Shiver(24)

“Hey, Dee. What’ve you been up to?” she asked.

“I’ve been buried in mountains of snow at Shawnee’s place. Her dad finally dug us out and brought me home.” She flipped her black straight-as-rain hair, like a shampoo model, over her shoulder. “I thought I was having fun, but I heard you’re the one having all the excitement.”

Raven set the tray on the counter and took a seat at the table. “Excitement that I could have happily done without.”

“Is he as hot as Mom says?”

Raven arched her brows. “Mom thinks Aidan’s hot?”

“Okay.” She rolled her eyes. “Mom said dashing, but I interpreted that to mean hot.” She leaned forward. “So, is he hot?”

“It doesn’t matter, because he’s my age and you are only fifteen.”

“Yeah, but there aren’t any men around here. I’m bored.” She pouted.

“Don’t let Mom hear you say that.”

Chickadee looked around, fear flashing for a moment in her dark eyes. The kid ought to be scared. ‘Bored’ was a dirty word around these parts. If Fiona heard any of her children utter the word, it was bound to get them saddled with cleaning toilets, or worse.

Fiona breezed into the kitchen. “There’s my girls. Just who I needed to see.”

Raven and Chickadee looked at each other. Chickadee’s expression clearly wondering if the word ‘bored’ had brought her mother like a homing pigeon.

Fiona narrowed her eyes, planted her hands on her hips, and addressed Chickadee. “What’s going on?”

“You’re going to want us to do something,” Chickadee made the mistake of saying. Fiona looked to Raven who kept her mouth zipped.

“Well, in this case, you’re right. Bree called in snowbound, and I need a waitress for tonight. Who’s going to put on an apron?”

Raven refrained from commenting, though she did grin when Chickadee looked at her and batted her eyelashes as in, “Please, Raven, I’m too young and cute to waitress.” Raven shook her head. “I’m playing nursemaid. You get to be the waitress.”

“This sucks.”

“Chickadee,” Fiona scolded. “That’s a dollar you owe the swear jar. Better make it up in tips tonight.”

Raven bit her lips to keep from grinning. There had been many times when she had funded the swear jar herself. Now she was more discrete when she let lose one of the five ‘s’ words. At least around her mother.

Fiona turned to Raven. “Aidan’s fever still down?”

“Uh…” If she admitted Aidan was doing better, Fiona would rope her into waitressing too. “Eva said he still needs to be watched. Have you seen Fox anywhere?”

“He’s in the restaurant. Pike’s got him peeling potatoes. All this snow makes people hungry.” She frowned. “Aidan ought to get up and move around some. Lying about in bed isn’t going to do him any good.”

Aidan chose that moment to bump his way into the kitchen on crutches, wearing green and blue striped Bermuda shorts that Raven recognized as Lynx’s and a blue t-shirt that had ‘Alaska Grown’ written across the front.

Raven jumped to her feet. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Going stir crazy,” he huffed. She helped guide him to one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He sat and gathered the crutches in one hand. “I must be out of shape.”

“It couldn’t be fighting a fever for the last two days.” The body she’d sponge bathed was not out of shape. Raven took the crutches and leaned them against the wall. “If you wanted to get up, why didn’t you wait until I returned? You could have fallen again.”

The look on his face said he didn’t like her informing the room he’d had trouble earlier. “I didn’t know if you were going to return. I woke up alone,” he said, his tone almost a whine. He behaved a lot like Fox did when he was sick. Raven didn’t like seeing the similarities. She retook her seat.

“Well, I’m glad to see you feeling better, Aidan.” Fiona came over and patted him on the shoulder. “Let me reintroduce you to my baby.”

“M-o-m,” Chickadee moaned. Poor thing hated being called the baby. She’d been a big surprise to her parents as there were thirteen years between her and the youngest of the other Maiski offspring. And she still constantly surprised everyone.

“Last time you saw her, she was only three. This is Chickadee, or Dee as she likes to be called now that she’s older.”

“Wow, am I feeling old.” Aidan studied her. “You look a lot like Raven did at your age.” His voice turned soft, reminiscing.