Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,29
me. So many flavors and choices, and not a single one sounded good to me. Still, I’d been looking forward to a treat all day and wasn’t about to deny myself one now.
“Cookies and cream, please,” I said. “In a cup. No cone for me, please.”
“Coming right up,” the old woman said with a smile.
She prepared our ice cream and handed it to us with a napkin. As soon as the smell hit my nostrils, however, I felt like I was going to be sick. I swallowed and paid for our treat.
It was a beautiful day outside, and I wanted to sit on the patio with my daughter, but the rumbling in my tummy made me nervous to venture too far from the bathroom. So we took the table closest to the restroom, just in case I had to make an emergency run.
Skyler dove right in, her face instantly smeared with strawberry ice cream.
I stared down at my little cup and frowned.
“What’s wrong, Mommy? Why aren’t you eating your ice cream?”
Not wanting to worry my daughter, I took a small spoonful of what was usually my favorite ice cream flavor. I moved the spoon toward my mouth and caught a whiff of the sweetness. My stomach twisted and turned, and I knew it had been a wise choice to sit near the bathroom. I dropped the spoon and rushed for the bathroom.
“Can you please watch her for a second?’ I hollered to Mabel.
“Certainly,” the woman said, concern etched on her face.
I opened the door to the bathroom and was barely on my knees in front of the toilet before everything I’d eaten that day came back up. I threw up until there was nothing left in my stomach, and then I dry heaved some more.
What is wrong with me, I wondered.
I didn’t want to leave Skyler out there too long, so as soon as I felt like I could stand, I pushed myself up from the floor. I cleaned up and went back into the lobby.
“Thank you, Mabel,” I said.
“Are you okay, dear?”
“I’m fine, just a lot of stress at the moment.” I took my seat across from Skyler, who was halfway done with her ice cream already. Mine was melting in my cup.
I pushed the cup away, and Skyler frowned. “Would you like mine better?”
She pushed her cone in front of my face, and once again, that sweetness hit my nose and I thought I might vomit all over the table. I pushed it away and shook my head. “No thank you, sweetie. Mommy doesn’t want ice cream after all.”
“But you love ice cream,” Skyler said, a frown on her pretty face.
“I know, but I’m not in the mood for it today.”
I’m always in the mood for ice cream, I told myself. It was easily one of my favorite foods. I lived for Mabel’s ice cream growing up, and it was always one of my favorite places to visit after having a hard day. The only time I hadn’t been able to eat Mabel’s ice cream was when I was pregnant with Skyler.
“Oh no,” I said out loud without realizing it.
“What’s wrong, Mommy?”
Skyler had finished her ice cream, having bitten through the bottom of the cone and making a complete mess of herself. Ice cream was all over her face and shirt. I grabbed some napkins and began cleaning her up.
“We have to make a stop before picking up Oscar,” I said. “Let’s get you cleaned up and head out, okay honey?”
“Okay, Mommy.”
I was so blessed with this little angel for a daughter. She was my whole world.
But I wasn’t sure I could handle anymore right now.
Ooo000ooo
Skyler’d had a long day, and when it was time to put her to bed, she went down easily. Oscar was laying on the floor beside her, and Zeus was curled up on her pillow. Her little arm wrapped around the little dog, and as much as Zeus didn’t care for most people, he didn’t mind his girl cuddling with him. In fact, he seemed to like it.
I shut the door most of the way, leaving it open a crack in case she called for me in the night, and walked down to the bathroom connected to my room. With a sigh, I pulled out the paper bag from the pharmacy where we’d stopped after ice cream. Skyler had asked me so many questions about what I was buying, and while I didn’t lie, I wasn’t exactly truthful either. I couldn’t get her