Chapter 21
twenty-one
EMILY
I pace across the kitchen floor again, bouncing Livvy in her chest harness.
She’s been an angel since Daddy and Mac went to Jersey to stake out Sacrum again.
Even without Logan to give her a bath and put her to bed last night, she went down at ten o’clock on the dot for her big sleep and slept through until half-past seven.
Yes, she slept in our bed but Daddy doesn’t need to know that.
It’s really hard for me to lower her into her crib without waking her.
Daddy’s so tall, he just bends at the waist but I have to go up on my tip-toes and then lower her off my chest and she startles like I’m dropping her and starts crying.
Climbing into our bed with her last night was so much easier.
Livvy’s not what’s gotten me pacing.
I’m pacing in part because I’m excited to meet Joker’s B.
Daddy and Mac are bringing her to breakfast. Well, brunch.
But still, how exciting is that? A real-life thief!
I have all kinds of questions for her. How did she find Sacrum?
How did she first get in? How did she evade the posse?
Does she know how to pick locks? How did she avoid Daddy’s cameras?
Sooo many questions. I hope Daddy will let me ask some of them.
The second reason I’m pacing is because of the letter that arrived this morning. It was addressed to me, so I opened it but I wish I’d waited until Daddy was back.
It was from Miranda.
Dear Emily,
I implore you to let me see my baby. I feel like I’m dying without her.
You must have held her. You know her baby smell, how soft she is in your arms. Please let me hold her just one more time.
You know Logan’s punishing me by keeping me away from Olivia.
You know this is a monstrous thing to do.
He’s hurting Olivia as well as me. You heard the way she cried for me.
I’ve come all this way. I’m staying at the First Park hotel.
Bring my baby to me. Do the right thing, Emily.
Miranda
I don’t know what to do. I do know that baby smell, and how soft Livvy feels in my arms. I can’t imagine anyone taking her away from us now and she’s not even mine. I don’t want to feel any sympathy for Miranda but I do. I hate what we’re putting her through.
But I trust my Daddy. He’s cut off contact with her for good reasons.
I don’t want to know what horrible things she did that resulted in the judge taking away custody of her baby—I mean, even more horrible than tricking Daddy into getting her pregnant, which is horrible enough on its own—I absolutely trust Daddy’s reasoning.
But it does feel cruel.
I’m glad I’m not a daddy. My heart is much too soft.
The doorbell rings and I abandon my pacing to answer it.
Sable’s there before me, weaving back and forth on the welcome mat and sniffing.
I know it’s not Daddy. Manny only picked up everyone in Jersey twenty minutes ago, so they’ll be a while.
But there are lots of other people coming to this meeting, so I’m not sure who will arrive first.
I check the door cam and disable the security when I see Mistress Maude. She walks through; a young man a few inches taller than Maude follows her closely. He’s wearing a gray hoodie pulled up around his face under a big overcoat and loose sweatpants. That tells me he’s wearing his fursuit today.
I hold my hands out for his outer-wear. Georgie kisses me on the cheek and peels off his coat, hoodie, and sweatpants carefully.
He’s been really generous about letting me inspect his fursuit.
I know other fursons are not cool with having their fursuits handled.
Georgie’s mouse-suit is the softest, finest synthetic fur.
He says it’s durable but I’ve noticed he’s careful with it, particularly when he’s putting clothes on over it or taking them off.
He straightens his hood, lining up the ears, takes his paws out of his coat pocket and puts them on. He leaves his mouse-face off.
“I don’t want to scare the baby,” he says.
Mistress Maude strokes his shoulder. “There’s nothing scary about your mouse-face, darling. Livvy will be enchanted.”
Georgie’s eyes search mine. “Do you think so?”
I think babies are adaptable. “Put it on and let’s see,” I suggest.
Sable chooses that moment to start winding around Georgie’s ankles and purring like a motorboat. Georgie shakes his head. “Not today. I’m going to eat anyway. Better not to eat with my mouse-face on.”
Mistress Maude sighs softly and strokes Georgie’s nape. She slips off her high-heeled boots and they follow me through to the kitchen.
I’ve set up a buffet with breakfasty foods, including bacon, sausage links, scrambled eggs, and waffles.
The waffles were a special request in Daddy’s text this morning telling me to expect about a dozen people for brunch, which is odd because he usually prefers crepes but it’s no trouble to make waffles.
Everything’s covered to keep it warm, and the eggs and meat are on the small hot plate I brought from Syracuse.
