Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Franklin frowned before shaking his head. “I will take that as my cue to leave. Nina, if you think of any more questions, I can answer them later if Henri is unable to. I will see you both this evening,” he finished quickly before exiting the kitchen like he was in a rush, his hands in his pockets while he left. Franklin had even left his plate on the counter.
Maybe he was running late somewhere, but… something still seemed fishy about him.
Real fishy.
“Is he okay?” I asked, even though I really wanted to know if he was always like that, but that sounded aggressive in my head.
He pushed his chair back. “He was fine to me.”
If he said so.
Standing up, I shoved my stool back and picked up my plate, along with Franklin’s, and went around to where the pups had eaten their food and collected their lick mats too.
“We have two dishwashers. You can load those plates instead of doing them by hand. It saves water consumption,” Henri explained as he pushed his stool in. He’d been awfully quiet while we’d eaten; all three of us had been.
Both Agnes and Duncan had wandered over to sit by us after they’d finished their meal and drank more water. Duncan was curled up into a little ball, watching the white puppy.
Just as I set the dishes into the sink, Henri came up beside me. I tipped my head back to meet his eyes. “You can put the mats into the dishwasher too. I’ll put the leftovers in the fridge, and you can load the pot into the dishwasher.”
I could do that.
Halfway through loading the dishwasher, he asked from behind, “Where are Matti and his mate?”
I’d been waiting for someone to ask. “They’re upstairs.” There was no reason I couldn’t give him specifics. “They’ve got the brown plague.”
“The brown….” He went quiet, figuring it out.
I couldn’t help but snicker, thinking about them. “They both looked about ten pounds lighter than they did last night, so I think that gives you an idea of how—”
Henri cleared his throat. “I understand.”
I bet he didn’t, but it made me want to shake my head picturing how sick they’d looked. They had been so confident about those hot dogs. And with their noses? I didn’t understand how they hadn’t been able to tell there was something wrong with them.
“When we’re done, I’ll give you a tour so you can get familiar with the grounds.”
“All right.” I stuck the skillet I’d handwashed, because it was too large for the dishwasher, under the faucet. “Just us?”
There was a pause. “Is that a problem?”
I made a face as I flipped the pan and rinsed the other side. “No, why would it be?” I turned off the water and peeked over my shoulder. He must have sensed me staring at his back because he slowly did the same and blinked at me. I lifted my chin. “You all right? It was only a question.”
He turned back toward the range. “Fine,” he answered, back to using clipped answers.
All right then.
When I was done with the dishes, I picked up Duncan, and Henri bent to pet Agnes, and I followed him down the hallway we had taken to get to the kitchen. His voice was loud enough for me to hear clearly, the white wolf beside him, looking so small in comparison. “Did someone explain our early school situation?”
“Franklin mentioned a nursery during our tour yesterday….”
Agnes’s yellow eyes peered at us, not slowing down one bit while she did. I wiggled my fingers at her with the hand not supporting the majority of Duncan’s weight. She flashed me both her canines.
“It is and it isn’t a nursery. All the pups who are old enough to be away from their mothers attend it. Some of the parents refer to it more as preschool for the small ones until they’re old enough to attend school,” he explained.
“Some of the kids go to school? In town?”
“Most. A few are homeschooled or take online courses. We don’t have enough children or qualified educators to offer classes on site,” Henri went on. “We provide after-school supervision until six in the evening for the kids whose parents can’t pick them up, but it’s never a problem to find someone to keep an eye on a child if they don’t make it by then. Most of the kids go home with someone after school.”
Even I knew that daycare was something highly sought after.
“The kids are usually split into two age groups—the young ones, and the ones who are only around after school—but the member who used to care for the older children is on a leave of absence to care for his mother. For now, through the summer, they’re mixed together until we can find someone else to take over the position.”