CHAPTER TEN
Mouse
A few weeks went by and I watched Chry most days Ingram had to work. Laurel helped out too when Chris and Ky weren’t available. I thought this whole thing was going smoothly. I didn’t want to put too much stress on Laurel but I never voiced that. I had a feeling that not many people knew what B-ry had told me and I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up. Though, looking at the brother, you could see it written all over his strangely happy face. I was over the moon for them, they needed some good in their lives. Especially Laurel.
Amber wasn’t a kid person. I’d learned that recently and right now, it was written all over her face as we sat in the dining area while I fed Chry his dinner. I guessed that it might have had to do with the fact that she wanted to go to the beach today and got it in her head before she came over that her and I were going to go. But Chry had a runny nose and had been sneezing all day. Ingram suspected it might be allergies because he didn’t have a fever and since he still ran around like crazy today, I would have agreed that Ingram was right. So because of that, I figured the beach wasn’t going to be a good idea. I didn’t want to make it worse and have the poor guy be miserable. Amber still hung out most of the day and I thought we’d had a pretty good time. Only, as I looked over at her, she didn’t seem too thrilled at the moment.
She’d been standoffish with Chry. I got it, she didn’t really know him, though this wasn’t the first day she’d hung out while I had him with me. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe she wasn’t a fan of kids. I didn’t have a clue because there had never been a reason to talk about things like that.
“Are you hungry?” I asked her knowing that there were plenty of leftovers in the fridge.
“No,” she said with a shake of her head.
“You want to go grab something after Ingram picks up Chry?”
“Not tonight.”
I stopped and handed the spoon to Chry. I figured he could try and work on his applesauce by himself. He needed the practice anyway.
“Something up?” I asked as I gave her my attention.
“No. I just don’t feel like going out tonight. It’s kind of been a long day and the kid doesn’t stop.”
Oh, I knew that. While I felt a little worn out after my days with Chry, it was a good kind of exhausted. I couldn’t explain it but it was a wariness that I didn’t mind being left with at all.
Since I could tell she was in a mood, I decided not to voice any of that.
“I can go out and get something and we can just chill in my room. Maybe watch a movie,” I suggested hoping it would make her happy.
“Sure,” she said with a tight smile. “Sounds good.”
“Mouse?” Ingram’s voice called out from the front of the clubhouse.
“In the kitchen,” I called out knowing she was here to pick up Chry.
“Oh, hi, Amber,” Ingram greeted in a friendly tone.
“Hey,” Amber said back with a little nod of her head.
“I think he’s pretty much done,” I cut in with a little laugh because there was applesauce everywhere.
I quickly got him cleaned up and everything good to go. As always, I took him out and got him settled into his car seat.
“Still liking the job?” I asked Ingram as she stood there next to the car. I knew she trusted me but she still waited until I was done to see for herself that he was buckled in right. There was something in that simple thing that made me smile.
“Yes. It’s fairly simple, so that is good for me.” She opened her door and flashed me a smile. “Have a good night, Mouse.”
“You too,” I said and waited until she was behind the wheel to shut the door.
She drove off and a minute later I turned to go back inside to find Amber. Only as I turned around, she was standing there in front of the door watching me with a look on her face that I couldn’t decipher.
Without a word, she walked away and up the stairs in the direction of my room. I followed behind her.
The air felt strange as I shut the door to my room behind us.
“Um,” Amber said as she flopped down onto my bed. “So, I’m just going to say this.”
She paused and I stared at her waiting for whatever the hell she had to say.
