Chapter Fifteen
Heather
On Thursday, I received a surprise phone call from Tess. I was in my kitchen, whipping up a quick dinner of ravioli and Romaine salad for Avery and me.
“Hi, Heather!”
“Hey, this is a nice surprise.”
“So, listen, I’ve heard through the Winchester grapevine that you and Ryker are going to a movie tomorrow.”
“That’s right.” I smiled, realizing slowly that there were no secrets in the Winchester family.
“Do you have someone to watch Avery? Otherwise you can bring her by at the store. Skye and I will stay here until pretty late. Now that we opened, our to-do list grew exponentially. Mom will also be here, and she said she’d love to spend some
time with Avery.”
They were offering to watch my daughter? That was so strange. They barely met us last week. But I had a hunch they were different from most people I met. They were warmer, and so was their mom. In fact, the whole family had been very friendly at the event.
“Thanks, but my neighbor and friend, Natasha, is watching her.”
“Oh, I see.”
Come to think of it, though, Natasha would probably love going to the store, and my girl always liked being in Manhattan. It would be more exciting for them than staying at home, waiting for me.
“You know what? I’ll ask Natasha if she’s up for a trip to Manhattan and let you know.”
“Perfect. What time would you be here?”
“The movie starts at six o’clock, so maybe... five thirty?”
“Let’s make it five.”
“Okay. Oh, shit. I’m overcooking the ravioli. Call you later?”
Tess laughed. “No need. Enjoy your evening. Just let me know what Natasha says.”
***
The next afternoon, Avery, Natasha, and I arrived at the store at five o’clock on the dot. My girl smiled from ear to ear when we walked inside.
“When I grow up, I want to have my own store, Mommy.”
“If you work hard, you can have whatever you want, baby.”
“This place is amazing,” Natasha said. “Most lingerie stores intimidate me, what with the tiny situation here.” She pointed to her chest. “But this is real nice.”
Skye, Tess, and Amelia were at the counter, fixing gift bags. They all beamed when they saw us.
“Girls, do you ever take a minute off?” I asked them after introducing Natasha.
“They don’t,” Amelia answered.
“Not right now. But we’re planning to take a break as soon as things actually work around here. Should be sometime in the next ten years,” Tess said.
“I’m honestly more relaxed now than when we still had our jobs,” Skye said. “At least now I get to focus all my efforts on one thing. I even have time to go on a date later this week.”
I gave her a thumbs-up. “Is this why you’re in such a good mood?”