But I think I’ll ask Daddy to add some of those big food warmers that are heated with paraffin burners to our budget.
We’re entertaining so often now that he’s recovered, it makes sense to have bigger warmers.
I start to make tea for Mistress Maude but Georgie gently brushes me aside after I get out a cup and teabag. He takes a small bag of loose tea and one of those pretty silver tea balls out of Maude’s bag. The resulting black tea smells heavenly.
“What is that?” I ask after I make cups of green tea for me and Georgie.
“It’s called Panda Dung but I promise there’s no poo in it,” Georgie says.
I giggle at the name.
As we’re carrying the tea to the table, the front door opens. Bren’s voice follows the sound of the heavy door closing. “Hey-ho the house,” she calls. “It’s just me.”
“We’re in the kitchen, just me,” Maude calls back.
Brenna’s grinning as she rounds the corner from the hallway.
She went to the shop this morning to do a tattoo but Master Mac asked her to come back to meet with Joker’s B.
The house is warm, although we’re all keeping our clothes on with Joker’s B coming, she’s stripped down to a T-shirt and her oxblood leather pants, her dreadlocks unbound and flowing over her shoulders.
For the first time since I’ve known her, Bren looks her age.
She’s only twenty-seven, five years younger than me but she’s been so down while I’ve known her that people always assume she’s older than me.
Today, she looks a carefree twenty-something. She walks lightly through the great room, holding open her arms. “Baby time!”
I unhook the harness and hand Livvy to Bren. Livvy kicks and coos as I pass her over, then grabs at the blue peonies tattooed on Bren’s neck. Bren lifts her up and blows a huge raspberry against Livvy’s cheek, which has the baby squealing.
“Where’s Daddy Lo and Sir?” Bren asks me as she cradles Livvy against her chest.
“Still probably fifteen or twenty minutes away, depending on the traffic.”
Bren nods. “Didn’t seem too bad as I walked over but no idea what the tunnel’s like.” She smooches Livvy’s soft head, then turns to Mistress Maude and dips her a little curtsey. “Mistress. Georgie. Good morning.”
“Good morning, dear. Georgie would like to stop by and look at your designs. I think a set of chains around his ankles would be delicious. Shall I bring him by over the weekend?”
Brenna nods. “I’m in both mornings. Georgie, if I can get a sample of your fursuit, I’ll find some ink so I can tattoo your fursuit as well as your skin, if that’s something you’d like?”
Georgie’s naturally-hooded eyes go wide. “Yes, please.”
Bren smiles at him. “I’m used to tattooing scar tissue. I do a lot of mastectomy pieces. I think it will be similar. I can try doing both your fursuit and your skin at the same time but I think it would be better if we did them separately to avoid the ink bleeding through the layers.”
“Whatever you think’s best.”
The doorbell rings again and since Bren’s got the baby, I patter off to answer it. Master Theo leans against the door frame. His expression is sour and there are deep shadows under his eyes.
“Hi, Master Theo.”
“Hi, Emmy. Everyone here?”
I shake my head. “Mistress Maude, Georgie, and DirtyGurl.”
He grunts and pushes off the door, following me into the house. He’s used to Daddy’s rules so he takes off his shoes without being asked and hands me his coat.
This is the first time since things got ugly with Brenna and the thief who stole her designs that I’ve seen Master Theo. He doesn’t seem angry or resentful at the way Daddy and Master Mac treated him, just very tired.
“Can I get you a cup of coffee, Master Theo?” I ask when we reach the kitchen.
“God, yes. Make it a double. This is going to be a long-ass day.”
“Yes, sir.” I start a pot perking, then answer the door for Mistress Dana and Austin and make them drinks, too.
Everyone’s got drinks and seats when Daddy and Mac arrive. A skinny, brown-haired girl walks between them. Her head is up, jaw jutting but her eyes dart to every face and away.
I greet her before Daddy and Mac make her feel any more like she’s walking to her own execution.
“Hi, I’m Emily. It’s so nice to meet you.” I hold both hands out.
She glances at my hands like she’s not sure what to do. Then she bursts into tears.
I look to Brenna, who hands Olivia off to Mac and comes up on the girl’s other side. We put our arms around her. Maude fishes a pack of tissues out of her bag and passes them over to us. I help the girl mop up her tears.
“It’s okay,” I reassure her. “You’re in a safe place.”
She blows her nose and looks around uncertainly. “I don’t know.”
“I promise it is. Would you like some breakfast? I made sausages and bacon and lots of waffles.”
“You really made waffles?”