Truth be told, Ten wanted to keep Brooke as far away from Ezzie and Everly in hopes of keeping them from catching the bug, but his daughter was having none of it. She sat on the sofa with Brooke, laughing at the antics of Jac and Gus.
Ten was in the kitchen making a batch of iced tea when Ronan strolled in, looking frustrated. “You okay?” He set a hand against Ronan’s forehead, and thankfully, it came away cool.
“Yeah, just worried about the kids.” Ronan took a seat at the table, looking like he could sleep for a week. “I’m so glad we didn’t take them out to the beach today. At least I was able to clean up the barf with the garden hose and Fitzgibbon’s poolskimmer. I’ll never look at pizza the same way again.” Ronan shivered and gagged.
Ten was in complete agreement. He’d been sitting next to Brooke when she erupted like Mount Vesuvius but managed not to get any of the regurgitated pepperoni and sausage on himself. Thankfully, she was resting quietly in the living room. “Same. I’m just glad Brookie stopped spewing like Old Faithful. I swear I saw the corn we ate two days ago.”
Ronan’s chuckle died when he heard retching from the living room.
“Daddy! Brooke’s getting sick!” Everly shouted.
Briefly relieved it wasn’t his daughter, Ten dashed into the living room to see Brooke dangling off the sofa and throwing up into the pink bucket. “Ronan, can you scoop her up and bring her to the bathroom?”
“Sure, you got it.” Ronan bent to lift his niece and stopped halfway. “Wait! Is that my bucket? The one I use to wash the Mustang?”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Ten promised.
“You better! I’m not waxing Betty with bits of corn in the mix.” Ronan scooped up Brooke and carried her into the downstairs bathroom. A few seconds later, Ten heard her gagging again.
“Poor, Brookie.” Tears glittered in Everly’s eyes. It wasn’t usual for her to be this emotional.
“I think we’re gonna stop the sleepovers for a few days. All of you kids need to get some good sleeps in your own beds for a while.”
Everly nodded. “I agree, Daddy.”
Ten grabbed the pail by the handle and held it out as far away from himself as he could. With his free hand, he pinched his nostrils shut. When he reached the bathroom, Ronan was holding Brooke up to the sink so she could wash her mouth out. He quickly dumped the contents of the pail into the toilet and flushed, offering up a silent prayer that neither of his kids caught the bug.
A ring of the doorbell spelled relief. “Everly, it’s Uncle River. Will you let him in?” Ten called out.
“Yup!” Everly called from the living room.
“You’re going home with Mommy and Daddy, love bug.” Ronan carried Brooke out of the bathroom.
“Oh, my goodness.” River took his daughter from Ronan. “I’m so sorry, guys.”
“Don’t be. It happens.” Ten opened the front door. “Let us know later on how she’s doing.”
“I will,” River agreed. He walked down the stairs with Brooke, headed toward Kaye’s house.
Ten blew out a deep breath when River was gone. He felt like he could sleep for a week but knew that wasn’t in the cards for him. Not yet anyway.
“You look exhausted,” Ronan said to Everly. “Do you want to lie down and try to take a nap?”
“In a little bit. Uncle Jude and Fitz are coming over.” Everly wrapped her arms around Ronan.
“Do they have information about Kotter Brighthouse?” Ronan hugged his daughter tighter.
Everly nodded into the crook of his neck.
“Doyouknow something about Kotter Brighthouse?” Ronan asked.
Ten held his breath. He had a feeling Everly did.
“I do, but I’ll wait for the others to get here.” Everly offered a brittle smile.
“Okay.” Ronan kissed the top of her head and joined Ten in the kitchen.
“Do you have any idea what she knows?”
