Page 75 of Little Sunshine

She gave me a smirk so similar to her brother’s, it could’ve been copied and pasted. “Trust me. I’ve rested. I’ve relaxed. I’ve binged so much TV, my brain is rotting. I’m happy to get out of the house for a break that involves adult conversation. Even once I get back to work, it’ll be mostly cartoons and fart jokes.” At my lowered brows, she explained, “I work in a pediatrician’s office.”

“Does that mean I get a sucker once this is finished?”

I’d meant it as a joke, but Ash moved to open a cabinet near the fridge. He pulled out a large jar packed with lollipops and handed me a pink one. “Why wait until you’re done?”

“See?” Violet shook her head. “This is why the kids call him their funcle.”

I didn’t open the package as Violet moved my head around to gingerly clean my face. When she swiped my cheek, I hissed, and tears filled my eyes.

“Hmm,” she murmured.

Ash rapid fired questions. “What’s wrong? Is it the bone? Should I bring her back to the hospital?”

“No,” I snapped.

At the same time, Violet said, “Give me a second.”

She reached into her Mary Poppins bag of medical supplies and pulled out something that looked like a headlamp. Once she put it on, a bright light burned my eyes as she inspected my cheek. She ran her gloved finger across it, watching for my wince each time. After a moment, she grabbed something else and warned, “This might hurt.”

Ash reached his arm across to offer me his hand, but I didn’t take it. I didn’t want to accidentally jostle the baby. Plus, after what I’d been through, how much more pain could she really cause?

A lot.

The answer was a lot.

Using the world’s largest and sharpest tweezers, Violet stabbed into my face and wiggled. I was pretty sure she’d somehow managed to fit the entire length of the tweezers under my skin.

I clutched my hands in my lap and forced myself to stay still so I wouldn’t make it worse. The tears were harder to keep in, but I did my best with that, too.

After an eternity, Violet pulled away. She touched the spot on my cheek, and thanks to her digging, it was raw and tender. But it didn’t have the same sting. “Better?”

“Yes.”

She held up the tweezers to show a tiny piece of brick squeezed in the tip. “The initial swelling must’ve hidden it. Do you have ointment?”

“Yes,” Ash answered for me since he’d been the one dealing with it.

“Good. Make sure that spot gets some.” She removed the light and went back to work looking me over before asking me some basic questions and giving me a few easy commands to follow. “Everything looks good.” She offered me a sympathetic smile. “Though I’m sure it doesn’t feel good.” She shot her brother a quick glare, then returned her gaze to me. “None of this is medical advice or clearance.”

“Got it,” I muttered.

“I don’t have X-ray or MRI vision. I can’t say there’s no issue brewing below the surface. If your pain gets worse or even if you feel like something is off, you need to see Dr. Pierce.”

Her knowledge of which doctor I had seen reaffirmed my guess that he was a family friend. Ash clearly had some connection since he was able to make the doctor come to Moonlight and then make my hospital visit so quick.

Well, quick for a hospital.

Ash and Violet spoke for a few minutes while she went over the same list of things to watch out for that the doctor had. Once she was done, she gathered her belongings—including her baby.

Who I probably wasn’t supposed to refer to as a belonging, even in my own head, but I did.

“Now if you’ll excuse us,” Violet said, “my girlie and I are going to grab some Starbucks and spend an hour or five casually strolling through Target.”

Before common sense could smack me over the head, my mouth opened, and words spilled out. “Do you want us to watch her so you can have some alone time?”

I had no clue why the hell I offered that. I had no clue what to do with a baby. I didn’t know what they ate, when they ate it, or how much. I didn’t know how to change a diaper. I didn’t even know how to hold a baby.

I’d basically volunteered Ash to baby duty without consulting him. As if he wasn’t already generous enough to be on Mila duty.

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