Chapter 44
There was movement in the hallway. From the kitchen.
Not unusual in this place. Daniel had learned that early on.
There was very rarely a quiet moment at Coleson Castle, unless it was between the hours of two a.m. and five a.m. It was shortly before two now.
And…they had extra kids in the house. Heather’s demon of a twin had dropped her children off and practically ran for the door, stating an emergency with a patient.
They had a real system in place for those kinds of situations, apparently.
Someone was always coming in and out, and there were fifteen children in this place at one time or another.
Seventeen, one memorable night, when a friend of one of the women had dropped off two little blond boys and rushed out in the other direction.
A doctor from County Gen, he thought. All he remembered was a really pretty woman with blonde curly hair, dimples, thick glasses and a thank you for babysitting.
She’d looked at Daniel and said “Wow, someone caught a really pretty one this time, didn’t they?
” and that was it. The boys had been gone when Daniel had made it back to the kitchen the next morning.
They’d just stared at him over dinner that night. All of the kids liked to stare at him, Heather’s little girl especially. She was constantly asking him if her mother could come home from the hospital yet, in a lisp he would never forget.
She didn’t understand why Auntie Hope had gotten to come home, and Commander Butthead had after he was ‘shotted’, but not her own mother. Shots only hurt for a little bit and then you got a sticker from Auntie Joy.
She thought Heather had gotten vaccinated and should be home by now.
Her innocent confusion was heartbreaking.
And the way she looked at him, it was just like Heather.
All he had been able to tell her was that her mom was getting better every day, just like he was, but he didn’t need as much help from the doctors as her mom did. He didn’t think his explanation had helped one bit.
She’d given him the angry look her mother was so good at and just waited. And waited.
Bonnie had scooped her up and rescued him, distracting the little girl with a Wonkus McBubbles story or video.
At one point, she’d even let the little girl text “Hi!” to Cousin Quade Wonkus in California for a few minutes—the guy had actually answered, too.
Then they had to find California on the map and read about it on the kid web browser Frankie was allowed to use, and watch a YouTube video about California for kids.
Daniel had actually learned a few things—he’d been required to read the longer paragraphs for her.
That kid was insatiable when it came to information. And she was quick, too.
Who had ever heard of a three-year-old being able to read already?
Frankie was already planning her next ‘bay-cation’. To California.
She was planning to take her mommy there very soon, so her mommy could see the ocean and pet a starfish.
Her mommy would love to pet a starfish, Frankie was sure of it.
Baby Ember had to go to California, too.
Baby Ember needed to be with her mommy since she was a little baby.
And sisters taked care of sisters no matter what.
Frankie was Heather through and through.
The baby looked just like Hope, though. And Crispin.
Somehow, he’d ended up holding Heather’s youngest daughter multiple times.
She’d be plopped into his arms, along with a bottle.
He knew what he was supposed to do—and Daniel was too frightened not to do what he was told. By any of them. From Frankie on up.
The rest of the Colesons—they didn’t trust him. He’d have to be a fool to assume they did.
He heard a woman’s voice grumbling—from the refrigerator. From the wild blonde curls, he knew who it was. “Dr. Coleson-Greene?”
She yelped, and spun. A very beautiful woman stared back at him now.
“Commander Butthead! You should be asleep. Not in my fam’s kitchen, while I am…
dressed like this. Your body can’t really heal if you push yourself too hard.
Of course, I know how cops like you are, though.
I have learned, I have learned. We almost had to tape Miggy to the couch long enough for him to heal.
We probably would have had better luck taping him to Hope’s bed, honestly, but well…
that’s a little too kinky to think about, don’t you think?
I’m not so sure Hope would even know what to do with a man like that if she found him right there in her bed waiting and everything. ”
Miguel probably would be able to explain, Daniel was sure of it. Quickly. Considering.
Daniel hadn’t forgotten. He hadn’t been able to look at the gremlin the same since that night.
Joy shut the doors to the refrigerator. Then moved into the light. Daniel almost swallowed his tongue, seeing her more fully. She wore nothing but a tiny sunny yellow nightie. The kind designed to tempt a man to sin and thank the gods above while he did it.
The kind a man could see through.
He must have made some sort of noise. She looked down.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. A little scandalous, isn’t it?
This was the first thing I grabbed. I had…
well…I had to borrow some scrubs from Eddie’s locker at the hospital and they were too long.
Mom or Heather usually hem scrub pants for me or Samia, mine need washed, and Samia’s locker was empty and I was in a hurry, and I was soaked.
I took a quick shower when I got back from the hospital but…
I think this is Cashie’s, honestly. Yellow C on the tag.
She loves yellow, says it’s such a sunny color.
I am trying not to think about why that niece of mine needs something cut like this, though—she is definitely not old enough to enjoy the results of it—well, come to think of it, I did have something very similar after I met Nick and I was the same age she is now, so…
who am I to judge, considering the things I have done?
Which…we will not discuss. You are not old enough or world wise enough for that conversation.
My Nick loved that old thing. I think I still have it in the back of my dresser at home.
You don’t mind, do you? I can grab the matching silk robe…
but, damn I am starving…Are you hungry? Want to share?
” She shot him a beautiful smile. “We can…talk, just the two of us. Has it ever been just the two of us, alone? I don’t think it has. ”
This woman was more diabolical than Heather or Hope. He had learned that early on. But…she was almost a decade older than Hope. Only three years younger than Daniel himself. And far more…experienced with men. She knew what she was doing, dressed like that.
He suspected the little blonde monster liked it, too. She was just as dangerous as her sisters. It took him half a moment to find his tongue—that silk was cut low. “I’m good, but if you’d feel more comfortable with the robe…”
Please, let her grab a robe. Maybe one that went all the way to the floor and covered her to her neck. That would be a good place to start.
It had been a long time for him. And even though he felt pathetically weak, he could make things work for a woman like this. He could definitely make things work for a woman like this.
“It’s awfully hot in here. I don’t mind if you don’t mind, okay?
We’ll just keep it our little secret.” She shot him a wicked little look, one just designed to get a man all hot and bothered, and settled onto the bar stool at the kitchen island.
Hot, was the only word he could really think of right now.
Bothered. Definitely. She had a plate full enough to feed half of Major Crimes in front of her.
“We are both mature adults here. I swear, I have missed more meals since transferring to FCGH than I want to think about. I think I have lost thirty pounds since then. I felt a little queasy this morning, actually, but now, I feel fine. Wide awake and totally starving. And of course, my kids will probably be up in like three hours, wanting mommy. So, tell me…Tell me about the great Daniel McKellen.”
“Why? I’m not that interesting.” Not as interesting as she was.
She was slightly fuller figured than Hope—he was now very well aware of that—but not by much.
Still…this woman was far more his age than Hope.
Daniel was definitely recuperating just fine.
At least parts of him were, apparently. “Not as much as you. Tell me, how did you meet Nick?”
That…that was one of things he was supposed to find out. About her husband. He had to remember that.
He’d reviewed the case file on her husband and his death, had even looked at Greene’s TSP jacket to see if there were any signs he’d been involved in what Steve Wilson and his friends in Wichita Falls had been doing.
As far as he could tell, Nick Greene had just been an innocent victim of Gregory Eastman, who happened to be a cop.
It was a cop’s widow looking back at him now, a look in those big dark eyes of hers.
All of Heather Coleson’s family, from her baby girl, all the way up to Bonnie, had those big brown eyes. With one exception: Crispin’s were heterochromic. Those eyes burned into a man forever.