“How did you manage to provoke such a change in Riley?” Jane asked, throwing chopped tomatoes into a bowl. She, Mindy, and Quinn were cooking together while Riley was sleeping upstairs. She’d taken charge, for which Quinn was grateful. A seasoned nurse through and through, Jane was the kind of woman who knew how to handle stressful situations. She’d made sure Riley was comfortable before putting Quinn to work, giving her instructions behind the cooker while Mindy stood on a chair by the counter peeling clementines.
“I didn’t,” Quinn said. “I’ve only known the way she is.” She turned to Jane. “Is this the moment you tell me you’ll kill me if I ever hurt your sister? Because I won’t. I meant what I said. I love her.”
“I know you do.” Jane chuckled and shook her head. “And no, I’d never threaten you. In fact, I want to thank you. She seems so happy, and I suspect that has something, if not everything, to do with you.”
Quinn smiled. “She makes me happy too.” She paused and turned to Jane. “Do you think she’ll be okay? Long-term, I mean? She was so lucky you were there. I can’t stop thinking about what might happen if she has another episode while I’m at work and she’s alone and—”
“Hey, you can’t think like that,” Jane interrupted her. “You’ll drive yourself crazy. Who knows? Anything can happen in life, but I wouldn’t worry too much. She’s recovering really well. Just make sure she stays away from pills she shouldn’t be taking—although I’m sure she’s learned her lesson—and that she keeps stress levels to a minimum.” She offered Quinn a reassuring smile. “Really, she’ll be okay.”
Quinn nodded. “Good. That makes me feel better, coming from a nurse.”
Jane patted her arm. “By the way, I was getting some groceries in town this morning, and I’m pretty sure a woman was talking about you and Riley in the dairy aisle.” She shrugged. “Obviously, no one knows I’m her sister, so she didn’t suspect anything when I hung around pretending to inspect every single type of fruit yogurt.”
Quinn frowned. It was likely the word about Riley’s health scare had gotten around. “What did she say?”
“Well, she’s talking about the swing in your yard and…” Jane gestured to Mindy and lowered her voice. “A dress in a tree. That’s all I can say for now.”
“A dress in a tree? That’s weird.” Quinn tried to keep a straight face.
“They think you use the swing for certain activities,” Jane clarified and raised a brow. “You know, of the adult kind.”
“Oh…” Quinn felt her cheeks burn. Of course everyone was talking about the incident. There was no way Tammy hadn’t told her sister, who was the town’s gossip, and it was likely Gareth had told his girlfriend, who wasn’t shy to share a good story either. “I have no idea what they’re talking about,” she said. “They’re probably making it up. It happens. There aren’t many same-sex couples in Mystic, so they’re probably just speculating.”
“That’s sad. Doesn’t it bother you?”
“No. I’m used to it, and I doubt Riley will bat an eyelash either.” Quinn composed herself and changed the subject. “What about your father? How’s he doing?”
Jane narrowed her eyes and stared at her for a beat, clearly deciding whether she was telling the truth or not. “He’s much better now that he’s made some drastic lifestyle changes, but it wasn’t easy getting there. Mindy and I moved in with him for three months to keep an eye on him and make sure he ate healthy and got enough exercise. It wasn’t that long after Mom passed away, so he needed the company anyway. I think having Mindy there was a good distraction for him. I still worry about him—he’s not getting any younger, after all—but he’s picked himself up well, and he has a social life.” She sighed. “I’m glad Riley is finally planning on visiting him. He misses her.”
“Yeah, I know. She asked me to come with her.”
Jane’s eyes lit up. “You should! You guys can stay with us. We live very close to Dad.”
“Thank you. Only if it’s no trouble for you.” Quinn laughed when Mindy let out an excited shriek.
“Yes! Can Quinn sleep in my room, Mom?” she asked. “Please?”
“I think Quinn and Aunt Riley would prefer the guest room, honey.” Jane chuckled as she grabbed a cucumber from the bowl of vegetables in front of her and started cubing it. “Needless to say, it’s nowhere near as fancy as this house, and the suburbs aren’t exactly inspiring. We don’t have a swing either,” she added with a cheeky grin, “but we’ll have fun. After all, it’s all about family and being together. I like that you’re a family person. It must be nice to have a big family.”
“It is, and I love them,” Quinn said, ignoring the swing comment. “And now I have a lovely sister-in-law too. And you,” she said, pinching Mindy’s cheek.
“Yeah. I feel like we’ve bonded.” Jane chuckled and nodded toward Mindy, who’d started dissecting the clementine, poking her fingers into the flesh to take out the seeds. Juice was running down her arms and soaking into her sleeves. It was the only job they could think of to keep her busy that didn’t involve knives or anything she could break.
“Like this?” Mindy asked, holding up a deflated wedge attached to a piece of skin.
“Perfect.” Quinn handed her a plastic picnic plate. “Why don’t you arrange them on here and give them to Aunt Riley when she wakes up?”
Mindy seemed to like that idea and took great care in lining up clementine wedges around the edge of the plate. “It’s a fruit salad,” she said with a serious frown. “I need something to put in the middle.”
“How about some strawberries?” Quinn opened the fridge and handed her a box. “Take the green top off and make them look pretty.”
“You’re good with kids,” Jane said. “Have you ever thought about having children?”
“I don’t know. It would be nice, I guess. I never saw myself having a family, but now…”
“Are you reconsidering?” Jane arched a brow at her. “What about Riley? Have you spoken about it?”
“No. It’s a little too soon for that. I haven’t even given it much thought myself.” Quinn paused. “But I suppose the idea has been growing on me.”
