Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
KIKI EMMERSON
I wake to the smell of something wonderful downstairs. Skyler’s cute voice rings though the house so I know she’s already awake. I rush to shower and get ready so Tobias doesn’t think I’m slacking. By the time I’m ready it’s already after eight.
As I descend the stairs, Noah enters the house. Seeing a police officer still gives me a heart attack, but at least I know he’s Tobias’s brother now. The first time I saw him I thought he was there to arrest me. He looks like he’s been through the wringer, his hair mussed and his shoulders slumped.
“You okay?” I ask as I reach the bottom step.
Noah shakes his head. “Tough night. We had a domestic violence call that became a hostage situation. It was rough.”
I suck in a breath. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”
“It worked out. I’m just home late. I’m exhausted, but too keyed up to sleep.” He lifts his head. “What’s that smell?”
“I was just going to see what Violet is making. It smells divine.”
Noah falls into step beside me, and we enter the kitchen, only it’s not Violet at the oven. It’s the last Barrett brother. Levi. He turns around. “Hey, Noah,” he says. Then his gaze falls to me. He tips an imaginary hat. “Hello, ma’am. You must be the nanny.”
Bless their southern charm. I stick out my hand. “I’m Kiki.”
He wipes his hand on a towel and grips mine. “Levi.” His hair is lighter than Noah’s with a little curl to it. He’s got a boyish smile, but the rest of him is muscular, and he is definitely another heartbreaker. Why are all the Barrett men so handsome? Their parents must have been beautiful.
“What are you making?” Noah asks.
“Biscuit muffins. They should be cool now. Want some?” Levi grabs a plate full of the muffins and passes it to Noah. We each grab one.
I take a bite and it’s buttery-biscuit heaven. I can hardly believe it. “These are delicious.” I motion to Levi. “You made these?”
He nods. “I love fresh biscuits, but they’re time consuming, so I made up a recipe for biscuit muffins. It cut the time down in half. I played with the recipe until I really liked it.”
“You should sell these. They’d fly off the shelves.” I take another bite and lean against the counter. The kitchen is large for an older house, with an island in the middle, complete with barstools. Everything looks updated and modern.
“Yeah, bro. These are your best creations yet.” Noah takes another one and sits down on a barstool.
“You bake a lot?” I ask.
Levi shrugs. “I mess around a lot. It’s not really anything.”
“You should taste his chocolate chip fudge cupcakes. Divine,” Noah says between bites.
Skyler runs into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, a wide smile on her face. “Uncle Levi, you have to see this.”
“What is it?” He follows her.
“Bluey! Come see the TV.” Skyler grabs his hand and tugs him out of the room.
I chuckle and take the last bite of my biscuit. “I hope you can get some sleep.”
Noah nods. “Me too.”
I follow Skyler and Levi into the family room. Skyler points to the television, then hops around like a grasshopper while Levi tries to tickle her. “Uncle Levi, Uncle Levi!” Skyler shouts as she evades him.
“I think she missed you while you were at school,” I say as I sit down on the couch, folding my legs under me.
“I think she ate Silly Pie for breakfast,” Levi says.
“I didn’t eat Silly Pie! I didn’t eat anything yet!” Skyler giggles and runs away from Levi.
“Didn’t Violet feed you breakfast?” I start to worry this was my job, and I slacked off.
“No,” Skyler says simply.
“I haven’t seen Violet yet.” Levi looks at his watch. “What time does she usually come?”
I shrug, because I don’t know these things. Tobias enters the room, buttoning his cuffs. “Violet’s not here?”
“No.” I take in his worried look, and it makes my stomach clench.
“I’ll give her a call.” Tobias pulls out his cell and swipes across the screen. He holds it to his ear for a minute, frowning. “She’s not answering.”
“What time does she usually come?” I ask.
“Eight o’clock.” Tobias checks his watch. “She’s almost a half-hour late. This isn’t like her at all.”
I chew my bottom lip, having flashbacks when my grandmother was late to babysit me and my sister. That didn’t turn out well. My stomach grows cold. “Try calling again.”
As Tobias calls a second time, I walk through the house to the front door to see if she’s pulling up. I glance out of the glass in the door, and I see Violet lying on the sidewalk. “She’s outside! Come quickly!”
I open the door and race outside as memories of finding my grandmother dead in her bedroom come to me and my chest constricts. Tobias joins me outside along with Noah, who crouches down beside Violet.
“Violet?” Noah asks as he assesses the wound on her head. She must have hit the sidewalk.
My vision starts to swim as she lies there, unresponsive. No, not again. I can’t have another dead woman’s image seared into my brain. I try to look away, but I can’t. I don’t see Violet anymore. I see my grandmother.
Noah presses his fingers to her neck. “She’s alive,” he says.
“Kiki, go back inside and keep Skyler away, okay?” Tobias says.
I nod, my ears ringing. I walk back inside, my heart in my throat. Skyler can’t see Violet outside like that. It would traumatize her for life. I go into the family room, and luckily Skyler’s still in there watching Television with Levi.
