Page 83 of My Little Doe
“Yep,” they all said in sync.
All six of them walked out the door, leaving us girls in the house. I decided I’d go check on Lucy, as it was probably time to feed her. I went into my room, scooped her up, and walked into the kitchen. Julie and Scarlett had gotten up and were standing next to the others at the table.
“Aww, what a cute kitty,” Scarlett said.
“Lucy is the best little baby,” I told her. Lucy stared up at me with her little blue eyes.
“You have a cat… in Quinn’s cabin?” Julie said.
“She’s an orphan bobcat, and he didn’t really have a choice,” I said.
She let out a little laugh. “So, how do you guys know each other?”
“From Wears… it’s… Um, complicated,” I said.
Callie let out a loud laugh before turning toward Julie. “He’s actually holding her prisoner here.”
Everyone turned their head to Callie and stared at her with wide eyes, including me. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Should I correct her? Let the whole room believe it. Lucy had finished the bottle, so I turned and walked to the sink. The silence was deafening. Then the door swung open.
“Hey! We got the fire going, if you ladies want to come and hang out,” Beau said.
“I’ll be out in a minute, gotta get Lucy settled,” I said. All of them but Callie got up and walked out the door. She walked over to me.
“You could have corrected me,” she said.
“Honestly… you caught me off guard, but I’m sure they know you’re joking,” I said.
She let out a laugh. “Well… probably not Julie or Scarlett, but who cares?”
“What’s the deal with Julie?” I asked her.
“Oof… That’s not my story to tell,” she said.
“Her and Quinn?”
“Yeah… tragically,” she said.
“Oh,” I said. A knot formed in my throat.
“I’m gonna head out there,” she said, motioning her head toward the door.
“I’ll be right behind ya,” I said.
She walked outside. Once I got the bottle washed and on the rack, I went over to the floor in front of the fireplace. I placed her on the floor. She stumbled around, something between a crawl and a walk. She was getting there. Her little eyes were looking around. I often had to scoot away from her because she usually crawled right back into my lap. It was a little game. I’d put her down and scoot back, letting her walk to me. My finger instinctively found my pendant, a reminder of the baby who would never walk.
“I’m gonna grab the corn on the cob,” Quinn said from the other side of the door. He walked in and shut the door behind him. He walked over and knelt next to me.
“Are you okay?” he whispered in my ear.
“Yeah… why wouldn’t I be?” I asked.
“I don’t know… you’re sitting in here,” he said low.
“Lucy needed to stretch a little, plus I need to do her bathroom stuff,” I said.
“Do you want me to make you a drink?”
“Sure,” I said. I was afraid to turn my head. He was right there, and our lips might meet again.
