Jeanne Louise nodded, and then sighed and said, “But you’re right. She can’t have a mortal over for sleepovers. They might see something they shouldn’t.”
“Right,” he said wearily and winced as he unthinkingly ran his injured hand through his hair this time.
“Come on,” Jeanne Louise said firmly. “We’ll put ice on your hand.”
“It’s fine. Don’t fuss,” Paul said, but allowed her to drag him from the room.
Sixteen
Paul rolled over in bed, reaching automatically for Jeanne Louise, and blinked his eyes open when all he found was empty bed. Cold, empty bed. Frowning, he sat up and glanced around. The room was silent and still, no Jeanne Louise. Grabbing his wristwatch off the bedside table he checked the time, grimacing when he saw that it was just after two in the afternoon. Jeanne Louise shouldn’t be up yet. Stifling a yawn, he slid out of bed and made his way to the en suite bathroom for a shower.
Twenty minutes later Paul was showered, dressed, and had brushed his teeth and hair. Feeling somewhat alive now, he made his way out of his and Jeanne Louise’s room, pausing to look in on Livy as he passed.
“Hmm,” he muttered when he found that his daughter was up and gone too. Both girls were early birds this morning. Shrugging, Paul pulled the door closed and continued downstairs. He glanced in each room as he headed for the kitchen in search of coffee, pausing when he spotted the men of the house all congregated around something in the living room.
“What’s up?” Paul asked, moving into the room.
“The television isn’t working and there’s a big game on in fifteen minutes,” Julius said with irritation.
“Big game?” Paul asked, crossing to join them.
“Soccer,” Christian said, frowning as he pushed buttons on the remote, bringing up screen after screen of static. “Italy’s playing.”
“Hmm.” Paul glanced from the remote to the television screen, but said, “I thought you guys slept during the day?”
“Italy’s playing,” Christian repeated.
“Right,” Paul said with amusement. Apparently, soccer took precedence over sleep. “Do you know where Jeanne Louise and Livy are?”
“They went shopping with Marguerite and Caro,” Christian answered and then gave the remote an irritated shake. “Damn thing.”
“Let me see,” Paul said, taking the remote. The men all turned to him expectantly as he hit menu, then a couple more options before selecting “view signal.” “Huh.”
“What is it?” Julius asked.
“Well, your signal is pretty low, it looks to me like the satellite is misaligned,” he explained. “We had a storm last night, the high winds probably shifted it or something.”
Christian groaned. “We’ll never get a repairman out here before the game starts.”
“You don’t need a repairman,” Paul assured him, handing back the remote. “There are a couple of screws you turn, is all, one for up and down and one for side to side. I can adjust it. Where’s the satellite?”
“On the roof,” Julius said with a frown.
“I’ll do it,” Bricker announced, turning to head out of the room.
“You can’t go out there,” Paul said, catching his arm to stop him. “It’s sunny out. Besides, I know what I’m doing.” Turning back he asked, “Do you have a ladder, Julius? I’ll just climb up and—”
“I don’t need a ladder,” Bricker said, pulling free and continuing out of the room.
Frowning, Paul hurried into the hall after him. “Bricker. It’s sunny out. I can do it without taking damage. You can’t.”
“Jeanne Louise is already pissed at me about Livy. She’d never forgive me if anything happened to you,” the Enforcer said grimly. “I’ll do it.”
“Let him do it,” Julius said, when Paul opened his mouth to argue. “He can hop up there, adjust the satellite and then hop back down. It won’t take a minute.”
“Yeah, but I can do it too,” Paul said irritably. “I might need a ladder, but at least I know what I’m doing.”
“True, but he’ll survive if he falls off the roof. You might not,” Julius said calmly, then patted his back. “Come, you can help me get beer and snacks.”