“You worry a lot now, though, Rita. That child is wild,” Gloria pointed out, shaking her head at the thought of what her niece got up to.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rita adjusted herself on the couch, no doubt trying to get more comfortable during an uncomfortable subject. “That’s putting it mildly. She’s a hellion who makes an impact wherever she goes.”
“Shoulda had boys,” Gloria muttered, shooting a smirk at her sister. “My boys have always been sweet and easy.”
Rita and I shared a disbelieving look before we looked back at Gloria to see her glaring at us. “They’re angels,” she snapped, and I almost choked on air.
“Katy,” Maude called from upstairs. “You’re almost out of diapers, honey. There’s only one left.”
That’s what I’d meant to get when I went to the store – diapers. I knew I’d forgotten something.
“I better go get some,” I sighed, getting up to get my purse. “Are you guys ok to stay here with Maude? Jarrod should be home soon, so I can always text him to come here so he can see Rita.”
“How far away from the store is the garage he works at?” Rita asked. “I might go with you and head in to surprise him there. He can drive me back here when he’s finished.”
So that became the plan. Maude and Gloria would stay here to look after Elodie, and I’d drop Rita at Ren’s garage and head on to the store, which was exactly what we did. During all of it, I thought about how much more secure the world felt having the Kline family in it. In the grand scheme of things, they’d only known me for a matter of months, but it felt like I’d known them my whole life.
I knew I loved Jarrod, even though I was too scared to say it to him, but I still struggled to understand what he saw in me. I was plain and liked gaming. He was hot, narrated erotic books, worked out, was hot again, and sang like a god. We just didn’t seem to fit, but we did at the same time. I’d never believed in soul mates or people being fated for each other. Looking at it from a different perspective, I was starting to think maybe I was wrong about that.
And on that thought, I parked up in the parking lot for the store and hustled my ass into it to pick up diapers, thinking as well about how I’d approach ever telling him how I felt.
JarrodThree hours later…
I was late leaving work after Rita showed up because we’d been talking while I was working, so it took me longer to finish the car I’d been assigned. Not that it mattered, though, because Ren and Cole were both in shit with Maya and Ebru, so they were delaying going home and had hung out at the garage with us, and Hurst had finally admitted defeat with his car and it had been written off, so he’d come to hide with them. My aunt was a blast, so there had been a lot of joking and laughter going on until we realized the time and locked up. Now we were home, and I was heading into Katy’s with Rita walking beside me.
I was just about to ask her if we should all go out for dinner when I noticed that Katy’s door was wide open, something she never did in case Duke or Elodie got out.
Holding my hand up, I silenced Rita, who’d been talking about my cousin, by putting my finger to my lips. When she saw my expression, her mouth snapped shut audibly, and she nodded.
Walking quietly up to the door, I put my hand flat on it and pushed it open all the way. It looked like there’d been a struggle by the door and the table Katy kept a glass dish on for loose change and keys was shattered, glass and coins spread out across a large area. Just behind that was the television lying face down and at least eight feet from where it should have been. Looking over at the couch, I saw a pair of feet that I knew well only just poking out.
“Call 911, Rita. We need two ambulances,” I barked, moving quickly around the edge of it to where Katy was lying on the floor with her back to me.
I knew the basics of what you were meant to look for, but all of it left me as I leaned over her and saw the small pool of blood under her mouth.
“Katy, baby,” I whispered urgently, putting a shaky hand on her neck and hoping I was in the right place to feel her pulse.
The fluttering under my fingers was a relief, but I wasn’t sure if it was coming from me or her. I’d done a first aid course in high school and I remembered the guy saying something about us being able to feel our own pulses in our fingers, but I couldn’t remember why he’d said it.