“Biscuit muffins. They should be cool now. Want some?” Levi grabs a plate full of the muffins and passes it to Noah. We each grab one.
I take a bite and it’s buttery-biscuit heaven. I can hardly believe it. “These are delicious.” I motion to Levi. “You made these?”
He nods. “I love fresh biscuits, but they’re time consuming, so I made up a recipe for biscuit muffins. It cut the time down in half. I played with the recipe until I really liked it.”
“You should sell these. They’d fly off the shelves.” I take another bite and lean against the counter. The kitchen is large for an older house, with an island in the middle, complete with barstools. Everything looks updated and modern.
“Yeah, bro. These are your best creations yet.” Noah takes another one and sits down on a barstool.
“You bake a lot?” I ask.
Levi shrugs. “I mess around a lot. It’s not really anything.”
“You should taste his chocolate chip fudge cupcakes. Divine,” Noah says between bites.
Skyler runs into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, a wide smile on her face. “Uncle Levi, you have to see this.”
“What is it?” He follows her.
“Bluey! Come see the TV.” Skyler grabs his hand and tugs him out of the room.
I chuckle and take the last bite of my biscuit. “I hope you can get some sleep.”
Noah nods. “Me too.”
I follow Skyler and Levi into the family room. Skyler points to the television, then hops around like a grasshopper while Levi tries to tickle her. “Uncle Levi, Uncle Levi!” Skyler shouts as she evades him.
“I think she missed you while you were at school,” I say as I sit down on the couch, folding my legs under me.
“I think she ate Silly Pie for breakfast,” Levi says.
“I didn’t eat Silly Pie! I didn’t eat anything yet!” Skyler giggles and runs away from Levi.
“Didn’t Violet feed you breakfast?” I start to worry this was my job, and I slacked off.
“No,” Skyler says simply.
“I haven’t seen Violet yet.” Levi looks at his watch. “What time does she usually come?”
I shrug, because I don’t know these things. Tobias enters the room, buttoning his cuffs. “Violet’s not here?”
“No.” I take in his worried look, and it makes my stomach clench.
“I’ll give her a call.” Tobias pulls out his cell and swipes across the screen. He holds it to his ear for a minute, frowning. “She’s not answering.”
“What time does she usually come?” I ask.
“Eight o’clock.” Tobias checks his watch. “She’s almost a half-hour late. This isn’t like her at all.”
I chew my bottom lip, having flashbacks when my grandmother was late to babysit me and my sister. That didn’t turn out well. My stomach grows cold. “Try calling again.”
As Tobias calls a second time, I walk through the house to the front door to see if she’s pulling up. I glance out of the glass in the door, and I see Violet lying on the sidewalk. “She’s outside! Come quickly!”
I open the door and race outside as memories of finding my grandmother dead in her bedroom come to me and my chest constricts. Tobias joins me outside along with Noah, who crouches down beside Violet.
“Violet?” Noah asks as he assesses the wound on her head. She must have hit the sidewalk.
My vision starts to swim as she lies there, unresponsive. No, not again. I can’t have another dead woman’s image seared into my brain. I try to look away, but I can’t. I don’t see Violet anymore. I see my grandmother.
