to my apartment flew open
just as Rachel made it to her doorway holding a tray of glasses
filled with orange juice. Babs looked at me, then at the crying
boy, then across to where Rachel and Maddie were still standing in
their doorway.
“ Sheesh, what’d you do,
Soupy?”
All I’d done was come home. Now wasn’t
time to argue my innocence, though. I had to sort out what needed
to be done first because everyone was just standing around crying
and no one was taking control of the situation.
“ Go get a broom and dustpan
so we can clean this up,” I grumbled at him.
“ I can do that,” Rachel
said. But she didn’t have any shoes on, either. Hell, now that I
looked around, no one had shoes on but me.
“ No, go set your tray down
and put some shoes on.”
“ Mommy,” Tuck sobbed,
“Pumpkin runned away.”
Fuck, Pumpkin must be the cat. I’d
already forgotten about the cat.
I must have looked as lost as I felt.
Babs picked up the little boy and tossed him over his shoulder.
“Come on, Ginger Ninja. You and me need to go rescue Pumpkin.” Then
he took off in the direction the cat had gone. By the time they
rounded the corner, the boy’s cries had turned to
giggles.
Rachel had gone back inside, hopefully
to get her shoes on.
I looked back at Maddie, who hadn’t
moved a muscle since I’d shouted at her. A line of red was
streaming down her right leg, starting just below her knee and
ending as it met her sock, which had a growing red spot.
“ Looks like you’ve got a
cut,” I said. I tried to keep my voice calm and smooth. The last
thing I needed was to scare the little girl again. She seemed kind
of skittish and wary, in a way that made me think of Dana. At least
of how Dana was until last spring.
Maddie nodded, her eyes wide, but she
didn’t say anything.
I took a few steps closer, closing the
distance between us a little at a time. “Does it hurt?”
She nodded again.
“ Okay. I’m gonna move you
away from the glass. I’ll just pick you up—”
I hadn’t closed the distance to her
yet when Rachel darted back out into the hall and picked her
daughter up, then carried her into her condo.
She left a trail of bloody footprints
in her wake.
“ Damn it,” I muttered under
my breath. Rachel hadn’t put her shoes on. Now instead of just
having one little girl with cuts to deal with, her mother’s feet
were all torn to shreds, too. A trip to the emergency room hadn’t
been in my plans for today.
I set Maddie down on the dining room table and knelt in front
of her to examine the cut. It didn’t look too bad, all things
considered. Probably more scary looking than it was serious.
Definitely not bad enough to call 9-1-1 or rush her off to a
doctor.
I felt Brenden coming in behind me
before I heard him. My intuition was just wired that way these
days. “Can you get me a washcloth from the kitchen sink?” I asked
him as I gingerly felt Maddie’s cut with the tip of my finger. She
sucked in a breath, but I didn’t feel anything sticking out. That
was good. That meant I shouldn’t have to dig around in there with
tweezers to pull out a piece of glass.
The faucet came on for a minute, and
then Brenden came up behind me. “You need to sit in a chair and let
me look at your feet.”
“ Her feet are fine,” I
said, exasperation edging my voice. I reached behind me and grabbed
the washcloth. At least he’d thought to use warm water. I dabbed it
against Maddie’s cut and then pulled it away for another look.
“Maddie didn’t move, even though you shouted at her loud enough to
wake the dead.”
“ He means your feet,
Mommy.”
My feet were fine. A lot more fine
than he would have been if he’d dared to lay a finger on my baby
girl.
If I allowed myself to think
rationally, I knew he only meant to help. I knew he wasn’t going to
do anything to hurt her. But there was nothing rational left in my
mind, not after what Jason had done to her. He’d stolen the part of
me that could trust
just as Rachel made it to her doorway holding a tray of glasses
filled with orange juice. Babs looked at me, then at the crying
boy, then across to where Rachel and Maddie were still standing in
their doorway.
“ Sheesh, what’d you do,
Soupy?”
All I’d done was come home. Now wasn’t
time to argue my innocence, though. I had to sort out what needed
to be done first because everyone was just standing around crying
and no one was taking control of the situation.
“ Go get a broom and dustpan
so we can clean this up,” I grumbled at him.
“ I can do that,” Rachel
said. But she didn’t have any shoes on, either. Hell, now that I
looked around, no one had shoes on but me.
“ No, go set your tray down
and put some shoes on.”
“ Mommy,” Tuck sobbed,
“Pumpkin runned away.”
Fuck, Pumpkin must be the cat. I’d
already forgotten about the cat.
I must have looked as lost as I felt.
Babs picked up the little boy and tossed him over his shoulder.
“Come on, Ginger Ninja. You and me need to go rescue Pumpkin.” Then
he took off in the direction the cat had gone. By the time they
rounded the corner, the boy’s cries had turned to
giggles.
Rachel had gone back inside, hopefully
to get her shoes on.
I looked back at Maddie, who hadn’t
moved a muscle since I’d shouted at her. A line of red was
streaming down her right leg, starting just below her knee and
ending as it met her sock, which had a growing red spot.
“ Looks like you’ve got a
cut,” I said. I tried to keep my voice calm and smooth. The last
thing I needed was to scare the little girl again. She seemed kind
of skittish and wary, in a way that made me think of Dana. At least
of how Dana was until last spring.
Maddie nodded, her eyes wide, but she
didn’t say anything.
I took a few steps closer, closing the
distance between us a little at a time. “Does it hurt?”
She nodded again.
“ Okay. I’m gonna move you
away from the glass. I’ll just pick you up—”
I hadn’t closed the distance to her
yet when Rachel darted back out into the hall and picked her
daughter up, then carried her into her condo.
She left a trail of bloody footprints
in her wake.
“ Damn it,” I muttered under
my breath. Rachel hadn’t put her shoes on. Now instead of just
having one little girl with cuts to deal with, her mother’s feet
were all torn to shreds, too. A trip to the emergency room hadn’t
been in my plans for today.
I set Maddie down on the dining room table and knelt in front
of her to examine the cut. It didn’t look too bad, all things
considered. Probably more scary looking than it was serious.
Definitely not bad enough to call 9-1-1 or rush her off to a
doctor.
I felt Brenden coming in behind me
before I heard him. My intuition was just wired that way these
days. “Can you get me a washcloth from the kitchen sink?” I asked
him as I gingerly felt Maddie’s cut with the tip of my finger. She
sucked in a breath, but I didn’t feel anything sticking out. That
was good. That meant I shouldn’t have to dig around in there with
tweezers to pull out a piece of glass.
The faucet came on for a minute, and
then Brenden came up behind me. “You need to sit in a chair and let
me look at your feet.”
“ Her feet are fine,” I
said, exasperation edging my voice. I reached behind me and grabbed
the washcloth. At least he’d thought to use warm water. I dabbed it
against Maddie’s cut and then pulled it away for another look.
“Maddie didn’t move, even though you shouted at her loud enough to
wake the dead.”
“ He means your feet,
Mommy.”
My feet were fine. A lot more fine
than he would have been if he’d dared to lay a finger on my baby
girl.
If I allowed myself to think
rationally, I knew he only meant to help. I knew he wasn’t going to
do anything to hurt her. But there was nothing rational left in my
mind, not after what Jason had done to her. He’d stolen the part of
me that could trust
Similar Books
