Finding Summer - Suzanne Halliday Page 0,231

house without pause or a look back.

“I. Am. Done,” she told Ari.

As she entered the vestibule, Arnie caught up with her.

“Wait up.”

She didn’t have the energy—might never have the energy—and blew him off as a stalling tactic.

“Can you please make sure Bud and Lynda’s place is locked? And the cat is okay? I’m too tired and …”

“On it,” he replied, and off he went into the Gerry’s house. She watched him go and just shook her head.

In the bedroom of her apartment, she placed the baby on her changing table and went through the motions. After her daughter was freshened up, dry, and dressed in warm footed pajamas, she wrapped Ari in a fluffy blanket.

“Are you hungry, sweetie? I hope so because Mommy’s boobs are full.”

Ari had just finished nursing when Arnie tiptoed into the room.

“Everything is secure for tonight. The cat was not impressed by my presence. I had to move furniture because of some damaged locks and a broken window. I’ll get people out here first thing in the morning for repairs and cleanup.”

Too damn tired to do anything except nod, she put the baby on her shoulder and did everything in her power to ignore him. Unfortunately, he was big, and the room was exceedingly small.

“What do you need, Summer? What can I do for you?”

He was joking, right? She scowled, or maybe she rolled her eyes. One of those things had to be true. Or maybe she had no expression—exhaustion coupled with too much excitement made it hard to be sure of anything.

What she needed right now was for him to go away so she could think. Too much had happened in a short span of time. She needed to process, starting with who Arnie Templeton actually was.

Clearing her throat of the emotions making it difficult to speak, she shifted in the glider and closed her eyes. Yes, she was tired, but she also couldn’t look at him without reacting to his presence.

“Um, I could use a hot tea. Something decaf and simple.”

Eager to do something and be helpful, he reacted as she expected and marched off to the kitchen. Assigning him a task gave Summer a chance to reset in peace.

A mental list of things she had to do queued up in the forefront of her thoughts, starting with explaining to Bud and Lynda why their house was cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape.

Her wall art was going to need a new frame, and there were red stains on the wall left by Stan’s bloodied hands.

Did she have a sage stick lying around? It wouldn’t hurt to purge the lingering bad vibes with a quick smudge. She had a thing for California sagebrush—especially after learning the shrub was a part of the sunflower family. Fitting, right?

Ari snuffled and sighed. She was falling into a deep sleep. Moving quietly, Summer lay her on the bed between two pillows. She watched her for a few seconds to see if she’d fuss, and when she didn’t, Summer quickly changed into yoga pants, her bunny slippers, and a loose-fitting sleep top. Her internal debate over bra versus no bra was ruthlessly ended by a desire for comfort. It was one thing to have big boobs and another thing entirely to deal with big lactating boobs. She could only strap the girls down for so many hours a day.

Before Arnie came marching back with her tea, she scooped up the baby, wrapped her more securely in her fluffy blanket, and headed into the living room. She knew they had to talk, and she didn’t want to be sitting on a bed when they did. Too much temptation, all of it on her part.

“What is all this?” she asked after placing the sleeping baby in her playpen.

The living room was littered with white cards, and the two large gouges in the walls were hard to miss.

“Evidence markers,” Arnie replied from the kitchen. “The cards were placed by the forensics team to indicate evidence, and the mess is from them digging bullets out of the drywall. I’ll clear everything away.”

“Oh.” Not eloquent but she didn’t care.

Collapsing in a loose-limbed heap, she scooted into a corner and propped herself against the arm of the sofa. Her tired hands automatically pushed long waves of hair away from her face. She rubbed her nose and quietly moaned.

“One mug of piping hot lemon ginger chamomile,” Arnie quietly murmured as he crossed the room with the steaming beverage. He set it on the coffee table and