He held up his arms and I scooped him off the bed, desperately needing his kisses. Then I hugged him close and almost—almost—forgot about the pain and the loss and the fear.
Gently, I pulled him away, then kissed his forehead before settling him on the ground. “Mommy has to go to work,” I said. “Let’s go find Ms. Nancy.”
I took Timmy’s hand once more, then turned to leave, only to find Nancy in the doorway, holding a thermal cup of coffee. She set it down on a small table by her chair that already had a book of crossword puzzles, a pencil, and a romance novel.
“All done?”
“Yeah. I need to get to work. You’ll let me know if anything changes?”
“Of course, I will. Are you taking Timmy, or is he going back to his city?”
I grinned. Apparently I’d been right about the town. “I’ll leave him with you, if you’re sure it’s no trouble.”
“Of course it’s no trouble. He’s just playing in the room next door while I sit here and read or do my puzzles. It’s nice to have the company.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely, then stepped out of the room and headed down the hall. I’d reached the staircase landing when I saw Rita and Eddie coming up.
“Your cousin is a godsend,” I told Rita. “A huge asset here at the, um, school,” I don’t know why I stumbled. Probably afraid I would have tosseddemon huntingin there, and I had to keep reminding myself that Rita didn’t actually know what we were doing here.
“I’m just trying to help the folks who matter to my Eddie.”
I glanced at her Eddie, and he blushed, then scowled at me. I fought a grin, knowing I was never going to let him live that blush down.
“I’m going to pop in and tell her goodbye,” Rita said. “I’m about to head out.”
While she headed into the room, I stayed behind with Eddie. “MyEddie?” I said, emphasizing the possessive pronoun. “Is there something you want to tell me? Do I hear the tinkle of wedding bells?” I continued as his glower deepened. A glower that, I noticed, was softened by the light in his eyes. “Wait a second … did you two drive here together?”
“Watch it, girlie,” he said, “Or I’ll have you planning the big day.”
I took a step back, both surprised and not surprised at the same time. Mostly, I was delighted. “Eddie! Really?”
He made a shushing sound and I pulled him to the side. “Have you asked her?”
“Nope. But, she’s the one. Took long enough to find her.”
“Well, you’ve had a busy life. I guess you were just looking in all the wrong places.”
“Guess it was a good thing you dragged me out of that damned Coastal Mists.”
“I guess it was,” I said, and we shared a smile. After a moment I tilted my head and shifted my expression to one more serious. “You have to tell her before you ask,” I said.
“Yeah, well, too late for that. It’s a done deal.”
“What? You said you hadn’t asked.”
“Didn’t.” He grinned, his bushy eyebrows waggling. “My Rita’s a modern woman. She popped the question to me when I told her I was staying behind with Eric in the house.”
“And you said yes without telling her everything?”
He shrugged. “Eh, just figured I needed to find the right time. Don’t worry. I’ll tell her. And when I do—when we get married and she moves into your house with me—well, I’ll want Eric to move out. We’ll need our alone time. Plus he should be here.”
“Eddie….”
He shook his head, “I mean it. This little romance novel intrigue you have going on between you and your husband and your other husband—well, you need to put that aside. Other than Allie, he’s the best fighter you’ve got. And yeah I’m including you. You’re good but he’s bigger and stronger. Even with that cane and that bad eye, that man has skills.”
“I agree, but I don’t know if it’s the best idea for Eric to move in here.”
He snorted. “You’re thinking with parts south of your heart, girlie. You need to do what’s best for this school and protecting these students. There’s more kids coming, remember. You need a big enough team on-site to keep them safe. All that emotional hoo-ha? That’s just your cross to bear.”
