I give him a faint smile. “As I don’t send any, it isn’t much of an issue. The most exciting thing he reads is me asking Meg if she wants chicken, fish, or vegetarian.”
“You don’t eat beef?”
“Not as a rule. It’s too heavy. Is that what you got out of that statement?” I ask Erik curiously.
“What you omitted seemed louder than what was said.”
Remy clasps his shoulder.
“Why don’t we give you some time?” He glances at his watch. “It’s three o’clock. May we bring dinner by later? Or take you out?”
“David can cook,” James interjects.
He must interpret Remy’s displeased glance, because he adds, “If you took her out, it would leave Meg here by herself. I thought you were trying to avoid separation.”
Remy’s mouth lines deepen momentarily. “You are correct. Tianna, may we all come over?”
I nod hesitantly. “How about six?”
When they take their leave, I collapse on the couch and give Meg a look.
“What happened in the thirty minutes I was gone?” she asks.
“Was it only thirty minutes? It felt like two lifetimes compressed,” I murmur, absently scratching Bass’s ears.
Chapter seventy-eight
Christianna
“Are you going to call Coulson?” Meg asks, breaking me out of my circling thoughts.
“I suppose I should. Is it premature? Maybe the rodent just died?”
Meg lifts a shoulder. “I feel secure here. Nothing in or around the house was disturbed. It probably came over from the park. Who knows, maybe the chlorine in the pool killed it.”
I pick up my phone, open the browser, and type in the question.
I shake my head. “It wasn’t the chlorine. It could have been old age.” I lift a shoulder.
My phone pings.
Coulson: Are you ready for some perimeter cameras?
I huff softly. “He wasn’t kidding about seeing what I type. Coulson wants to know if we want perimeter cameras.” I look to Meg for her opinion. We are both living here.
She nibbles at the side of her thumb and draws her feet up onto the chair she’s curled into.
“Maybe if they point outwards,” she says. “I don’t think either of us wants to feel watched.”
“That makes sense,” I offer. She nods, looking relieved.
“Yeah, that could work. Or beams or something if someone jumps the fence?”
“Oh. Yeah. Let me see.”
I quickly text our questions.
Coulson: That is the bare minimum you should do. Do you want to hear suggestions, or just this for now?
