Megan smiled. “Told them and the sheriff every minute detail.”
Gretchen knew what she was doing, walking straight for the son of a bitch. God, the woman had guts. Too many, in Megan’s opinion. Gretchen just might’ve done it, but at point-blank range the woman would’ve walked away with much more than a flesh wound.
Everyone, including Gretchen, believed Megan had saved her life. She wasn’t so sure, but she was certainly glad that Gretchen was still alive.
“I guess I’ll have to fix them English breakfasts every day for a while before they are willing again to let me out of the mansion.” Gretchen giggled.
“Not until Doc Ryder releases you, young lady,” Eric said in a commanding yet cheerful tone.
“He’s barely out of medical school. I know my body, boys. I can run circles around you right now.”
“Keep it up and we’ll call Doc Ryder back,” Scott said. “You can deal with him yourself. But we will be looking forward to those meals once he does give you his seal of approval.”
“See, Megan. If you want to win my boys over, always aim for their stomachs.” Gretchen held up both her hands in a sign of surrender. “Fine. I’ll do as you say, but there’s going to be hell to pay if this house isn’t kept to my standards, young people.”
“Two days is all he asked from you. I think we can keep The Knight Mansion running for forty-eight hours, Gretchen.” Scott leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.
“It’s not as easy as you might think, lad.”
Eric’s eyes sparkled brightly. “We won’t do half, hell, a quarter of the kind of job you do for us.”
“Right about that,” Gretchen said.
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
The dear woman sighed. “My sweet boys. Do your best. I’ll fix whatever you miss when I get up. And don’t you make my precious girl here lift a finger.”
“I bet I know more about a vacuum cleaner than either of them do,” Megan said.
“You might indeed.” Gretchen took the cup of tea Megan had brought her and raised her pinkie as she took a sip. “For now, I suppose I’m a woman of leisure.”
“How does it feel?” Megan asked.
“It sucks.”
They all burst into laughter, which felt great.
“Ethel is coming over in a little bit to sit with you,” Megan told her.
Gretchen’s eyes widened. “You’ve called in the Irish?”
“She’s not Irish, and you know it,” Scott said.
“She’s married to two of them. That makes her Irish in my book.” Gretchen smiled. “Why is she coming over anyway?”
“We’re taking Megan out tonight.” Eric squeezed her hand.
Gretchen grabbed her other hand and squeezed. “Thank you, dear. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t been so courageous.”
“We both were brave, Gretchen.”
“Not true.” The sweet woman’s normally strong voice shook. “This old fool might’ve gotten us all killed if not for you.”
Megan squeezed Gretchen’s hands back. “Let’s just leave it that we both were foolish and courageous. That’s why we’re still here.”
“How is Erica Coleman doing?” Gretchen asked.
Eric answered, “The black eye will heal, but Sawyer and Reed tell me she’s suffering from a big case of guilt. That’s going to take longer to get over.”