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Shane crossed his arms over his chest, and I could feel the smugness radiating off him. “And spared you having to answer her question.”
“What?” I asked, tucking my phone in my pocket and standing up. Winter was already here, and wood or not, sitting on the porch steps was chilly.
“How do you get any work done with me around?” He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. “Well, despite your best efforts at distracting me, I manage just fine, thank you very much.”
“Speaking of,” he said, adjusting the fold of his coat. “Will I be seeing you tonight?”
I glanced back toward the house with a frown. “That’s going to depend on how the evening goes.”
In the past couple of weeks, Sophia had grown weaker and weaker. She was still managing to do her business, but at least half of it was done from her bed. I had been surprised when she’d begun telling me that was what she was going to do, but I wasn’t stupid enough to comment and risk pricking her pride. And though she hadn’t said anything, I knew some of the work had been shoved off onto other people. If only because I saw her idle or napping far more than I’d ever seen her do before.
The weight had already begun dropping off her with every passing day, and so had her hair. I was not surprised when she demanded it be shaved off completely and then chose to wear scarves wrapped around her head rather than wigs.
“Ah right, she hasn’t been sleeping through the night, has she?” he asked as if he didn’t know.
“Not like she used to,” I said, going along with his play of ignorance. Shane had been seen in the house more often in the past couple of weeks. I had no delusions it had anything to do with me, though he certainly played it off that way. No, he was keeping an eye on his mother, even if he pretended he didn’t care. Then again, their relationship had always struck me as strange. I think they loved each other almost as much as they disliked each other.
“You’re aware you don’t have to keep an eye on her when she’s up and fussing with things, right?”
“Funny, she accused me of being the one to fuss the other night.”
“Because you do fuss.”
“Fussing is part of my job description, which I reminded her of.”
“Somehow, I suspect that did very little to assuage her annoyance.”
“Not a bit,” I said with a laugh. “But she left me alone.”
The worst was still around the corner, and I wondered just how both of them would deal with it when it came. Sophia at least seemed to understand something was coming and thankfully had listened to me about resting up to conserve her strength. As for what was going through Shane’s head…well, I still wasn’t sure if I could or should try to guess at that.
He shook his head. “I keep expecting to be less surprised when it happens, yet I’m surprised every time.”
“What, being unable to sleep through the night? I told you, that’s common. She’ll rest off and on.”
“I meant when you tell her what’s on your mind and walk away without limping.”
“Oh,” I said, blinking. “Well, I don’t know. That’s just how it goes?”
He shook his head. “I can only imagine what my siblings would have to say if they witnessed it.”
“You can imagine, or you’re imagining it in the funniest way possible.”
“Oh, I can definitely imagine. My sister would be outraged, and she can turn this marvelous shade of purple when she’s angry. My brothers? Eh, one of them would be indignant, but he’s so far up his own image he wouldn’t dare do more than grumble under his breath, especially if my mother is allowing it. The other would be biting his tongue so hard you’d be amazed he wasn’t hurting himself in the process.”
“Wonderful,” I said dryly.
“They’ve never known a moment’s joy or pleasure in their lives,” Shane said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Much like my mother, they’ve never really tried to either. So let them get puffed up and indignant. Sometimes a little shake-up is just what people need.”
“I prefer to bring stability when I’m working,” I said with a sigh.
He bowed his head and stepped closer to me. Then, reaching out, he took me by the elbow and drew me closer. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have been so bold as to tell my mother what you thought she needed to hear, or…” He kissed me quickly, but that didn’t stop the sudden pool of warmth forming in my gut, “allowed yourself to get involved with me.”
I pushed him away, albeit more gently than I might have a couple of weeks ago. “Hey, I told you only at night.”
His eyes drifted toward the dark sky. “And what would you call this time of night?”
