Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
There’s a sexiness about the way her wild eyes dart all over the place, checking to make sure the kids are okay and haven’t lost a limb or something.
Instead of fussing at me, she drops to the seat on the other side of Sutton’s highchair, running her hand over the child’s back.
I stand and head over to the food, piling a plate up high much like Jace did with his before bringing it and setting it in front of her. I turn back around and do the same for myself.
“Thank you,” she says when I take a seat across from her with my food.
“Welcome,” I tell her, looking away because the sight of her red-rimmed eyes makes me wish I could fix everything wrong in her world.
She cried for hours last night, tiny sobs escaping her lips in a way that told me she hasn’t had many opportunities to deal with her own loss because these three kids depended so much on her. Regardless of the situation that got them dead or the canyon between her and Janet over the last year, she lost two people she loved in a horrific way. It takes a toll on a person.
“They’re still in their pajamas,” she says, looking over the kids before taking another bite.
I shrug. “We were hungry.”
“And I get to push the button on the elevator on the way up!” Jace says excitedly.
“Did you change Sutton’s diaper?”
I freeze, my plastic fork halfway to my mouth. The scrambled eggs I scooped up fall back to the plate as I shake my head.
“We didn’t discuss—”
“I’d prefer to do it,” she rushes out.
“Of course,” I answer.
Jace nudges me. “You got lucky.”
Everyone at the table laughs, even Sutton who I’m certain has no real idea what everyone is laughing about.
We head back upstairs after everyone eats, Jace of course taking his time to press the button as if he’s trying to savor the moment. Packing is quick, and it’s just after nine when we head back out to the vehicle to get back on the road.
Instead of heading to the interstate, I make a detour to the park I looked up on my phone this morning. The kids were fit to be tied being trapped in the car yesterday, and I figure if they get tired running around and playing, it may make this next leg of the trip a little more tolerable for them.
If it takes us a lot longer to get back to New Mexico, then so be it. I don’t want everyone to be miserable.
“I don’t know that I’ve heard him laugh in a very long time,” Mila says, watching Jace run around in the pea gravel with his brother and cousin.
“He’s taken a lot of responsibility on himself. I don’t know if he was forced to do that or if he saw something missing and tried to make up for it.”
“Sad either way. Makes me curious about the toxicology results. I’ve been wondering if they were just manufacturing or if they were using, too.”
I take a deep breath before delivering the news. “It’ll be in their system just from cooking it. They’d have to have clinical-grade lab equipment to have been able to keep it out. I worry about the boys.”
“Janet would never use drugs around her kids.”
“Carlen wouldn’t either,” I say, making sure she knows that her brother-in-law was just as good a parent as Janet was. “I’m not saying they used around them, but it gets on their skin. It gets into the walls. I don’t know what was on the other side of that garage wall, but—”
“Luca’s bedroom,” she whispers, her eyes darting to the younger boy as if she’ll be able to see the things that damage could’ve caused.
“He should be fine, but we can get him looked at when we get back to New Mexico.”
Her lips form a flat line as she watches the kids. I have no doubt she’s feeling just as guilty for not knowing what they were up to as I have been.
Chapter 18
Mila
“Do you think they’re going to be a problem?” I ask when I see him dart his eyes to the other set of parents that showed up five minutes ago.
“They’re not paying enough attention to their own kids much less ours,” he mutters, annoyance lacing his words.
Ours.
As if we’re a family.
He has kept a vigilant eye on the kids and our surroundings the entire time we’ve been here. He’s capable of carrying on a conversation and watching for dangers. His vigilance is making me nervous, but maybe it’s been years of not really being concerned with my surroundings that I should feel uneasy about. How many times have I put myself and Sutton in dangerous situations just because I haven’t considered the dangers?
I haven’t been completely unsafe. There are certain places I don’t stop at if we need the restroom. I notice the creepy guy walking around the little kids clothing section in department stores. I always notice the men I mentioned yesterday that have no children with them yet they’re sitting, smiling, and watching other peoples’ kids play.