“What’s going on?” Levi asks.
I sit down next to Levi. “She collapsed outside,” I say, my voice low so Skyler doesn’t hear.
Levi stands up. “I’ll go see if I can help.”
I nod and move so I’m sitting next to Skyler, my fingers trembling. Skyler dances to whatever song is on the television. I’m glad she’s too young to understand there’s an emergency outside. She doesn’t need to deal with that. I watch her childlike innocence.
I try not to think about my grandmother, but the image of her lying on her bedroom floor keeps invading my mind. The room feels too small and the walls press in on me. I try to focus on something else…anything else. The dog on the television. The cute way Skyler is moving her feet to the music. Nothing seems to help, and I have a hard time breathing.
Tobias comes into the room, and I stand. Bad decision. The room spins and I have to take in a gulp of air. “How is she?” I say, my voice low.
“She’s come to and is talking with Noah, but her words are slurring. We called an ambulance.” He stares at me. “What’s wrong? You don’t look good.”
“I’m fine,” I say, but the room spins again, and I bend over so I don’t faint.
“You’re not fine.” He grabs my arm. “What’s going on?”
“It’s too hot in here.”
Tobias guides me to the couch. “Sit down.” I obey.
“I’ll be right back.” He leaves and a moment later he comes back with a glass of ice water. “Drink this,” he says as he sits next to me.
I grab the ice water, wrapping my fingers around the cool glass and take a sip. It does help, so I gulp some more. “Thanks.”
“Take some deep breaths.” He presses his hand on my back, rubbing in small circles.
I try to do as he says, but it’s hard to breathe. The more he touches me, the more my focus turns to that, and the image of my grandmother slowly fades from my vision.
“How are you doing?” he asks after a few moments.
“Better.”
Skyler comes over to me on the couch. “Kiki, can I watch another Bluey?”
“Sure,” Tobias says, grabbing the remote. He clicks and turns on another episode. When Skyler is preoccupied, he turns back to me. “What happened?”
Embarrassment floods over me. “It’s nothing, really.”
“Kiki,” he says softly, and I raise my gaze to his. He’s looking at me so intently, I feel like I owe him an explanation.
“Finding Violet outside reminded me of when my grandmother died. I was the one that found her.” My throat closes up again. I haven’t told very many people about that day.
“Oh, Kiki. I’m so sorry.” Tobias pats my back.
“It’s okay. Really. The situation just brought back some memories that startled me. I guess I didn’t realize how much trauma I had buried from that day. I mean, I know it was a terrible day, but it must have given me PTSD or something.” I take another sip of the water. It’s cool going down my throat, and it helps sooth me.
“Violet’s going to be fine,” Tobias says, swallowing hard, and I have to wonder if he’s saying that to comfort me or to convince himself.
The sound of an ambulance siren wails in the distance, and we sit and listen as it grows louder. Skyler notices and starts to walk out of the family room toward the front of the house. I grab her and pull her to me. “Hey, did you ever hear about the tickle monster?”
I tickle her stomach, and she bursts out in a fit of laughter. When I set her down, she runs back from me, giggling. “Get me, Kiki!”
I reach out my arms as if I could catch her. She runs toward me until I scoop her up in my arms and tickle her again.
Tobias pats my arm. “Are you feeling better?” His voice is sincere, and something about that makes me emotional. It’s been a long time since anyone really cared about me.
“Yes.”
Skyler plays evade the tickle monster with me as Tobias sits and watches us. After a moment, his gaze flicks to the doorway, and I can see the worry etched on his features.
I feel terrible for being so unaware of how all of this made him feel. I touch his arm lightly. His skin is warm through his white shirt. “She’s worked for you for a long time, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He shakes his head. “She’ll be fine.”
“Does this remind you of when…” I stop. That’s way too personal to ask. “Never mind.”
He closes his eyes a moment. “No. It’s not the same at all. My parents died in a car accident. I was at school when I got the news.”
Noah enters the room and Tobias and I stand. He looks exhausted. “She’s on her way to the hospital. They think it might have been a stroke, but they have to assess her at the hospital.”
“Will she be all right?” I ask.
“They think so. It could have been a lot worse.” Noah rakes his hand through his hair, which it looks like he’s been doing a lot because it sticks up at odd angles.
“I can make us dinner tonight,” I say, trying to be helpful.
Tobias glances at me. “I don’t want to make you do that.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Are you sure?” Tobias gives me a pained look. “I don’t want to impose.”
“I make a really good chili.”
“Sounds delicious,” Noah says. “Save some for me.”
“I will. You’d better get some sleep,” I say to Noah. “You look like you’re going to fall over.”
He nods. “Okay.”
I want to say something else to Tobias, to console him somehow, but the words stick in my throat. Who am I to say anything? We’re not close. And I can’t pretend to be. I know I’m living on borrowed time. At some point I’m going to have to leave before Tobias finds out who I really am.