Laurie giggled too. “That’s… I’m sorry about that…”
“Yeah, it’s sad. But when you’re new in town and your sister is a hermit, what can you do?”
It seemed Mary hardly did anything except work and come home. She had only a few close friends; Laurie, who lived on the edge of the Native American reservation halfway between Cambridge and Sojourn and Jazmine, who lived forty minutes away in Sojourn.
“Well, hopefully you’ll meet some new people when you get a job. Mary said you had a few interviews.”
“I did. I’m hopeful about one with the junior college. There isn’t an enormous need for anthropologists in the area, especially ones who just finished their bachelor’s and have very little experience.”
“So, I guess you don’t mind two babies and a toddler for the evening?”
“Not at all. What time do you want me?”
“Seven. My house. Mary can give you directions. Hopefully we won’t be too late. Miriam should sleep. She’s only a month old. In fact I’ve never left her this long yet. But I so badly need a night with adults.”
“I understand. It’s someone’s birthday, right?”
“Yeah, Miles and Melinda. They’re twins. The other two kids are Miles’s in fact. They’re quite small also. McKenna is fifteen months, and Adam is five months. Altogether, that’s a handful. Are you sure it’s okay?”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Thanks. You’re a life saver.”
Amanda ended the call as she heard the front door open. Mary was home.
“Amanda?” she called from the entry.
Amanda stared at the ceiling for a few more seconds. She was tired. She could easily have taken a nap before babysitting if Mary hadn’t arrived. She hadn’t slept well since she arrived in Cambridge. She didn’t know if it was caused by laziness and boredom or something else, but she was exhausted. And every time she did fall asleep, she had the most peculiar dreams.
The dreams weren’t disturbing or anything. They certainly didn’t cause her to jerk awake in fear. They were always the same—two men, huge sexy men who made her panties wet and her nipples hard every time they smiled at her in her sleep. Nope. Fear hadn’t woken her up even once. What yanked her awake in the middle of the night was the throbbing in her clit and the fact that her hand had wandered into her panties as she watched the men work outside, building something. Hot. Sweaty. Irrationally large. She’d managed to orgasm several times to their image.
Sleeping was something she’d begun to relish. But it never left her rested.
“Amanda, are you home?” Mary called again.
Amanda shook the recurring image from her head, hauled herself off the bed, and headed down the short hall to the living room. “Hey. Laurie called about babysitting tonight. I’m supposed to be there at seven.”
“Oh, right. Thanks for doing that for her. I know you’re not a teenager. I just thought it would give you something to do, and Laurie was desperate. Her sitter canceled with the flu this morning.”
“No problem.” Amanda flopped onto the couch and watched as her sister set her computer bag on the dining table in the adjoining kitchen space. “That family is huge. Aren’t there like ten siblings or something? She listed so many people, I couldn’t even follow.”
“Far more than ten. Well, I mean they aren’t all siblings. But they’re all related by blood or marriage…or whatever. It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated?”
Mary wandered back into the living room and dropped into a chair. “I’m not entirely sure whose kids are whose. They lead an unconventional lifestyle. But I can tell you every one of them I’ve met was very nice, including one set of their parents, Carlie and Adam Masters. They own the ski resort.”
“Oh, right. The Masters. I’ve heard that name tossed around a bit in town. Is Laurie one of their kids, then?”
“No.” Mary shook her head. “But Zachary is. He’s the baby’s father…I think.”
Amanda stared at her sister for several seconds before she started laughing. “You think?” She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees. “Let me get this straight. You don’t know for sure who the kid’s dad is? Are you telling me Laurie doesn’t know either? Is it some sort of commune?”
Mary scrunched up her face. “Not exactly.”
“Oh. This is rich. My sister has officially lost her mind.”
Mary groaned and rolled her head against the back of the chair.