Slut - Woodruff Jettie - Страница 30

Of course they stuck. They were magnets. Four hands held the stones, bringing them together as one, but without all four, the littles couldn’t hold onto the ring.

“There’s the magic,” she whispered.

“No pressure there,” Paxton mumbled, dropping his to the pocket of his jeans. “Are you going to send the file? I don’t have time to sit around here and discuss rocks. I’ve got work to do.”

Mi ignored him and continued to talk to the girls, clicking their stones with each other’s. “You can keep them in a safe place. Just make sure you bring them together every night before bed, okay?”

“Okay,” the girls agreed. I smiled at the little things they cared about. Simple things.

“Good job. Can you let me talk to your parents for a minute?”

Rowan and Ophelia ran off with their magic, happy and content.

“That’s not really magic,” Paxton assured her, raining on his own parade. He didn’t rain on mine, and I was sure from Mi’s demeanor, hers was untouched, too. It was magic to me, and to them. I knew they would never lose those stones.

“Yeah, I didn’t mean for that to happen. I was going to teach them how to pull a quarter out of someone’s ear. What’s your sign?”

Paxton frowned. “Excuse me?”

“I feel like you’re a Sagittarius or maybe a Scorpio like me.”

“He’s a Scorpio,” I tattled, unsure why. I mean, I read the silly little horoscope in the paper every morning, but I can’t say it was anything more than entertainment.

“Figures. Scorpio suns should never get married. They’re too cruel and manipulative. Hot and cold, secretive and vengeful. Hardly traits that are good in any marriage. I think all Scorpios should get a swift kick in the ass before they’re allowed to get married. We’re very loyal and loving, but most of us need a beating first to get all those negative qualities out. We normally gravitate toward the weak. I’m surprised at how much power you have around him, Gabby. I wasn’t really expecting that. I thought for sure you would be weak in his presence.”

I don’t know why I took great pleasure in hearing her say that, but I did. It wasn’t like Paxton bought into any of her crazy stuff anyway. Although she sort of was right on with her description of him. I could even see that in her a little, in the way she was with Nick. A happy version of Paxton.

“I’ve got to go to work. Nice meeting you,” Paxton said with a nod.

I watched him walk away, knowing he was headed toward his office and not a job site. He would have kissed the girls and told them goodbye.

“Is that really a camera?” Mi questioned with a stretched neck and a narrowed eyes toward the well-hidden camera.

“It’s for my protection,” I answered, sarcastically.

“Right. I shouldn’t have come, Gabby. You’re okay here. I really believe that. I think you and Paxton will be fine if you talk. You gotta tell him what you’re thinking. He can’t read your mind.”

“Yeah, well, we don’t really have that kind of relationship.”

“Yes you do. That man is falling all over in love with you. He can’t even see straight, he’s so in love with you.”

Mi was crazy. I didn’t see what she saw. “I spent the night in jail. Do you remember that? I was the crazy chick begging your boyfriend to hypnotize me.”

“Okay, yeah. You have a point, but—. I feel like he’s sorry, like he knew he took it a little too far. I’m just saying that I don’t think you should watch the video’s anymore. I think you should pretend that they never existed.”

“But why? I don’t get it, Mi.”

“Look, from what I caught from Nick and Lane, they’re pretty detailed. Just like the one where you described your accident. I think there’s a hidden secret there. One that may be better off left in the past. Go get your nephew and forget them.”

I looked down, filling my lungs with humid air and then back to her. “I can’t, Mi. What if there’s something about my twin? I need to see them. It could be the only way I ever learn anything about my past. I need that.”

An audible breath was heard while Mi took the same air into her lungs. “Okay, but, I’m sending them to you one at a time. That way it’s your call, not his,” she said to the camera in the corner. “I won’t send another one until I hear from you. Just text me my dog’s name and I’ll send you the next one. He doesn’t know that. I also think you should watch them together, with Paxton. I still think you should leave it in the past, and move forward, but if you insist, at least share the secrets with your husband. You can’t build a positive environment on lies. Just saying.”

“How many are there?”

“The folder has seven files inside. Sessions is how they are labeled. One through seven.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you, Mi. Thank you. For everything.”

“You can’t hate me if you don’t like what you see. And you’re not going to.”

“I have to.”

Mi nodded like she knew that would be my answer. She stayed until after lunch while Rowan and Phi hung on to every single thing she said and did. They loved her, freaky self, and I loved her for it. I had never in all the time that I had known my neighbors witnessed them talk to them like Mi did. She doted on both of them like she’d known them their entire life.

Mi promised to send the first file by nine, using the time as a way for Paxton and I to work through our problems while the girls slept. That scared the hell out of me. She pretty much ensured me that the very first video wouldn’t be pretty. That was all I needed on top of everything else. More gasoline for the fires raging around us.

I tried to busy myself with my girls, a new broccoli casserole, and then some research on my tablet while the girls watched Frozen—again. Paxton sat in his office behind his desk while his eyes locked with mine, or mine locked with his every so often. I was just as guilty of searching him out as he was.

We’d just finished another eye linger when something on my tablet caught my eye. I had been looking through old newspapers from around the time of my accident when I found it. A homeless Jane Doe, admitted to the same hospital three days after my admission. The thump in my chest moved to my ears as I thought about it.

“Where you going, Mommy?” Rowan asked as I stood.

I placed a finger over my lips and pointed to her sleeping sister, whispering my reply. “To talk to daddy for a minute. You watch your movie and rest for a little while.”

“Okay, I’m holding her magic stone while she sleeps.”

A wink and smile gave her my approval.

Paxton had just moved his chair back from a filing cabinet to his desk when I entered. I took it as an invitation and sat right on his lap, pulling one knee to my chest. “Look at this,” I said, right before I noticed the startled expression on his face. “What’s wrong?” My eyes glanced to his fingers, cautiously wrapping around my ankle and back to his eyes. His stunned eyes. What the hell?

“Nothing. What do you want?”

I relaxed my spine and tried like hell to hide the smirk. This was serious. No time for games. Nonetheless, I smiled. “This too intimate for you?”

“No, shut up. What do you want?”

Once again my spine straightened and I regained the seriousness of my new lead. “This girl was admitted to the same hospital, three days after me. I just remembered one of the nurses telling me about a girl no one claimed. She went into a nursing home, or something like that. I was mad, too mad at her for making me leave with you to care.”

Paxton ignored the last comment and skimmed the article. “A forty-year-old homeless woman?”

“What if she wasn’t forty? Remember how I described Izzy with Nick? She was hurt pretty bad. What if they didn’t know? Can we at least check it out?”

Paxton stared at me while he thought about what I wanted him to understand. Turning his chair while keeping me on his lap, he opened a folder on his laptop with one finger. I watched while he opened up my hospital records, scrolling through my release instructions. His finger slid down the page and both our eyes scanned the words. “Was it that nice nurse? The one you liked so well?”