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“Me too. How are Mom and Dad?”
Sylvi shook her head. “They know you’re okay. They send their love. I don’t think they have a full appreciation of what nearly happened today. I don’t think they can, y’know?”
“I know,” Val said sadly. “I guess we keep taking care of them. There are some consequences we can’t fix.”
“Mom wants to visit Cassandra in jail, so she’s admitting that she got arrested.”
“Baby steps. I’m not sure how we keep Van’s connection from them, though.”
“I don’t think they’ll believe it. They could read it in a thousand newspapers and not believe it. But we may just have to accept that. Oh, and they weren’t giving me money. Mom told me that she’d let you believe that. They loaned me money to buy the shop and I’ve been paying them back. I nearly have their loan paid off.”
“Thank you for telling me. And I’m sorry I thought the worst.”
“Mom helped with that. Now I’m going home. I’m going to have a hot bath, eat a pint of ice cream, and sleep for a week.” She kissed Val’s cheek. “Call me. Love you.”
Val’s eyes filled. “Love you, too.”
“Sing to Jace some more. He’ll hear you.”
Mid-City, New Orleans, Louisiana
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 11:30 P.M.
“Kaj!”
Kaj stopped in the ICU waiting room, having nearly missed seeing Molly and Joy, who were drinking coffee at one of the tables. “I’m sorry. I’m on autopilot right now, I think.”
“Want some coffee?” Molly asked.
“Say no,” Joy stage-whispered. “It’s awful.”
Molly grimaced. “It really is, but it’s caffeine.”
“I’m overcaffeinated, but thank you.” Kaj sat next to Joy’s wheelchair. “Any news?”
“MaryBeth’s awake,” Molly said. “She’s trying to get Jessica to go home and sleep, but that’s not happening.”
Kaj breathed a sigh of relief. “Mary Popshins is gonna be okay?”
Molly waggled her hand. “She’ll be out of work for a while. Jess is going to need help at the bakery.”
“Luckily one of my kids has baking experience,” Joy said, “and needs a job, so we should have them covered, at least in the short term.”
“I love how you guys rally around each other,” Kaj said with a wistful smile. “I don’t know what I would have done without you this week.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Molly informed him. “You’re one of us now. You can’t get rid of us.”
That turned his smile from wistful to happy. “Thank you.”
“Elijah get to sleep okay?” Joy asked him.
“Yes, especially after Molly brought Czar to my sister’s house. When I left, the two of them were cuddled together in Genie’s spare room. Thank you, Molly. How’s Burke?”
“Cranky,” Molly said with pure relief. “They’ll move him to a regular room tomorrow.”
Kaj hesitated. “Jace?”
Molly shook her head. “Still hasn’t woken up, but the nurse says his vitals are strong. But the good news is that Dianne Gates is signing over custody to Val.”
