same time.
“Geez Louise!” Carlotta grabs ahold of her chest as she glowers at the spooky specters.
“Right?” Evie matches her enthusiasm. “Mom, this place is a carbon copy of your old house.”
“Oh, it is,” I say as I take in the open layout with the living room to the right, the pristine red brick fireplace that looks as if it’s never been used. To the left sits the dining room, and just in front of us is the kitchen with its marble counters. It’s light and bright, and could easily be mistaken for my old home, with the exception of the fact Hannah’s furniture looks a touch more modern than mine.
Evie runs ahead. “I’m taking the room all the way in the back. Sorry, Carlotta, but if my Dad is moving in, then I want to be as far away from my parents’ bedroom as possible. The last thing I want to hear is the two of them doing it.” She pretends to retch on her way to the kitchen. Or on second thought, she might not be pretending.
Carlotta makes a face. “That was me doing it that you heard, kiddo. I was the only one making a racket back at her old place,” she says, stalking off into the kitchen herself. “Butter my biscuits,” she chirps as she yanks open the pantry. “Was this woman training for the Honey Hollow Donut Classic?”
Evie peers that way. “Glazed crullers!”
Before we can stop them, both Evie and Carlotta are each halfway through their own boxes.
“Don’t eat that food!” I shriek. “The woman was poisoned!”
Barry nods Greer over to the kitchen. “What do you say, Greer? It can’t hurt us.”
Greer shakes her head. “We should stay focused and help Lottie. Besides, Evie doesn’t know about Lottie’s abilities. But once they’re gone, you and I, my friend, are going to rack up the carbs.”
Everett’s jaw redefines itself. “Carlotta, Evie, why don’t you explore somewhere else in the house. I’ll take you both to the bakery afterwards.”
Carlotta speeds past us. “I’m checking out my new closet.”
“I’d better do the same.” Evie blows past us in a blur. “If it’s a thimble like the one in Mom’s old house, I’ll need to take yours, too, Dad!”
“Sounds good,” Everett calls out just before his cheek rises as he looks at me. “Lemon, I can find my own place. I don’t want you to feel as if—”
“No way,” I cut him off. “We’re doing this together. You’re my husband. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be living together.”
Noah takes a breath, and I can hear it from clear across the room.
Everett blinks his way. “You have something to say?”
Noah shrugs. “I just thought the two of you were feeling things out. Sort of the way you and I were, Lottie. But you’re right. You’re married”—he lays a heavy emphasis on that last word as he looks to Everett—“I don’t see why you shouldn’t live together.”
Everett’s chest deflates a moment. “Why do I get the feeling you think our relationship isn’t the real deal?”
Noah shakes his head. “I didn’t say it. You did.”
“All right.” I hold my hands out. “Look, Everett and I are together. We also happen to be married. And—I like his company.” I turn to Everett. “Also, as much as I hate to admit it, I think having a little help around the house during the second half of this pregnancy would be heaven. If you and Evie move somewhere else, that’s just going to make me sad that I’ll have to drive to see you. We’re a family. I should have my daughter and my husband nearby. The arrangement we had before was fine, but there are no other available houses on the street. I want you here, Everett. Right here with me.”
“Good.” He dots a kiss to my cheek. “Because that’s exactly where I want to be.”
Noah ticks his head to the hall. “The office is this way.”
We head down the hall and to the left, and sure enough, Hannah’s converted one of the guest bedrooms into a cosmopolitan office with white wooden floors, pale blue walls, and a small flat screen TV on the wall near the window. There’s a desk in the rear of the room that looks as if it’s comprised solely of mirrored glass and I speed on over to it.
“It’s all clear,” Noah says. “Touch whatever you want. I’ve taken all the prints I need.”
Everett opens the closet, exposing a few blouses and a couple of blankets set on the rack