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“Hey!” Tori’s bright smile was a refreshing change from the moods she normally dealt with. Death wasn’t for the lighthearted and happy.
“Hi.” Miranda mustered as much of a smile as she could, though she was sure it didn’t reach her eyes. It never did.
“Hi Rebel!” Tori leaned forward and tickled her fingers into Rebel’s belly. Rebel giggled and grabbed her hands.
Miranda couldn’t prevent her smile at that. She was just about to speak when she noticed Tori’s daughter pop her head around the curve of Tori’s hip, peeking out to see what was going on. Tori instinctively reached behind her and cupped the back of Harley’s—that was her name, right?—head.
“Can I show Rebel my room?” Harley asked, her voice gentle and high pitched. Her words were precisely spoken, the consonants clear but still very childish.
“Oh. Um…” Miranda looked to Tori to try and find an answer. She hadn’t expected to stay longer than necessary to get the items and leave.
“Harley’s been talking about showing Rebel her room all day. If you don’t mind, they can play and maybe we can go through some of the clothes so you’re only taking what you want.”
Miranda clenched her jaw, looking Tori over. She had no aversion to staying, no hesitation at the offer. She nodded sharply. Harley jumped up and down, clapping her hands. Tori stepped back and widened the door to the small apartment so they could all go inside. Miranda didn’t dare put Rebel down on the freshly vacuumed carpet until the front door was shut and locked.
Harley grabbed Rebel’s hand and led her away, Rebel willingly following. Harley chatted at her as they went, and Miranda had to resist the urge to follow and make sure everything would be fine. With Rebel being her responsibility now, she had to worry about those kinds of things.
“They’ll be fine,” Tori murmured next to Miranda’s ear. “Harley was playing with some old Barbie dolls that her gram brought over. Siena’s mom. They were Siena’s toys from when she was a kid.”
“You’re awfully close with your ex.”
“We co-parent, so yeah, we have to communicate a lot. I don’t ever want Harley to feel like she has to choose between us.” Tori walked around Miranda in the small entryway and sighed. “I have three bags of clothes and two bags of toys. I thought you might be able to use those too.”
“Right.” Miranda slid her sweaty palms over her tan pants. This was going to take much longer than she’d first anticipated.
“Want some wine while we sort?” Tori looked adorable, with the longing in her eyes.
Miranda wouldn’t give in to it. She had enough on her plate with Rebel, and Tierney pulling another vanishing act. She didn’t need to add any type of sexual relationship to it. But a glass of wine wouldn’t hurt. “Sure, I’m not on call tonight.”
“On call?” Tori called as she headed toward the small kitchen. “Red or white?”
“Red.” Miranda sighed, still staring at the trash bags in the middle of the clean living room. She was willing to bet that Tori had massively cleaned knowing that she was coming over today. “I’m on call three nights a week to pick up bodies.”
The wine cork popped. Miranda lifted her head to see Tori’s reaction. Most people found it disturbing that she worked with dead people. Not everyone, but it had been a turnoff early on in many of her friendships and romantic relationships. Which had been in part why she hadn’t tried lately.
“Makes sense I guess. Not everyone can die during business hours.”
“No, unfortunately.” Miranda squared her shoulders.
“I get late night calls too, sometimes, when people freak out over something.” Tori came around the kitchen peninsula and handed over a glass of wine. “Though probably not as often as you do, and I get to charge twice my normal rate for it.”
Miranda chuckled lightly. “That would be a benefit.”
“Some days.” Tori winked before plopping down onto the couch. “So I did sort them into sizes, or at least what size they kind of shrunk to in the wash. What’s Rebel wearing?”
“3T for now.”
Tori raised her eyebrows. “Then this bag is useless.” She kicked one out of the way. “I’ll see if Aili knows of anyone else or take it down to donation.” Tori sat cross-legged on the floor, putting her wine glass on the side table. She started to open one of the bags.
Miranda didn’t quite know where to sit or what to do. The apartment was clean, but it also had toys here and there. There was definitely a young child who lived here. It was nice to see. Her house didn’t look anything like that except for one spot in the living room with the couple of toys she had for Rebel to play with at home. She was just about to sit down when Rebel came screeching out of the bedroom and down the hallway, running straight toward her. She was laughing.
Miranda managed to scoop her up with one hand and not spill her wine with the other, popping Rebel on her hip. Rebel laughed boisterously and buried her face in Miranda’s shoulder before wiggling to be put down and running heavy-footed back to the bedroom.
“See? She’s fine.” Tori smiled up at her.
Miranda was still unconvinced that she shouldn’t check on them, but she slid to the floor and followed Tori’s lead. She sipped her wine, happy with the flavor, before setting it next to Tori’s. “I don’t know how long I’ll have Rebel, so I’m not sure I should take too many clothes.”
“Can Rebel’s mom use them when she comes back?”
