(Dream Man 03) Law Man(53)

I hit the living room-slash-kitchen-slash-dining-area to see a box half full of donuts on the coffee table, empty milk glasses not on coasters, cartoons on the TV. Billy was sprawled in my armchair and Billie sprawled mostly on Mitch who was sprawled on my couch.

All eyes came to me.

“Auntie Mara! Mitch took us out and bought us donuts!” Billie cried but didn’t move from her place sprawled on Mitch.

I knew this because I saw the donuts and I also knew it because she had sticky-looking chocolate frosting coating her mouth.

“I can see that, baby,” I told her and my eyes slid to Mitch whereupon I engaged my retinal laser beam to target Mitch who was not supposed to be sprawled on my couch eating donuts with the kids before nine o’clock. In fact, he was not supposed to be in my house at all until eleven o’clock. Unfortunately, my retinal laser beam malfunctioned and Mitch wasn’t incinerated.

“He let us get the ones we wanted,” Billy informed me and I looked at him to see he had powdered sugar down the front of the new tee he was wearing.

“Did you thank him?” I asked.

Billie’s head jerked to Mitch, she lifted a hand and slapped his chest, shouting in his face, “Thank you, Mitch!”

“Yeah, thanks, Mitch,” Billy echoed obediently.

I stood there, not knowing what to do and of all the options sifting through my mind, I decided the priority was Billie’s chocolate-ringed lips. So I walked to the kitchen, grabbed a paper towel, wetted it and walked to Billie and Mitch on the couch. I executed a knees-closed squat beside them, grabbed her jaw in my hand and wiped.

“You’ve got frosting all over you, honey,” I muttered as I wiped.

“I know,” she told me, her lips quirking into a wonky smile even as I wiped. “I was savin’ it for later.”

I finished with the frosting and my eyes hit hers. “How many donuts have you had?”

“A gazillion!” she declared.

“Right,” I muttered. “How many donuts have you really had?”

She lifted her hand, I let her jaw go and saw she held up three fingers.

See? Kids totally ate more than their fair share of food. How little Billie’s stomach could house three donuts was a mystery.

Her wonky smile was still fixed in place. I returned it, grabbed her jaw again, tugged her face to me as I leaned in and kissed her forehead. Then I let her go.

“I get some of that?” Mitch’s deep voice rumbled at me and my eyes went to him.

“You don’t have any frosting on your lips,” I informed him, his eyes smiled, I felt his eye smile throughout my body and I decided my next move was escape.

This was thwarted after I straightened when Mitch’s warm, strong fingers wrapped around the back of my knee.

I stopped, sucked in breath and looked down at him.

“You sleep okay?” he asked.

“Yes, of course. I own the Spring Deluxe,” I answered, feeling his fingers burning white hot into the skin behind my knee.

At my answer, his eye smile went full facial and a whoosh slid through my belly.

Then I asked, “Did the kids let you in?”

“No. Found your extra key and nabbed it.”

I flipped the switch on my retinal laser beam repeatedly hoping it would engage. No go.

Then I asked in an unhappy voice, “You helped yourself to my extra key?”

“You said make myself at home.”

I clenched my teeth.

Then I stated, “That wasn’t exactly what I meant.”

Mitch made no response and Billie, who had been looking back and forth between us as we talked, look back at me expectantly.

It was then something occurred to me so I asked, “Do you, by chance, know why my alarm clock didn’t go off?”

“Could be because I turned it off,” he answered.

My body went solid at this knowledge. I studied him trying to decide how I felt about him coming into my house and then into my bedroom while I was sleeping to turn off my alarm clock. Then I tried to decide how I felt about him getting the kids dressed and taking off with them to get donuts. Then I tried to decide how I felt about him hanging out with the kids and their donuts while I slept in.

He held my gaze while I came to a decision. And my decision was, I didn’t like it much.

“Perhaps we need to have a chat in the breezeway,” I suggested and Mitch burst out laughing. For some reason, Billie did too. I yanked my leg from his hold and stepped out of reach. “Seriously, Mitch, we need to chat,” I pushed.

Mitch was still smiling huge when he stated, “Happy to chat with you, sweetheart, but there’s no way we’re doing it in the breezeway.”

“Fine,” I snapped, whirled and marched to my bedroom.