The two couples were quite nice, the conversation friendly and amusing, and Jeanne Louise was actually enjoying herself when a sudden shriek from the cottage behind them made her stiffen. She was on her feet in a flash and nearly forgot and used her immortal speed to rush to Livy, but caught herself at the last minute and forced herself to move at mortal fast instead. It was hard though—she wanted to hurry. Jeanne Louise didn’t know what had woken the child, but she was obviously having another one of her headaches.
She didn’t realize Paul had followed her until he reached past her to open the cottage door for her.
“Thanks,” Jeanne Louise murmured as she stepped inside. She immediately gave up on mortal speed for immortal now that she was in the house and not visible to the others.
Livy was lying on the floor beside her bed, heart-wrenching sobs shaking her whole body. Boomer was licking her face and whining with concern. Jeanne Louise slipped into her thoughts as she entered the room, but there was no headache this time.
“Oh, sweetie, what is it?” she asked, bending to pick up the girl.
“I fell out of bed,” Livy wailed, wrapping her arms around Jeanne Louise’s neck and holding on for dear life.
“Ah, poor muffin,” Jeanne Louise cooed, hugging and rocking the girl. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“My elbow,” Livy cried pulling back to point at the broken skin on the end of her elbow. She’d either banged it on the bedside table or the floor as she’d fallen, Jeanne Louise supposed, but could have wept with relief. No headache, just your average “child falls out of bed” moment.
“I didn’t think to buy a first-aid kit,” Paul said, joining them beside the bed.
Jeanne Louise glanced at him, noting that he looked relieved to find his daughter just had a normal child moment too.
“I’ll go see if the Jacksons or Corbys have some antiseptic and a bandage they can spare,” he added and turned from the room.
“Okay.” Jeanne Louise said and continued to rock Livy until her tears eased, and then sat on the bed with her in her lap to wait.
“Hello?”
Jeanne Louise glanced toward the door at the sound of that female call. She recognized Sharon Corby’s voice. “Back here.”
“Paul said you needed a Band-Aid and some antiseptic,” Sharon said appearing in the doorway a moment later with both in hand. “He wanted to come back, but I told him we women could handle it,” she said lightly, and then her gaze slid to Livy and she asked sympathetically, “Did someone fall out of bed?”
Livy sniffed and nodded, then held up her elbow for her to see and Sharon moved forward at once, “oohing” and “oh dearing” and generally making a fuss as she spread some salve on the wound and then covered it with a bandage.
“Better?” Jeanne Louise asked as Sharon straightened from her nursing duties. When Livy nodded, she smiled faintly, kissed her cheek and stood up with her. Turning, she set her in bed, pulled the sheet up to cover her and kissed her forehead affectionately. “You go back to sleep, sweetie. You have lots of playing to do tomorrow.”
“Yes, Mommy,” Livy said sleepily, her eyes blinking closed, and Jeanie positively froze at the title, her heart stopping.
“Wow, she dropped right off to sleep, poor thing,” Sharon whispered with amusement.
Jeanne Louise straightened slowly, telling herself Livy had just been confused because she was so tired. It didn’t mean anything that she’d called her Mommy. She shouldn’t be feeling like she wanted to grab the girl up and hug and kiss her like crazy.
“All that weeping and wailing must have worn her out.”
Managing a smile, Jeanne Louise turned to the woman. One more snack before feeding off Paul later tonight could only be a good thing, she thought, eyeing the woman’s short hair with pursed lips. The marks would be visible on the neck. Her gaze slid down to the woman’s wrist and the large clunky watch she wore. The band would hide marks on her wrist though, Jeanne Louise decided.
“Thank you so much for your help,” she murmured, slipping into the woman’s mind as she moved forward. Jeanne Louise made her turn and walk out into the hall, and then took her hand and had her peer up the hall as she eased the watch band aside and raised Sharon’s wrist to her mouth.
Moments later, the two women walked outside, Jeanne Louise chuckling softly as Sharon commented that she wished she’d had a girl along with her boys and told her some of the antics her sons had got up to over the years. She was sure a girl would be less troublesome, or at least would need fewer trips to the emergency room for stitches.
“Livy okay?” Paul asked as they reached the bonfire.
“She’s fine,” Jeanne Louise assured him as she settled in her chair next to his. “She went right back to sleep as soon as she was bandaged up.”
“Good.” He smiled softly, then reached out and took her hand to give it a squeeze of thanks.
Jeanne Louise smiled back, and relaxed in her chair, but then was almost afraid to breathe in case he realized he hadn’t let go of her hand. She liked his holding her hand. It felt right. It was a bit distracting though. Especially since he was absently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand, sending shivers up her arm. With him doing that Jeanne Louise found herself having trouble following the conversation going on around the fire now, and was relieved when Cecily gave a large yawn after an hour passed and announced that she was ready to call it a night.
“Already?” Sharon asked with regret and then glanced at her watch, her eyebrows rising. “Goodness, is it midnight already? I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.”
“Yeah, and the kids will be up with the dawn,” Cecily said, standing and beginning to collect the remainder of the things she and Russell had brought.