Page 26 of Faith Notes
“Nah,” she says between licks, “Aunt Georgia is good at taking care of things. She’ll take care of it.”
“I bet she will,” I grumble. “Come on. Let’s go see about painting that room.”
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“What is going on here?”
Georgia asks the question carefully as if she might hurt my feelings if she asks it any other way. But I already know what she sees—a disaster.
Avery and I have been working on painting the nursery for the last four hours, and all we’ve managed to do is get more paint on us than the walls.
The most I can say is that I had the foresight to cover the floors before we started, so there’s at least that.
Standing, I stretch out from where I was crouched over the paint pan.
“We’re painting.” I wince.
Emryn comes in behind Georgia, gasping and covering her mouth with her hands as she looks around.
“Thanks for that, Emryn,” I grumble.
She grimaces. “It’s—not that bad.”
Georgia’s mouth opens and closes, trying to find something to say, and Avery watches her, her keen eye picking up on every one of Georgia’s facial expressions.
“Do you like it, Aunt Georgia? Do you think the baby will like it?” Avery asks, walking up to her and grabbing her hand to pull her further into the room.
On her side of the room, Avery created pictures on the wall with the paint. I tried to show her the right way to paint earlier, but she was content to do it her way. So I let her, figuring I could cover it up later. I realize my mistake now that she’s proudly showing off her artwork to Georgia.
“It’s beautiful, honey,” Georgia says, stroking her hand down Avery’s hair.
I step up, preparing myself to be the bad guy, but Georgia shakes her head.
‘Not right now,” she mouths.
I nod.
“Where’s Brooks?” Emryn asks from where she stands in the doorway.
Annoyance at my younger brother surges in. I haven’t seen the man all day. He took his wood and disappeared, leaving mehere with Avery. Not that I mind watching her, but what the heck, man, he came here to paint.
“I don’t know. He disappeared. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“What do you mean he disappeared?” Emryn asks skeptically, raising an eyebrow.
Opening my mouth, I start to explain, but suddenly, a voice comes from the hallway.
“Don’t let him lie to you, pretty woman. I’ve been here all day—” Brooks’s voice trails off as he walks into the room and looks around. “Whoa, what happened here?”
Emryn eyes him, pursing her lips. “You’ve been here all day, huh?”
Brooks is smart enough to offer his wife a sheepish smile. “Well, maybe not all day. But in my defense, I had something to do.”
“What could you have possibly been doing?” My voice comes out just a bit hysterical. Georgia places her hand on my arm, and some of the energy coursing through me dissipates.
But I still narrow my eyes and glare at Brooks, waiting for his answer.
“Well, if you will calm down—”
