“We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” My tone is firm. “After you take Lillie to preschool.”
Eleanor starts to speak, but I shoot her a look that says don’t you dare.
Her chin lifts, and she wraps her robe tighter around her body before stalking from the room as if she has a reason to be offended.
“Eleanor.” I call after her, and she pauses in the hallway outside the door. “I’ll secure you a place in Eagleton Manor tomorrow. I want you out of my house by the end of the day.”
Her lips part as if she’s about to say something. I only shut Lillie’s door in her face.
27
Ruby
I don’t expect to get much sleep after snuggling Lillie into bed with me. She sniffled all through her bath, and now with her little head resting on my chest, I can still feel her crying.
“Stop crying now, Lil.” My voice is soothing and I pick at her damp curls with my fingertips. “You just scared us. That’s all. It looked like you were bleeding.”
“I just wanted to squeeze them. I didn’t know they would pop.” Her little body tenses against me, and her chin dips. “Gigi thinks I’m a bad girl.”
I don’t say what I’m thinking. Gigi thinks everybody’s a bad girl.
Instead I give her a little hug. “She does not. She’s your grandmother. She thinks you poop roses.”
That turns the tears into giggles, at least for a moment. “Daddy won’t get me a puppy now. I’m not re-sponsible.”
She says the word slowly, as if she’s sounding it out, and my lips press into a frown. “I think your daddy might have forgotten about the puppy. I’ll remind him to think about it tomorrow.”
“No! Don’t remind him tomorrow. Wait til Saturday.”
I suppose when you’re four, one day makes a big difference. Too bad it’s not that way for grown-ups. “Okay, I’ll wait. Now you have school tomorrow. We need to sleep.”
She’s quiet, and I continue playing with her soft curls, tracing my finger along her arm. My heart hurts thinking what I have to do. It’s the first time in the three weeks I’ve been here she’s actually needed me in the night. Now I have to leave her.
I can’t help feeling like I’m abandoning her to the Wicked Witch of the West. Only… I guess the witch has been evicted. I wonder if Remi realizes what he’s done. I fall asleep with a frown on my face, and by morning, Lillie’s foot is under my chin, and I’m lying diagonally in the bed.
It’s hard to believe I started the night blissed out in Remi’s arms.
“Come on, butter bean. Time to get moving.” I pick up the sleeping Lillie and carry her to her bedroom.
She lets out a little whine, but I get her started brushing her teeth. Then I lay out a cute little sack dress and leggings on her bare mattress. No sign of ketchup anywhere. Remi must have carried all the sheets downstairs after I took her to bed.
When we arrive in the kitchen, Lillie and I are both dressed for the day, and I’m surprised to see a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast waiting on the bar. Glancing around, I don’t see anyone in the living room or the patio. I can’t imagine Eleanor did this. She was shooting fire from her nostrils last night. Dragon lady… Stephen was right.
I scoop breakfast onto a plate for Lillie and put a mug in the Keurig before walking down the narrow hall to the laundry room. “Eat up, Lil. I’ll just check on your sheets.”
Rounding the corner, I almost bump straight into Remi, who’s holding a bottle of Spray and Wash and looking confused.
“Hey! Did you make breakfast?” I don’t know why I feel awkward around him. After all we’ve shared, you’d think I’d start being comfortable.
Maybe the problem is all we’ve shared.
“Yeah, is it still warm? I wasn’t sure how much sleep you got after last night.” He seems worried, like it’s not my job to take care of Lillie.
“I managed to get a few more hours. You?”
“Nah, I was pretty much done for after that.” He returns to the bottle. “You said the sheets were probably ruined. I’m afraid you might be right. I treated them with this last night, but I can’t tell if it’s making much of a difference.”
“Don’t tell me you know your way around a laundry room.” Teasing helps me relax a little.