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“Hey, calm down. Of course, I’ll keep her. I’m so sorry about your aunt. Who’s taking you to the hospital? I don’t think you should drive, also we’re to have a patch with us if we go out.” I hug her and take Bethany from her, trying my best not to wake her. Thank goodness she is a heavy sleeper.

Beth giggles, “Believe it or not, Dad said he would take me. I know that he and Mom don’t get along, especially since the divorce, but he really likes my aunt and they still talk a lot.”

“Okay, Beth. You go get ready. I have some outfits in here for Bethany. I promise to take good care of her. You call me if you need anything.” Beth hugs me again and takes off. I get Bethany in my room, lay her on my bed while I get changed into pjs again, and pull out her little toddler bed that I have. I get the sheets on it, then grab her favorite blanket of mine. I gently move her from my bed to hers, I get into bed, grabbing my kindle. I pull up the story I started on. It’s so good. I get a few chapters read before my eyes start getting tired. I look over to check on Bethany, then I go to sleep.

“Sai?Why is I in your room?” I look out of the bathroom at Bethany. I’ve already showered and dressed. I decide to leave my hair loose today. I rarely do that, but I know with all the stress today with going to look at these buildings, if I pull my thick hair up, it would help a headache along.

“Hey, sweetpea. Did you sleep well? Your momma had to go see your grandma and great aunt. So we’re goingto have a sleepover for a few days. Is that okay?” She looks up at me and smiles. I knew she would like that. “Come on and let’s get you dressed. We’re going to go out for breakfast with Loki, Cotton, and Sloane. How does that sound?”

“Yippee! Oh yeth. I wanna go!” I laugh as I get her dressed and fix her hair. There’s a knock at my door, and she runs over to open it before I can stop her. Cotton is there and he smiles down at Bethany but looks at me with a quizzical look.

“Beth had to go for a few days, so I have her.” He nods as he bends down to her level.

“Hey there, beautiful. Are you going out to eat with us?” She just grins really big, nods her head, her little braids bouncing off her shoulders. “Alright, I think they have those happy face pancakes you like.” I laugh as her eyes get huge. She is so excited. “You ready to go? Loki and Sloane are in the common room waiting on us.” I smile at him, grab my purse and her extra clothes, I know she gets messy when she eats, and we are off.

Bethany runs up and hugs Loki’s leg. “I go with you. I want thmiley face pancakes.”

Loki laughs as he picks her up. “You do? Wonder if they’ll let me and Sloane order those pancakes? Or are they just for special little girls?”

She laughs, “You too old.”

“Too old? Oh, man. I really want those pancakes.” He pouts at her.

“I thare. Don’t cry, Loki.” I smile watching the byplay. Loki will be such a great father someday. I sigh.

“What was that about?” Cotton asks. All of them look at me.

“I’m starving and whittling away to nothing, and y’all are just standing here talking about pancakes. My stomach is gnawing on itself,” I say laughing. They all laugh too.

“Well let’s go. I can’t have you dying of hunger on my watch.” He winks at me. I grab Bethany’s car seat from the hall closet, as we head outside. Loki and Sloane are getting on his bike, as Cotton heads over to his truck. “Come on, I’ll drive.” Bethany takes my hand and we follow Cotton. He gets her seat in, helps her in and buckles her up. Then he opens my door. I look at him and as I go to thank him, he leans in and kisses me. Just a soft little kiss. Then he lifts me up, putting me in the truck, then shuts my door.

Nine

Cotton

Once everyone is situated,we head out to Mel’s Diner. Mel had started the diner up back in the fifties, and he was still going strong. His grandson worked there as well. Loki pulls up beside us, and we all go in to get a booth. “Hey Mel, how’s it going?” I ask as the old man makes his way over.

“Everything is going great, young man. How are you all doing? And how is my little Bethany over there? Are you wanting happy face pancakes?” We all laugh as Bethany claps her hands, bouncing in the high chair. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he replies, chuckling. After we all order, Sloane and Saige started talking about the bakery. So I look at Loki, he just has this big shit eating grin on his face.

“What’s with the look, brother?” He just grins bigger, looks from me to Saige to Bethany. Yeah, I get what he is saying without him saying a word. I shake my head no, grinning, but on the inside, I am falling apart. I want that more than anything. To have Saige as my old lady, watch her grow round with our kids. But I know that I’m not good enough for her, I need to back off some. I realize that I have been leading her on, I can’t do that to her. She deserves someone that is whole, that can love her the way she is meant to be loved. We get our food and the conversation around the table stops for a bit. Saige is helping Bethany by cutting up her pancakes. God she is so beautiful.

I feel a shiver down my spine and know someone is watching us. I straighten up, give Loki a kick under the table, and we both start looking around. It doesn’t take long for us to see who is staring at us. I notice her right away. She is watching Saige, Loki, and Bethany. When she notices that I am staring back at her she smiles. She looks familiar, but I can’t place her right now. Short blondish hair, tall, slim. She walks by us with her takeout bag, stops, staring down at Bethany. She smiles at Saige, stating, “I’m sorry to disturb you, I just saw and heard that precious baby. Is she yours?”

Saige smiles, “No, she is my niece. I’m just babysitting today.”

“Oh, well she is beautiful. Y’all have a great day.”

I nod at her, as Saige says, “Thank you. You too.”

Waiting until the woman is out the door, I look at Saige asking, “Do you know who that woman was?”

She shakes her head no, replying, “I feel like I should know her though. It’s just an odd feeling I have.”

“Yeah, I felt it too, like I’ve seen her before,” Loki says.

I look to Loki, “Hey, let’s go outside and wait. I know Bethany has to be cleaned up right quick. We really need to be going if we’re going to meet that realtor in time.” Loki and I head outside.

“Who and what was that? Did it not give you the creeps? I mean she stared at us like she knew who Saige and I were. Then to come over and stare at Saige even more. Hell, she acted disappointed when Saige said Bethany was her niece,” Loki says. Yeah, he is getting worked up. All of us having a feeling like we should know the woman and not being able to place her is getting to him.