Page 34 of Always Be Mine
The little girl was sleeping under a pile of stuffed animals, her little face only barely visible. It was such a sweet sight, Lucy paused and soaked in the moment before sitting gently on the edge of the bed.
“Good morning, sunshine.” She spoke softly as she brushed the hair away from Meri’s face. “It’s time for a new day.”
Meredith’s eyelids fluttered open. “Lucy?”
“Good morning.” Lucy smiled broadly. “Did you have a good sleep?”
Meredith nodded and slowly stretched her arms over her head, causing some of her stuffies to fall off the bed. “Is today Friday?”
“It is.” Now that Meri was awake, Lucy moved to the curtains and opened them halfway to let some of the light of the new day in. “Do you remember what that means?”
Meri was sitting up now. “It means fabulous, fun Friday.”
Lucy laughed. Meredith hadn’t wanted her to leave the night before, so Lucy reminded her that because there was only a half day of school on Friday, they’d be able to do something extra fun after school. “That’s right. But you have to get up and get your day started before we get to the fabulous fun Friday part. Did you pick out your outfit last night before you went to sleep?”
Meri jumped out of bed and went straight to her dresser, where she’d laid out an outfit. “It’s not purple, but it’s my second favorite color.”
“I like green, too. It makes me happy.”
“Me too.”
“Okay, kiddo. Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen for breakfast. Do you want toast with scrambled eggs or yogurt and granola?” Lucy was quickly learning that it was easier to offer Meri a choice of two acceptable things than to give her open-ended options.
“Granola.”
“Granola, please?”
“Please.”
Lucy winked. “You got it. See you in a minute.”
She flipped on the light as she slipped from the room. She took one more quick glance behind her to make sure Meredith hadn’t been distracted by her stuffed animals before she stepped out into the hall and ran smack into a hard chest.
Reflexively, Craig reached out and grabbed Lucy to keep her from stumbling as she ran into him. He hadn’t meant to get in the way. In fact, he hadn’t meant to eavesdrop at all outside of Meri’s bedroom door, but when he came out of the shower and heard voices, he was drawn to her room and had been quickly mesmerized by the gentle way Lucy had woken his daughter.
It made him feel some kind of way watching the way she was with Meri after only a few days and the way Meri responded to her…it was…
“Sorry, I—” The words died on Lucy’s lips as her eyes traveled up his body to his face.
It was only then that he remembered he was half naked, only wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. A towel that was getting dangerously close to slipping off completely.
Craig took a quick step back, releasing his grip on her and securing his towel. “No,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, I was just?—”
“You were listening?” Her brows furrowed.
“Oh.” Craig shook his head. “Not like that. I mean, not because I was checking up on you or anything.” The last thing he wanted was for Lucy to think he was second-guessing her or unsure about what she was doing. Especially after what he’d just witnessed. “I was just…I’m sorry. I’m just running late this morning and…thank you for waking her up.”
“No problem.” The smile that lit her up returned to Lucy’s face. “Sorry I ran into you. I seem to be making a nasty habit of running into you Carlson men in this hallway.”
She laughed but Craig looked at her sideways.
“Your brother,” she explained and dismissed it with a shake of her head. “The other day. That’s how I met Asher.” She waved her hand. “Anyway, I better go get breakfast started and let you…”
Was it his imagination, or did her eyes dip down the length of his body?
“I’ll let you get dressed.”
Brother?
