“Have you guys done your science homework yet? ‘Cause I think I have some experiments you can use inhere.”
Kimber giggled from her seat at thetable.
Denise closed the refrigerator door and opened the freezer. “Mac and cheese orpizza?”
“Pizza,” they bothsaid.
Thank goodness they were easy. She pulled the frozen pizza out and set the oven to preheat. “Work on your schoolwork while the ovenheats.”
“Awww. Can’t we watch TV for a while?” Kadenasked.
She cocked a hip against the counter and folded her arms. “I’ll make a deal with you. You work until two o’clock and I’ll let you watchTV.”
He squinted his eyes at her and mirrored her crossed arms. “Does that include taking a break to eatpizza?”
“That includes eating pizza between answering social studiesquestions.”
He dropped his arms and sagged his shoulders. “Ugh.”
Kimber had already pulled her books out of her book bag and set them on the smalltable.
“Think of it as practice for college,” Denisesaid.
“I’m not going to college. I’m going to join the Army like you andGrandpa.”
A montage of her years in the Army flashed through her mind. She was in no way prepared to overlay her nine-year-old nephew into any of those scenes. “We’ll talk about that when you’re eighteen. And either way, you’re still going to have to learn to study while eating pizza. It’s a life skill. Right up there with learning how to drive a stickshift.”
“What’s a stick shift?” heasked.
“Oh, young Padawan, you have much tolearn.”
“What’s aPadawan?”
She dropped her arms in shock. “What’s a—Well, I know what you’re going to be watching on TV for the next week.” Her phone vibrated in her back pocket before she could delve further into the severe lack of their culturaleducation.
Bree’s grinning face stared at her from the screen and she slid her thumb across it. “Hey. Hang on a sec.” She lowered the phone. “Can you put the pizza in the oven when it beeps?” she askedKaden.
“Sure.”
She had a feeling she was going to come back to a partially frozen pizza still sitting on top the stove, but she moved to the small landing outside the front door of her apartment for some privacy. “Hey.”
Sprocket curled up behind her when she sat on the topstep.
“Hey,” Bree said. “What’s goingon?”
“I have a list,” Denisesaid.
“You have a list? Is there any particular order to your list?” Something crunched over theline.
“Are you eating carrot sticks?” Deniseasked.
“Yes. I have exactly twenty-four minutes for lunch today, so you’re going to have to deal with me crunching on carrot sticks in your ear while you talk. I’ll try to move the microphone away from my mouth while Ichew.”
“Thanks,” she said sarcastically. “No real order, so let me get the big thing out of the way first.” She gave Bree an abbreviated version of the previous day, including picking up Kimber and Kaden fromschool.
“Shit,” Breesaid.
“Yeah.”
