Basil (The Brinnswick Chronicles #3) - Michele Notaro Page 0,17
on outside of here, but I couldn’t deny how much of a relief it was when I got to take them off.
“Yes!” she squealed, and seeing the happiness on her face at something as simple as her favorite meal settled me a little. If that asshole intended any harm to her, he wouldn’t be able to get inside the house. She was safe here, we were safe, and I could enjoy the few hours I had with her before she needed to go to bed.
So I smiled at my sweet little girl and went to make us plates. Once we settled at the table, she began telling me more about her day and every little thing she did. She was a chatterbox, and I loved it. She didn’t show this side of herself to other people because she was typically shy, but here at home, she never stopped talking. She was either talkin’ or asleep, no in between. And I loved that her voice filled the air and stabbed away at my own loneliness in this house. She was my everything, so my time with her was precious to me.
The passion on her face when she talked about the drawings she made reminded me so much of her mother that I had to take a deep breath.
Reaching over, I pushed the bangs off her forehead and asked, “How are you feelin’?”
She frowned and poked at her food. “Fine.”
“I’m gonna need more than that, peanut.”
She sighed. “I feel better now.”
I nodded. “Good. You up for a bath tonight?”
She smiled and nodded before shoveling the biggest bite I’d ever seen in her mouth. My eyes widened, but to my surprise, she chewed it up and swallowed it. With a chuckle, I went back to eating my own food and listening to her talk in between her giant bites.
Once she was bathed and in her jammies, I tucked her in, read her a story, then kissed her forehead and said, “I love you, peanut.”
“I love you, too, Daddy.”
“Gimme some sugar.” I pursed my lips, and with a little giggle, she gave me a peck and settled back in the bed. “You good?”
“Yep!”
My mouth perked up. “Alright. I’ll see ya in the mornin’.”
“Can we have chocolate chip pancakes tomorrow?”
“After three plates of mackers, you’re still thinkin’ about food?”
“I’m always thinking about food.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I can do the pancakes, but I think Ms. Ulma would have my hide if I sent you over there hyped up on sugar, so no chocolate chips.”
“Please?”
“Sorry, peanut. Maybe this weekend when I don’t have to work.”
“Okay.”
“G’night, baby girl.”
“Night.”
I pulled her door, leaving it cracked open, then walked down to the first floor. Opening the hall closet, I pulled out the oxygen tanks to check our supply and sighed in relief. We had enough to get through the next three days, even if she had to use it all day. Which was good news. The bad news was that I’d just given Ulma every extra cent I had, only leaving us with enough to buy food for the next week.
Which meant I had three days to find and complete a job, and get paid for it. All without running into that fuckin’ witch that was making my life a living hell.
Putting the tanks back, I went into the kitchen to check our cabinets and assess our food situation. I grimaced as I searched because it didn’t take long to see we were running low on everything. As I searched, I calculated how long we could make it stretch, and if I only ate one meal a day, I’d be able to feed Rasha three meals a day for the next week. That made me sigh in relief. I didn’t mind bein’ a little hungry if it meant she’d be well fed.
But if I didn’t get a bounty in the next few days, I wouldn’t even have enough money to feed her.
Millayna would kill me if she knew what a bad situation we were in. I was surprised her ghost hadn’t hunted me down yet.
I sat at the kitchen table with my elbows on the tabletop, and buried my hands in my hair as I tried to take a few deep breaths.
We were still okay. I’d figure somethin’ out. It always worked out, right?
My heart clenched in my chest as emotions clogged up my throat. How had I let it get this bad? What the hell was I goin’ to do?