause of the concussion.”
“No, listen to me. You know how that place was.” She rolled her eyes. “Understaffed, over budget. They’re replacing us all with LPNs. Roger just wanted an excuse. He fired Lexi, too. I guess he caught her stealing pills.” She considered that for a moment. “She might have actually been doing that, come to think.”
“Yikes.” I’d never been impressed with Lexi as a nurse, or as a person in general, really, but stealing pills was a whole new low. She was lucky she wasn’t in jail. But Gena was the one I was more concerned about now. “What will you do for work, then?”
“Apply at Evergreen General, I guess. I’ll be starting back at base pay again, which is a bummer, but I hear they’re always hiring. My lease is up at the end of the month anyway, so I figure I’ll try and find a cheaper place. Better than asking my dad for money, anyway.” She walked into the lounge, peering around. “Is, um…”
“Are you looking for Rylan?” I suggested, though I knew full well she wasn’t. “He’s sleeping right now, but when he’s ready to be lavished with attention again, believe me, he’ll let us know. And if you’re looking for Kingston—”
Across the room, I heard the door of the den snap closed. Gena side-eyed me, lips pursed. I gave her a knowing smile in return.
“He might be a little busy right now, but I’m sure he’ll wander out at some point,” I said, choking back a laugh. “I remember how much he perked up the last time you were around.”
“He’s going through a lot right now,” Gena said. “You all are, really.”
“You know…” I studied her face for a moment, calculating. “If your lease is almost up, and you’re looking for a job… What if you moved in here?”
“Here?” She raised her gaze to the ceiling, then scanned the room. “It’s fancy. Very rustic. But as much as I love the idea of being close to my godsons… I couldn’t put you out like that.”
“You wouldn’t be putting us out,” I assured her. “I think we should hire you.”
“As what? A nanny?” Gena laughed. “Don’t get me wrong. Rylan and Ryder are cute babies. Too cute, even. And once Ryder is back, you’ll definitely want the extra help… But dealing with crotchety old men who don’t wanna take their meds is more to my speed. You know that.”
I grinned. “Have you met Kingston?”
A crotchety old man who wouldn’t take his meds was exactly Kingston’s vibe right now.
“Are you serious?” she asked. “You want me to work as Kingston’s…what? Live-in nurse?”
“He needs someone right now,” I pointed out. “Someone he actually wants to talk to and not throw shoes at. And he’s refusing physical therapy already, so it’s not like you could make him worse.”
