throat. “Thank you for getting the girls from camp.”
“It was nothing.”
“It was.” She could sweeten the pot, make him cheer up a little. “I owe you cookies.”
He grinned. “That’s all? You just insulted my wife.”
“You’ve given me lessons on the subject.”
“True.” He smiled at her again. “I am running low on Johnnie Walker Blue. In case you were curious.”
Fair enough. Not cheap, but well worth it. “Deal,” she said.
Tom tipped his head toward the door. “I couldn’t get Chrissy to come back in here with us. I’m sorry. You know how she is.”
Of course he’d picked up on it too. He knew his wife better than anyone.
“I figured as much when she was in here a minute ago,” Caroline said. “Your wife is being difficult. As usual.”
“Don’t ask how I got through last night. I had to hide all your knives.”
There were only two people in the world who could successfully calm Christine down, and one of them was stuck in a hospital bed. That meant Tom was left with the task. Maybe Caroline owed him more than just a bottle of whiskey.
“Why don’t you two go get a cup of coffee so she can decompress?” she suggested.
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll be back in a bit.” He turned to Marguerite and Sophie. “Keep an eye on your mom while I’m gone.”
Caroline slid over on the bed, motioning for Sophie to climb up next to her. She carefully wrapped her arm around her youngest daughter and kissed her forehead. “My baby girl. How are you, Feef?”
“Are you okay? Really okay?”
She squeezed her tighter. “I am. I might have to stay here another day or two but I’m going to be fine. How was camp?” she asked, even though she’d been up to visit a few weeks before.
“It was fun. Can we go back next year?”
“Sure.” Caroline nuzzled Sophie’s hair. “Did you take care of your big sister for me?”
Marguerite laughed. “I told you. I barely saw her once she got to be best buddies with all the other rug rats in her cabin.”
“We’re not rug rats.” Sophie stuck her tongue out at her sister. “I’m sad I didn’t get to say goodbye to them.”
“We had to leave awfully quickly,” Marguerite said.
Caroline flushed with guilt. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s not your fault.” Marguerite held up the bag she’d been carrying. “We brought you something.”
It seemed awkward to leave Marguerite standing there while Sophie got to snuggle next to her. Caroline gestured toward the foot of the bed. “Mo, why don’t you sit down?”
“Will it hurt you?”
“I don’t think this bed is designed for three people, but until a nurse comes in and yells at us, let’s roll with it.”
Marguerite handed the bag to Sophie. “Show mom what you got her.”
“I hope you like it.” Sophie delved into the bag, pulling out a blue stuffed hippopotamus.
Marguerite snapped the tag off its ear and handed it back to her sister. “Just protecting you, Soph. We don’t want mom injuring herself and filing a lawsuit against you and the toy people for negligence.”
“Do you want to go ahead and apply to law school now, or wait?” Caroline asked.
“I’ll wait.”
Sophie held it up. “Do you like him? He’s pretty. I thought he could take care of you while you were here.”
Caroline tucked the hippo under her sling then put her arm back around Sophie. She loved hippopotamuses. They were her favorite animals at the zoo. “I think he’ll do a great job. Thank you, sweetheart.” She turned to her older daughter. “You didn’t get me anything, Mo?”
“My undying love isn’t enough?”
“Didn’t I send you to camp so you could learn good values? Where did you learn to be so obnoxious?”
Sophie laughed. “She gets it from you, mommy.”
Caroline heard a rustling on the couch. “Uh oh,” she said. “We woke up Jack.”
Marguerite winced. “Is that okay?”
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
“He was really great yesterday,” she said.
“Good. I’m glad he was there for you when you needed him.”
“He gives good hugs,” Sophie said. “I think he likes you.”
Marguerite chuckled. “I think he more than likes her, Soph.”
Caroline gave Marguerite a hard look. “Quiet, Mo. We’ll talk about that later.”
Her eldest daughter didn’t bother hiding her smirk. “I’m just glad you took my advice.”
Caroline leaned back into her pillow. She wanted to throw in a comment about having a bratty eleven year old, but was pleased that the girls didn’t seem to be upset by her relationship with Jack. In fact, they seemed more than happy about it. She