Page 21 of Delayed Penalty

She nods, even though she doesn’t look like she knows that at all. “May I?”

“Yes. Here.” I pull my card from my wallet and hand it over to her. “Go ask Mrs. Bess for another.”

She hops out of her chair and grabs the card. “Thank you, Uncle Adam.”

She’s thanking me for feeding her, and I can’t decide if it’s the sweetest thing ever or if I want to ripmy brother’s head off for clearly not giving this girl the basics.

Instead, I tell her, “Of course, kiddo.”

She hurries off to the front counter, and I watch as Bess lights up, chatting with her. I take her abandoned chair and focus my attention on Quinn.

“Look, I know we don’t really know each other, but I do know two things. One, your mother loves that little girl and would never put her in harm’s way, so that’s got to count for something.”

“My mother also thinks my oldest sister is a saint, but one time when I was six, I swear I saw her eyes turn black.”

“Black, huh?”

She nods. “And my oldest brother swore she had a tail when she was born. Sounds like she’s the devil to me, but who knows?”

My lips twitch.

“What’s two?”

“What?”

“You said you know two whole things. You’ve already told me one. What’s the second?”

“Right.” I clear my throat. “You made Flora laugh.”

“So?”

“So?” I shake my head with a derisive chuckle. “So you don’t know what these last few months have beenlike. The kid hardly ever talks and barely smiles. She’sneverlaughed before.”

Quinn rolls her eyes. “That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not.”

She tips her head, studying me to see if I’m lying, which I’m not.

She settles back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “Say you’re being serious and you’ve never seen her laugh until now. Why does that mean I—a person who has only babysat a handful of times—should be your nanny?”

“Because she likes you.”

She looks to the counter where Flora is still talking with Bess, wringing her hands with nerves. Quinn watches her fondly, with a clear hint of admiration. She likes Flora too. I can tell.

“She is really adorable.”

“She is,” I agree. “But that’s not the point. The point is she likes you.”

“Plenty of people like me. How do you know I’ll do a good job and won’t totally screw her up?”

I’ve asked myself the same question.

I sigh. “I don’t, but I have to take what I can get. I, uh, I’m kind of on a time crunch with hockey season starting.”

“I didn’t realize mascots had such demanding schedules. Surly the Snake must be a huge hit, then.”

I narrow my eyes at her because I know she knows who I am. “Ha. Funny. Our mascot’s name is Stu, and he’s asillysnake, thank you very much.”

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