Page 77 of His Wounded Heart

“Why?”

Looking down at her caramel-covered lips, and the vanilla icing smeared up and down her arms and covering her legs, I can’t help but smile. “Trust me, you look like a giant fingerpainted on you.”

She looks down at herself and giggles. “It does! Okay, it has to be a quick bath. We have to feed everybody. You said so.”

“You’re right, I did. So, finish icing, and get your booty into the bathtub.”

The only saving grace is that I had insisted we braid our hair before we started so we wouldn’t get any in the batter. Otherwise, I’m sure Bella’s hair would be covered in cookie dough. Probably mine, too.

Her cupcakes are heaped with icing before the cookies are ready, and she heads for the bathroom. “Can I wear a dress?” she yells from down the hall.

“No, there’s a lot of debris where we’re going, so you’ll need jeans and your hiking boots.”

“’Kay.”

When I take out the last batch of chocolate chip, pecan cookies from the oven and put them on the cooling rack, I follow Bella’s trail down the hallway. She reminds me of Maddie. I pick up her slippers, then walk another two feet and pick up her pajama top, then another three feet after that, her pajama bottoms. I hear the water running in the bathroom and knock on the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” she yells.

I open the door. She is just about ready to pour in the bubble bath. “Can I have bubbles?” she asks.

“Nope. And you know you should have asked first. This needs to be a quick bath so we can get going.”

She gives me a pout that reminds me of Piper. My girl has all the Avery girl tricks.

“No pouting. You have twenty minutes to get ready, then we’re leaving.”

“Can we get a latte at the coffee shop?”

“No, we are not getting a latte at the coffee shop. Where do you even come up with these sorts of ideas?”

“Mrs. Richards took Leslie and me for lattes. They’re really good. She said she needs her coffee before she can even get started in the mornings.”

I sigh. What in the hell was Vicki thinking? Lattes?

“Is that something you want to spend your joy money on?” I ask her.

She tilts her head.

“How much is a vanilla latte?”

“I’m guessing about five dollars.”

“That’s almost as much as what I spent on Chloe’s Christmas present. No way, Jose.”

I hide my grin. “How about I try to figure out how to make vanilla lattes here at home?”

“Could you?”

“I think so. But now we have a problem. We have only eighteen minutes to get ready. So put a move on.”

“Gotcha.”

I watch as she picks up her loofah and her favorite strawberry body wash and leave her to it. Now for my shower. I might not have cookie dough and cake batter splattered all over me, but I’ve been up since five and I need a refresh. I throw my sleep shirt and yoga pants into the hamper, then head for the shower.

I turn the handle to hot so that I’ll eventually get warm water and begin my wait while pinning my braid onto the top of my head. I hate having seventeen minutes to think. I really do. Of course, my mind wanders to Simon. Hell, he’s the reason I woke Bella up early to bake this morning, so I could get him out of my head.