“I don’t need to feed them because they’re going to eat the poor babies,” I wailed, tears streaming down my face. “And now I’ve got Alexa’s killer juju in my house, talking to me through a device named after her.”
There was a moment’s silence, then Carter said slowly, “Baby, keep an eye on the tank, and I’ll be over after I do a quick stop at the pet place before it closes. Alexa isn’t going to pop through a device and kill you, so you’re all good.”
I could hear him moving around and the clinking of his keys as he moved and breathed a sigh of relief. Though it had to be noted, it didn’t stop me from crying and praying the babies made it without becoming fish food.
He stayed on the phone with me the whole time, and by the time he got to my house, I’d calmed down and was smiling at how jerky and cute the baby fish were.
“I’ve got this little thing we stick onto the side of the tank for the fry to go into,” Carter told me as he walked through the door, rattling a box. “I also got some special food for them because they can’t eat normal fish food.”
Setting up their little nursery was easy, and then came the hard part. Catching the little buggers.
Apparently I was stupid because there hadn’t only been five babies. Hiding in different areas of the tank had been many, many more.
We’d begun with using the net to catch them, but then I’d panicked when I couldn’t reach some without risking squishing them, so Carter disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a turkey baster—one I’d never used because I didn’t baste my turkeys.
I know it was sacrilegious but come the hell on. By the time that fat bastard went into the oven, who wanted to pull it out and squirt its juices all over it again? Okay, most of the population probably did it, but I couldn’t be bothered with that, so I never had.
Sue me! At least I had a baster in case I ever caught a wild hair and gave in to the turkey basting pressure.
I’d thought it would be easy to catch the babies, but by the time we were done, I was drained and my hands were shaking.
Before I could say anything to Carter, though, there was a knock on the door.
“You expecting anyone?”
Shaking my head, I finished drying off my hands and made to go to answer it, hoping it wasn’t an innocent looking woman who was actually a serial killer, but Carter held me back.
“While I’m here, I do shit like this for you, baby. You’re not expecting anyone, and you’ve had a shitty day, so you stay here and give the babies some of their food.”
Allow me to describe the relief something as small as this gave me. As a single parent, I was responsible for everything. The money, the bills, the food, the clothing, the medical needs, the emotional needs—every fucking thing landed on me, and until that moment, I hadn’t realized how heavy a weight it was. Opening the door for me might seem like a small thing, but it really wasn’t.
“Does Naomi Kelly live here?” a deep voice asked, sounding almost formal instead of friendly.
“She does. Who are you?” Carter was still wearing most of his uniform, so I hoped if it was someone coming to kill me, they handed themselves in before they even tried to do it. That’d be the smart thing to do.
Then again, if it was a criminal, it probably went without saying they disagreed that crime wasn’t smart…
“It’s a private matter. Could you please get Ms. Kelly for me?”
Curious, I crept toward the hallway leading to the front door.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that unless you tell me who you are. As you can see, I’m a police officer, and the safety of Ms. Kelly is my priority.”
The visitor must have realized Carter wasn’t going to bend because he finally gave up the information. “Name’s Sid Osborne, and I’m here on behalf of my client, Mr. Jeremy Kelly.”
Moving into the hallway, which brought me about six feet away from where they were, I frowned at the guy.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize either of your names.” His client had the same last name as me, but Kelly wasn’t exactly a rare surname, so that didn’t mean much.
Carter shot me an irritated look over his shoulder before he shifted slightly like he was trying to block me from the guy’s sight.
“What exactly does your client want with Ms. Kelly, Mr. Osborne?”
Clearing his throat, the guy smiled awkwardly at me. “Ms. Kelly, I have a letter from Jeremy here for you, explaining who he is. I just need you to sign for it.”