Dee shook off her distracting thoughts. “No. Of course not. We all have to eat, right?”
Emily’s face smoothed into a smile. “You’re cool. Good.” The sheets rustled. A small slurp sounded, before Emily continued, “Okay, so your guy blew out. How did you end up with a bottle of Windex and a broom?”
“I’m helping out to pay my bill until the storm passes.”
Emily set her cup on the end table. “Must have been some party last night.”
At least she could answer that one honestly. “I don’t remember.”
“That really bites.” Sticking her finger into the center of her doughnut, she scooped out the filling. She sucked it clean and flung the rest of the pastry in the trash can. “Do you think my brother’s hot?”
Dee’s hand froze on the mirror. “Pardon?”
“Hot. A real hottie. Good-looking. Well, for an old guy, anyway.”
How old am I? The question blindsided her. When would she get used to questioning the most elementary things about herself and coming up empty? Hopefully she wouldn’t have to.
So how old was she? Emily seemed a child. Jacob Stone looked to be around thirty and felt like a contemporary. Dee decided that put her somewhere in her early thirties, as well.
She swiped along the edges of the mirror. No one could call Jacob anything but virile. “He’s not exactly ancient.”
Emily grinned smugly before continuing. “He doesn’t live here in this dump, in case you were wondering. He’s in the Air Force, stationed in South Carolina. He’s an in-flight mechanic for one of the big cargo planes,” she said with unmistakable pride as she shifted the baby to the other side to feed. “He’s served a lot of time in the Middle East. He even got hurt on a mission last Christmas.”
His broad chest in that T-shirt came to mind, along with the sling he’d first worn. “That must have been scary for you.”
The teen stared down at her baby’s head and smoothed a hand over the fine blond hair. “It’s been a tough couple of months, with having Madison, then Jacob getting hurt and Dad dying.”
Dee ached to hug the young girl carrying so many adult problems at once. She started to move toward her when Emily tossed back her head with a smile and stand-off bravado. “So, do you think Jacob is hot?”
“Not meaning to be rude, but I just met the guy and I’m not in any position for a relationship right now.” She wasn’t up to matching wits with the ponytail contingent. “Um, I really need to make that bed.”
“Sure, no problem.” Emily secured the baby in the cradle of her arms and moved to a chair. “I didn’t mean to get in the way. I just don’t get as much time to talk to people as I used to.”
Those simply spoken words without even a hint of self-pity tugged at Dee more than if the girl had poured out buckets of tears. She understood too well the fear from losing control of her world.
“I appreciate the company.” Dee scooped off the musty spread and whipped a fresh one into a fluttering parachute over the bed. “Want to tell me about your boyfriend?”
“His name’s Chase. He’s, like, so hot,” she said, her dialect an odd mix of Generation Y meets farm town as she listed his every “awesome” attribute.>He leaned on his shovel as if trying to decide whether to push the clothing issue further. Blowing snow hovered around his booted feet as he shifted his gaze to the truck sweeping through the parking lot. He stuffed the shovel into a drift. “Come on inside, and I’ll get you set up.”
Dee started up the steps. “How many rooms will you need cleaned if the tour bus shows?”
When he didn’t answer, she pivoted at the door. Jacob knelt at the base of the porch, scooping his fingers through snow. How odd. But she didn’t dare rush him.
Jacob shaped the handful and arced his arm back. He let the snowball fly, nailing the truck’s hood. The Ford kept rumbling forward. He packed together a second missile and thudded the back window. The truck stopped.
The driver’s-side window rolled down and a teenage face poked out, a face with a hefty addiction to eyeliner. “Yeah, bro? Did I miss someplace?”
“Park it, Emily. School’s canceled. Build a snowman or something.” He blew into his cupped hands, wincing as he moved the arm that had been in a sling earlier.
“I’m almost through here.” Wind streaked her wheat-blond ponytail, revealing the crimson strip dyed through.
“You’re done now.”
“Sure, Jacob. Whatever.” She rolled up the window, kicked the truck in gear and proceeded to plow the next row.
Jacob lobbed another snowball into the retreating truck bed. “Damn fool girl.”
“Her or me?” Dee couldn’t resist mumbling.