I hadn’t noticed her arrival—no whiff of Sulphur—but now I took a closer look. Rolled up jeans, white tennis shoes, a white shirt that had some transparency to it in the late afternoon August sun. I could just about make out a dark bra strap …
She looked up, caught my eye, and Lord have mercy, did not sneer.
Ladies and gentlemen, civility has entered the building.
“Well, look who it is,” Theo said, as my nephew, Landon, came out with a bag of hot dog rolls. “Sure you don’t need sunglasses? Looking a bit squinty there, Vampire Boy.”
“Funny, Dad. Hey, J.” Landon, Conor’s twin, grinned at me. Smart as a whip, he had just graduated from the University of Michigan and was working on a dating app in his parents’ basement. Hence, my brother’s jibe about his need for eye protection.
“You made your first million yet?”
“It’s not about the money. Just trying to help the right people find each other.” He winked. “But when I sell it, it’ll be worth a lot more than that.”
These kids with the confidence levels through the roof. Had I ever been this cocky?
“Damn,” Theo murmured.
“What?”
“I need the Kaiser buns. They’re Addy’s favorite.”
Landon made to turn around, but I put a hand on his arm.
“I can get them.” That errand would take me past the doc, and maybe I could poke her some more. Verbally.
Because poking her any other way was not on my agenda.
I headed toward the kitchen just as Franky stood and Tilly moved on to her great-grandma, Aurora. The professor saw me approach, but she didn’t turn away.
“What’s up, Doc?”
Her eyes narrowed, evident suspicion at my friendly tone her instinctive reaction. I couldn’t blame her. I had been somewhat of a dick to her about her baby plan, and while I could say she started it with her opinions on the brain size of athletes, I hadn’t helped by stoking the fire.
“Just chatting with Tilly about her gift. She loves it.”
My social butterfly niece was now showing off to Nyquist’s toddler daughter Mabel, currently being cradled by Adeline, who was her mom in all the ways that mattered. These children mothering children.
“Just something fun. Kids these days with their jet skis and cars, sometimes gift-giving needs the personal touch.”
“And you made a matching one?” Gently, she gripped my wrist and raised it so she could see better. I couldn’t recall us ever being skin to skin before. That sudden charge was shock at her deigning to touch me—nothing else.
“You made this yourself?”
“Surprised I have that kind of dexterity with my digits?”
That’s right, Doc. More big words, with a touch of alliteration and innuendo thrown in for good measure.
She raised her cool blue gaze to mine. “Not surprised at your dexterity, just at what you consider to be a good use of your time.”
“My family is always a good use of my time.”
It came out sounding defensive. With this woman, I couldn’t seem to go longer than a minute without feeling that burr under my saddle.
“I didn’t mean to criticize.”
“Sure sounded critical.” Yeah, turn it back on her. “But hey, you can’t help what you think of me, can you?”
“J!” My brother called out. “Buns, dude!”
