“I’m a chemist by trade—” Lucas pshawed but Stan did a great job of pretending he didn’t exist. “—and I… well… I acted like a fool and ended up in your daughter’s hospital.”
There were many gaps in those couple sentences, but Ma, who’d raised a lot of kids in her time, discerned something few could because, apparently all set on the question front, she tapped her hands to her knees. “Would you like a sandwich, Stan?”
He stiffened. “Excuse me, ma’am?”
“You have cotton wool in your ears? Are you hungry?”
I pinched him, hoping he’d pick up on what I was trying to tell him.
“Oh! Yes, ma’am. That’d be lovely.”
Ma nodded, the movement brisk, before she got to her feet and headed for the kitchen. On the way, she aimed at my brothers, “You keep your traps shut. If I hear cross words, then I’ll forget how to make that millionaire shortbread you love.”
Because weallloved that millionaire shortbread, tense silence filtered among us as she took her leave.
Neev was the first to breach it. “God, it’s been years since I’ve seen you cry.” Her hand settled cautiously on my knee. “How are you doing?”
I scrabbled to cling onto her fingers. “I’m f-fine. Today was a lot. I wasn’t ready to go into work, but I knew I had to, and then my boss wouldn’t let me take some time off. Just traveling into the city was hard, never mind actually fulfilling a shift. I-I’m tired and aching,” I admitted to the room.
“Do you want to come home with me,duci?”
“Can we stay here?”
His eyes caught mine. “Wecan. Of course.”
I sagged into him. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for this.” He pressed another kiss to my temple. “Do you want to go to bed now?”
“Please.”
He carefully maneuvered us until we stood beside the couch. Carrying me over to the kitchen, a wise move as Cade and Lucas looked set to pounce, he dipped his head into the doorway.
“Ma’am? Kitty needs to rest?—”
“That’s fine, Custanzu. I’ll bring a tray up for the pair of you.”
“You don’t have to do that?—”
“Nonsense. See to my girl.” Ma peered at us. “Shehasbeen treated by a doctor, hasn’t she?”
“Yes, Ma. That… same night.”
She crinkled the wrapper in her hand. “We’ll talk later about you being more closed off than a jail door, Catriona. For now, rest. I’ll pop up with some hot chocolate for you.”
“With the Irish marshmallows?” I inquired hopefully.
“Hmm.” To Stan, she ordered, “You’ll be staying the night?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You’ll be the first boy that my girls haven’t sneaked in. This’ll be a new experience for all of us.”
“Ma!” I croaked in mortification, but she wafted us away with a smirk.
Then, just as we crossed the threshold into the hall, she cleared her throat.
Stan, proving he could be sensible sometimes, stilled.
