“Do you . . . do you know what they want?” she asked tentatively.
Birdie sighed. “I love those boys. You know that. I also know how stubborn they are. Just like another person I know.” She glanced teasingly at Regina as she spoke. “If you’re asking if I know they love you and they built this house for you and they want you to live here . . . with them, then yes, I know what they want. They were quite honest with me about it.”
“And what did you say?” Regina asked softly.
Birdie’s mouth twisted a little. “What could I say?” She shifted forward on the bed. “I have the same concerns any mother has. I want my boys happy. I asked them if they’d lost their minds.”
Regina laughed. She couldn’t help it. “That about covers my reaction,” she mumbled.
“Regina, I’m not here to lecture you. I’m not here to tell you what to do with your life. All I want to make clear is that no matter what happens between you and those boys it won’t change how I feel about you.”
Relief swept over her. She squeezed Birdie’s hand. “Thank you, Birdie. That means a lot to me.”
“Do you feel up to going downstairs?” Birdie asked. “I’ve fixed some chicken and dumplings and a big pitcher of tea just the way you like it.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful. I’m starving.”
Birdie smiled. “Come on then, and I’ll fix you a plate.”
Regina threw back the covers and eased her legs over the edge as Birdie stood and moved away from the bed. Birdie reached for her arm when Regina put her feet down and stood.
She really did feel a lot better. Her head wasn’t so damn fuzzy, a fact she was grateful for. Maybe now she could face the guys lucidly instead of like a blathering, weepy idiot.
With Birdie at her side, she slowly made her way out the door and toward the stairs. When they reached the top, the sound of a door shutting halted Regina in her tracks.
She glanced at Birdie. “Are they back so soon?”
Birdie frowned. “They only left an hour ago. They would’ve called if they’d forgotten something.”
Regina heard footsteps. They sounded like they came from the back of the house, not the front. Her pulse ratcheted up, and she put a hand on Birdie’s arm.
“Get back in the bedroom and shut the door. Lock it. Don’t come out until I come for you. If I’m not back in a few minutes, you call the police.”
Birdie’s frightened gaze met hers, but she nodded and quickly backtracked into the bedroom. Regina ducked into one of the other bedrooms in search of a weapon. She’d obviously stumbled into Sawyer’s room, judging by all the baseball paraphernalia. She grabbed a wooden baseball bat from the wall display and curled her hands around the handle. Her injured wrist protested the action, and her brace made her grip clumsy, but she ignored the discomfort and gripped the bat tighter.
Crap. It was an autographed bat. She didn’t want to know by whom. Sawyer would kick her ass if she cracked his bat on someone’s head.
Ignoring the twinge in her ribs, she hurried to the stairs and silently crept down. When she reached the bottom, she flattened herself against the wall and peered around to the living room.
She strained to hear any sounds, but silence lay heavy over the house. Only the hum of the refrigerator could be heard.
The sound had come from the back. Not the French doors. Was there a door into the kitchen from the back? She honestly couldn’t remember.
She whipped around the corner and strode into the kitchen, bat up and ready to swing. She froze when she saw the wide-open door. Damn it all to hell. She was here without her gun in an unfamiliar house.
Her gaze fell on the cordless phone lying on the counter by the sink. She inched her way over, still listening for any sound within the house. Birdie. She’d left Birdie alone upstairs. Christ.
She snatched up the phone and raced back to the stairs. “Birdie, it’s me, let me in,” she said outside the door.
Birdie opened the door immediately, and Regina strode in. She shut the door and locked it again, then motioned Birdie to move away.
As she started to punch in Jeremy’s number, she glanced up at Birdie. “Jesus. I don’t even know where we are, Birdie. Can you tell Jeremy how to get out here?”
At Birdie’s nod, Regina put the phone to her ear and silently urged Jeremy to answer.
“Miller here.”
“Jeremy, thank God.”
