She chewed her lip for a minute then agreed it might be a better idea.
“Good. I already started spreading the word among the fey. They’re going to show up here tomorrow to schedule a day. How many a day do you think we can do?”
She frowned, and I piped up again.
“I was thinking that Mary would want to host and cook for the couples. She’s the one in love with the idea of pairing them up. Plus, James has the liquor cabinet that’ll be needed to calm a lot of nerves.”
“The girls aren’t that nervous. They’re just uncomfortable.”
“The ones already living with the fey aren’t the ones who’d be tempted by an all-you-can-eat meal. I’m talking about all the single ladies at Tenacity.”
Therein lay the beauty of my plan. In order to get enough females on board with this, Emily would need to spend a lot of time at Tenacity, talking to girls, and I would need to stay here to schedule the fey. She’d hear about the bottle payments eventually, but I’d worry about that later. Hopefully, I’d be drunk enough to no longer care. Or hear. Or feel.
“Hannah?”
I realized Emily had been talking to me.
“Sorry. Lost in my thoughts again.”
“It’s okay. This is a lot to think about. I asked if you mentioned any of this to Mary.”
“Nope. I did my time there today. I’ll leave that to you.”
“You know that she won’t be able to do all the cooking and cleaning alone, right?”
“Yep. I’m sure there are other matchmakers who’d be willing to pitch in so they can watch the love-show.”
Emily was already walking to the door.
“I’m going to go talk to Mary.”
I waved her away and waited for the door to close before running upstairs for my small, empty bottle. James wasn’t the only one with a supply of spare booze, and thanks to him, I knew where to go.
A few minutes later, Kerr opened their door, his expression not it’s usually stoic mask.
“Looking a little harassed there, Kerr,” I said. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. Are you looking for Cassie?”
“Please.”
He stepped aside to let me in and revealed a wall covered with colorful marker swirls. There was also a bucket and a scrub brush next to a little girl with tear-streaked cheeks.
“Nice artwork,” I commented.
“Cassie is not happy,” Kerr said quietly.
“I bet not.”
The little girl snuffled as we walked past to the kitchen. Cassie was at the stove, angry-cooking by the looks of things. I almost smiled.
“Maybe I should come back later.”
Cassie glanced at me and shook her head.
“No. I could use a break.” Her gaze met Kerr’s. “Cleaning is an appropriate punishment. Even if you didn’t know the rules, she did.”
Without another word, Cassie strode from the kitchen. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened.
“Hope they weren’t permanent,” I said.
“They were!” Cassie yelled from down the hall. Upstairs, a baby started to cry.
I hurried after Cassie and found her pacing a small room with a narrow bed. I studied her for a moment.
“You’ve been around the fey enough to understand they don’t know all the rules,” I said.
She let out a slow breath.
“I have. But, it’s not the rules. This isn’t our house. We’re wrecking someone else’s things.”
The wailing increased.
“Just a second,” she said before rushing from the room.
I quietly opened cupboards until I found what I needed. By the time she returned, I was standing where she’d left me, and she looked a little calmer.
“I’m sorry, Hannah. I shouldn’t have unloaded on you. How can I help you?”
“Just checking back in to see if you have anything for sleep yet.”
She considered me for a moment.
“Nothing I’m confident enough to give you. Have you tried exercise like I suggested?”
“No, but thanks anyway.”
She caught my arm as I moved to leave.
“My offer is still open,” she said. “Sometimes talking about—”
“No,” I said more forcefully. “Talking won’t fix this.”
She released me, and I left quickly, hating that I’d ever admitted to her that I wasn’t sleeping because of nightmares of the past. Hearing stupid shit like post-traumatic stress had made me want to slap her. Instead, I’d smiled and nodded and told her I’d come back if it got any worse.
Outside the air cooled my anger, and I managed a normal pace as I set out for home. Inside my coat, the liquid in the now full bottle sloshed against my breast. My mouth felt so dry. I couldn’t wait to hide up in my room and take a drink. I desperately needed