Sawyer smiles softly, moving around to her side and helping her lift the heavy bag of cream. He lets her squeeze it. “Gently.” She nods, squeezing the cream to the top. “Very good. Now put the hat on.”
I watch them until all the puffs are filled. “Now the sugar.” He hands her the bowl with a smaller sifter. “We need to put powdered sugar on top.”
“What’s in there?”
“Powdered sugar and a little cinnamon.” He shows her how to sift the sugar over the puffs.
“Can we try one?” She keeps bouncing on the stool. She’s making me nervous.
“Kat—”
“Of course. A good pastry chef always eats their own desserts.” She giggles. He looks for a plate, bringing a pink one over. “Choose any one you want.” She thinks then gently grabs one. “Come on, Aiden. You try too.”
Carefully, I pick up one of the puffs. My mind is a mess. I don’t like this feeling. It’s squeezing my chest.
Then I take a bite and nearly moan. Goddamn. Who even thinks of something like this? Katya squeals when she takes a bite. “It’s amazing!” She’s not wrong. “Your mom made these?”
Sawyer nods, his eyes going far away. “Yeah, she did.”
“Where’s your mommy now?”
“Katya!”
Her brown eyes turn up at me. “It’s okay.” Sawyer smiles. “She passed away a couple of months ago.”
“Oh.” She looks apologetic. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He smiles a bit through the tension.
“Our mommy died too,” she says softly. “Maybe our mommies are friends now.” I know what she means, but the thought of our hateful mother befriending anyone in any afterlife is funny to me.
I didn’t know Sawyer’s mother, but if she’s anything like her son, I’m sure she was incredible and kind. “Come on, Kitty Kat. We need to find Koda and get you back home.” I look up at the clock. He better meet me soon. What the hell is he even doing? “Is it alright if I leave a bit early and take her back?”
“Oh yeah, no problem.” He smiles down at Katya. He’s so handsome it hurts. “Thank you for your help today.”
“Thank you again. Sorry about this.” Why am I apologizing? This isn’t a real job.
“It’s fine. She reminds me a bit of Jane when she was that little.”
“She’s older, right?”
“Yeah. By a year. My mom had us back to back.”
Something comes over me. Some sort of déjà vu I don’t understand. “Tell him thank you.”
She runs up to him, hugging his knees. “Thank you. I had fun.”
Sawyer’s warm eyes smile at her then lift to me. “Me too.”
We waitfor almost half an hour in the woods. “Why can’t you take me in? Why are we waiting for Koda?”
I love my sister, but this endless string of questions is only spiking my blood pressure. I bite back my temper and soften my tone. “Because you know Ivan doesn’t want me in the house.”
I don’t tell her he’s keeping me from her. For some reason I don’t want her to realize how horrible her father truly is. She’s lucky in this way to be a girl. If she were his son, she would have been broken already. Molded into a system of soldiers. At least she doesn’t have to go through that.
Speaking of Ivan’s soldiers, where the fuck is Koda? It’s nearly four, and I’d have no chance of sneaking her into the house now even if I wanted to. I wait a few more minutes. What if Koda forgot? Shit, what if something happened? I’m not sure what the hell he’s gotten himself into lately, but I don’t like it.
I stare at the clock as it turns four, and I make up my mind. I could wait a few moments, but if Katya isn’t in the house soon,that might cause a different kind of panic. What if Koda is in there now and he forgot?
