Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
“That doesn’t seem like Silas,” Hawk said. “He didn’t tell you why?”
“Not a word,” Eli said with a shake of his head. “Just ‘I sold the unit to Sinclair Security. Do what Cooper says. I’ll be back.’ Like we were kids he left with a babysitter.”
The analogy made me smile. If the other three were anything like Ryder, Eli, and Wren, the last thing they were was kids who needed a babysitter. I’d gotten used to Hawk and Griffen and their ability to handle any shit that seemed to roll our way, but these three looked like they could take apart the Pentagon with a paper clip.
Since we’d talked to Cole, I’d had a weight in my gut. I wasn’t so much worried about myself, but my family, the kids, Paige—so many people who were vulnerable. I couldn’t keep them all safe. But with Hawk’s team and Griffen, and now these three, I let out a slow breath. Having them here didn’t solve the problem, but I was less worried about anything happening to my family or Paige.
Griffen, Hawk, and the new arrivals left the second they’d finished dessert, retiring to the surveillance room on the lower level where Hawk had set up his team and all their gear.
Paige met my eye from across the room, and I got the message—she had to finish up with the kids, get them settled. She stood, prompting August and Nicky to pick up their plates to carry to the butler’s pantry and the plastic bin that would bring the dirty dishware back down to the lower level. Thatcher stood beside her, not needing any reminders about clearing the table. Deftly, she hoisted Stella onto one hip and detached her filthy high chair tray with the other, crossing the room in brisk strides, quietly herding the younger children ahead of her.
A minute later, I heard the pounding feet of the kids set free from the dining room. Paige returned, grinning down at Stella on her hip as she bopped her on the nose. She went to Hope, sipping a cup of tea at the head of the table.
“Do you want me to keep Stella a little longer?” she asked.
Hope shook her head, reaching for her daughter, whose feet kicked at the air the second she was off Paige’s hip.
“I think she wants to go for a walk,” Hope said. “I’ve got her for the rest of the night. I know you and Ford want to talk to Miss Martha.”
“We do, as long as you don’t mind,” Paige said with a quick glance my way.
“No, we’re good,” Hope said with a smile. “Thanks, Paige.”
Hope stood, leaning slightly to the side, extending her hand down so her daughter could grab it as she took rapid, wobbly steps toward the door of the dining room, Hope walking faster to keep up with her.
“How does she do that and not fall on her face?” I asked Paige, surprised at how quickly the one-year-old could move once she got going.
“I don’t know,” Paige said. “It’s almost like the faster they go, the less likely they are to fall. But then they do, and they scream bloody murder until they pop back up and do it again.” She laughed. “We haven’t had any bloody noses or stitches yet, so I’d say she’s doing pretty well.”
“She’s going to be a handful,” Miss Martha said, joining us. She looked like a slightly older version of her daughter, her hair threaded with white and more lines on her face, but still beautiful.
Savannah hovered in the doorway of the butler’s pantry. “What do you three say to tea in the library?”
“You don’t have to go to any trouble,” Paige said.
“It’s no trouble. Tea?” This time, she was asking her mother.
“If you have a minute, sweetheart, I’d love some,” Miss Martha said, her love for her daughter glowing in her eyes.
“Always,” Savannah said, smiling back.
I felt a stab of envy and saw in Paige’s eyes that she felt the same. Savannah had been tight with her mom her entire life. That hadn’t changed now that she was back in Sawyers Bend, managing Heartstone as her mother had for years.
“Is it weird?” I asked Miss Martha as we walked to the library. “Being back here so often as part of the family, with Savannah running the house?”
“A little,” she said. “Sometimes I have to watch myself or I’ll start trying to organize everything. I don’t want to step on Savannah’s toes. She does a brilliant job. Better than I did.”
“No one’s better than you,” I said to Miss Martha.
She smiled up at me. “Flatterer. And you’re right, except for Savannah. My girl is the best.”
“I won’t argue with that,” Paige said. “I don’t know how she does it. She never breaks a sweat. She knows everything that goes on under this roof, and she keeps it all running seamlessly.”