noted. There were sparks of silver in them, and they seemed to be growing in number, the silver filling his iris and blotting out the blue. She watched with fascination as it happened and then gave a start when the teakettle started to whistle next to them.
“Can you grab that?” Tricia asked as she moved away.
“Yes.” The word was a breathy sound. Embarrassed, Allie cleared her throat and added in a more composed voice, “Of course,” as she turned away from Magnus to stand in front of the stove. She turned off the flames and shifted the kettle to a cool burner.
“Here we are.” Tricia returned to her side with a tray holding four mugs and a can of powdered hot chocolate. She set down the tray, grabbed up the hot chocolate, began to scoop some into each of the four mugs she’d collected, and then glanced toward her uncle. “Grab the cream from the fridge for me, please, Uncle Lucian,” she requested, and then added, “And a mug if you want some too. There should be enough water for everyone.”
Much to Allie’s surprise, all the men moved to get cups and followed Lucian to the counter where Tricia was working. When the first four mugs of hot chocolate were ready, Allie carried them to the table and sat down at the table with the boys to get out of the way. She wasn’t surprised when the others joined her there moments later, each of them settling in one of the eight chairs surrounding the table as their own drinks were ready. She’d thought it was a huge table when she’d first seen it, but with the men crowded around it, it suddenly seemed much smaller, Allie thought, and then smiled at Tricia when the woman joined them with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a stack of napkins.
“Did Sam make those cookies?” Magnus asked, eyeing the plate suspiciously.
“Yeah, but she’s stopped making things with weird stuff,” Tybo assured him with amusement as he took several cookies. “They’re safe to eat. Good too.”
“Mortimer’s wife, Sam, was on a health food kick for a while,” Katricia explained to Allie with a grin.
Tybo snorted at the words. “You mean she was on a mission to torture us all. The woman was making wheat germ shakes and chocolate chip cookies with tahini and coconut sugar or some damned thing. Made us all wonder what Mortimer had done to piss her off.”
“Made me wonder too,” the man she assumed was Mortimer said glumly.
“The worst part was, while she was forcing that garbage on us, she was slipping out for burgers and shakes,” Tybo said with disgust, and when a surprised laugh slipped from Allie, he smiled slightly and said, “Sure, laugh at our pain.”
“Mom, can Liam and I take our cookies to the living room and watch cartoons?” Teddy piped up suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention.
“No. You will get crumbs everywhere,” Tricia said at once. “Eat your cookies first and then you can go watch cartoons.”
The boys looked at each other and then, as one, shoved their cookies in their mouths. They were large cookies and the boys’ cheeks were bulging when they finished.
“Liam,” Allie said in a reprimanding tone. “You’ll choke yourself on . . .”
Her words trailed away as the boy quickly chewed and swallowed the cookie, then grabbed his mug and downed the last of his hot chocolate even as Teddy did. Setting the mug down, he beamed at her as if he’d done something clever and announced, “All done.”
“Can we go watch cartoons now?” Teddy asked eagerly.
“If Liam’s mother says it is okay,” Tricia said solemnly.
Allie found herself the focus of two pairs of hopeful eyes and Liam said, “Please, Mom?”
Allie hesitated, part of her wanting to keep him close. She had spent every moment of every day with the boy since he’d been passed into her arms nearly four years ago. At least until she’d started the job at the blood bank. But she’d worked days while he’d slept, and while it had been night when she’d gone to rob the blood bank, she’d waited until Liam was down for his nap, fully expecting to be back before he woke. She hadn’t been surprised to return and find him awake and upset that she’d left him. He seemed eager to leave her now, though, to play with his friend and she felt a little wounded at the knowledge. But she knew it was healthy for him to make friends.