Page 76 of Soaring Free
As she scampers up the stairs to my girls, my eyebrows must be close to my hairline as I try to figure out what is happening. Theo wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me to him. “Liam called me this afternoon. He had to go out of the country on something urgent, but he didn’t want to leave you alone with everything going on. Since Walker is in DC until Thursday,Liam suggested that either he could hire men to stay and watch the house, or you could get a temporary new roommate.” He lifts an eyebrow and tilts his head, pausing his explanation to gauge my reaction.
“So, it sounds like we’re having a sleepover then, huh?” I would much rather have Theo and Gigi stay in my house than men I don’t know, even if they are some of my brother’s contacts. When everything happened with my sister last year, there was a period of time where Vivian had linebackers following her around as a safety precaution, so I know if Liam mentioned it, he was serious about it. “Well then, come on in, roomie.”
“Mama? Mama, I don’t feel…” Whatever Lucy was going to say from the hallway is interrupted by the universal horrible sound of her retching and throwing up. I toss the covers off and rush into the hall to scoop her up, but the damage has been done—all over the hallway floor. I carry her into the hall bathroom, but before I can strip her out of her soiled clothes, another round hits her and I barely get her to the toilet before she’s throwing up again. I had been watching my girls for signs as the stomach bug has been going through their school, and it looks like the first victim has fallen, with more likely to come. While Lucy rinses off in the shower, I bring her clean pajamas and clean up the mess in the hallway. No one likes cleaning up puke at two in the morning, but it would be so much worse if it was put off. I get Lucy settled in her bed, armed with a couple disposable vomit bags, which next to my Kindle might be the best thing I’ve ever ordered off Amazon. I’m only three steps from her door when I hear the tell-tale signs from Emily’s room that the stomach bug has claimed another victim, but she didn’t make it out of her bed in time.
It’s going to be a long night.
Chapter forty-seven
A noise jerks me from my sleep and without thinking, I’m up and crossing the guestroom to check on Gigi first. The guestroom she’s sleeping in is connected to mine by a Jack and Jill bathroom, and I can see she’s still asleep. I hear the odd noise again and as soon as I step into the hall, I hear a faint cry. “I know, baby. I’m so sorry, just give me a minute, please.”
That’s Savannah’s voice. My steps quicken as I turn the corner and see Savannah at the end of the hallway, bent over, with one arm bracing herself up against the wall, holding some type of blue bag up to her face. Lucy is lying on the floor crying, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the stomach bug going around the girls’ school has hit their household. It’s a fast-working bug, but it’s a brutal twelve to twenty-four hours. Gigi had it last week and it’s a good thing I have an iron stomach.
“I’m here, Sav. It’s okay,” I tell her in a soothing voice as I assess the situation. Savannah just points to Lucy and I follow her directions.
“Hey kiddo, not feeling so hot, huh?” I squat down and check her temp with the back of my hand. She definitely has a fever and the poor thing looks miserable.
“I need more ice water.” Lucy’s voice is small and her eyes are filled with tears. I scoop her up in my arms without hesitation.
“Then let’s do that, and get you in bed, then I’ll take care of your mama, okay?”
“And Emily, but she only puked once.” How long have they been up dealing with this? “But she got it all over her bed and it was a big mess.”
“And Emily, of course.” I carry Lucy to the kitchen, get her a fresh water bottle with ice, and take her back upstairs to tuck her into her bed. “I’m going to check with your mama, and I might be back with Tylenol, okay? But until then, you just rest, kiddo.”
Lucy nods and mumbles a thanks.
Savannah has moved into her bathroom and is currently in the fetal position next to the toilet. “I’m so sorry, I just need a minute.” She braces her hands on the floor like she’s going to push herself up. I grab a rolled towel from the shelf and gently guide it under her head to use as a pillow.
“Baby, it’s fine. Stay there until this wave passes. Has Lucy had any Tylenol? She has a slight fever.” Savannah shakes her head. “Okay, I’ll get her some and check in on Emily. Has Olivia been hit yet?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m sorry, this is too much. I just need a minute.”
“I’ll pop my head in her room to check and be back with fluids and meds for you. Hang tight, Sav. I’ve got you.”
She mumbles a thanks and closes her eyes. If I hadn’t been here, Savannah would have been handling all of this—and her own sickness—on her own. That’s unacceptable. She’s a strong woman, but she doesn’t have to handle everything on her own. It’s not a burden to take care of her and her girls, in fact, it’s more like an honor. Maybe our temporary roommate situation needs to be explored further … like forever.
Chapter forty-eight
It’s amazing how much can change in a year. While I’ve never missed Cider Fest, this year feels different for multiple reasons. Unlike last year, I wasn’t begging Shane to make it home in time or stewing about him dropping the ball, but rather Theo picked us up and was even fifteen minutes early to my house. One month into dating, Theo showed up in the larger model of his SUV. He tried to downplay it, and I get that the guy is a billionaire, but he also let it slip that it would be more comfortable for all of the girls than his previous SUV that couldn’t hold all of us together.
Theo and I walk down Main Street holding hands while the girls finish painting mini pumpkins with Pippa and Vivian.
“Pippa just sent me a text and said they should be done in a half hour. Apparently, Olivia suggested a theme and they are all now painting additional pumpkins to look like their favorite Disney princesses.” Theo grins down at me.
“I guess we better make space for the mini pumpkin display we will apparently have now.” Earlier this month, Theo and Gigi showed up on our doorstep as temporary roommates with everything going on, but instead of leaving when Liam popped back into town, they just kind of stayed. And I love it—a lot. One of my favorite parts of the day is when Theo joins me for a cup of tea after the girls are in bed. We get to talk about our day, or sometimes we both read, it doesn’t really matter—it just matters that we’re together. I haven’t brought up the ongoing sleepover situation because I don’t want to rock the boat, especially when that boat is known to sneak into my bedroom and graciously gift me copious amounts of orgasms.
Liam’s tech contact did whatever she does and has assured us that there are no other cameras in my house. All this drama has made the conversations about building something together even easier to imagine—a clean slate from everything. But I don’t know if I’ll be able to fully relax until we can figure out who is sending these threatening messages. More than once, I’ve woken from a bad nightmare about all of it, and I find myself sneaking into Theo’s bedroom to just sleep in his arms where I feel completely safe and protected. I try to push those thoughts away though; right now, I want to be focused on enjoying Cider Fest with Theo, our girls, and our family and friends. It’s been one of those days where everything seems too good to be true.
I should have known better.
“Well, isn’t this quaint,” a voice I know all too well says behind us and I turn to see Shane standing there, looking exceptionally annoyed. “Hello, Savannah.”
Chapter forty-nine
Shane gestures at the two of us holding hands. “Was this why you really wanted to wrap up the divorce so quickly, Savannah? Here I thought it was for the benefit of our children. Had I known you were sleeping with your attorney, maybe I should’ve pushed more on custody if it had been brought to my attention that the mother of my children was making questionable decisions, including, but not limited to, the example she is setting for our children. It’s necessary that one of our daughters’ parents act in their best interest.”
Shane isn’t dressed for a casual evening at Cider Fest but rather looks like he just stepped out of his office. Judging by the colleagues behind him, they probably came straight here from the office, or maybe even took a break on whatever case they were working on. It doesn’t matter what the case is—it was deemed more important to Shane than coming to this event with his daughters, and I know he isn’t here to see them. He texted Olivia earlier today saying he was too busy with a case.
