Page 40 of Power Plays & Proposals

"I want to try something bolder." She pointed to a blue and purple eye shadow palette. "I'm thinking this with a black eyeliner?"

"That sounds beautiful," I told her.

Her stomach growled.

"Hungry?"

"Yes!"

"Any idea if your dad has something to eat?"

She shrugged. "We eat a lot of spaghetti. He should have a bottle of sauce and noodles in the cupboard."

"I'll start making it, why don't you work on applying the look you want while I'm doing that."

I left her to practice and headed into the kitchen. While rummaging through the cupboards, I stumbled over the edge of a rug, sending me teetering forward. In my stumble, I flung open the last cupboard and discovered an array of pasta sauces neatly stacked on a shelf. Red ones, white ones, and a variety of flavors greeted me.

"Found you." I grabbed a jar at random and sat it on the counter.

The noodles needed to be cooked before I could heat up the sauce, so leaving the sauce jar on the counter for later I filled a pot with water and sat it on the stove to heat. The spaghetti noodles were in a tall glass jar on the counter, and Nate must have the best stove in the world because the water quickly came to a boil. I carefully added the noodles to cook, and kept an eye on it as it cooked.

My phone pinged with a text from Nate.

Sorry this is going so late. I can order you two a pizza.

Smiling, I texted him back.

Penelope told me where to find the spaghetti stuff. It'll be done soon.

You're amazing. I'll be there as soon as I can.

Penelope walked out of her room as I was texting Nate not to worry.“The noodles are almost done.”

I looked up from my phone and saw Penelope's attempt at a smokey eye. She'd done a pretty good job for someone that was just starting out. Some of her blending had caused the powder to spread farther, and without the bright vanity lights, it almost looked like she'd gotten a black eye. She just needed to use primer and maybe a different brush.

I opened my mouth to praise her and provide some pointers when there was a knock at the door.

Her eyes went big, and I could see a little bit of panic. She was not confident with her look, and she'd probably planned on washing it off after showing me.

"Can you watch the noodles while I get the door?"

She nodded, her panic disappearing.

Smiling to myself I went to the door and opened it. A short, older woman stood in front of me, a serious expression on her face.

"Can I help you?" I asked her.

"I'm with Child Protective Services, I'm here to see Penelope Mitchell."

Chapter 17

Pure shock left me speechless. I wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. Do I wait for Nate to get home, or do I let her in? A yelp and a crash sounded from the kitchen. I immediately turned and ran to check on Penelope.

She was sitting on the floor, hot water and noodles dripped off the counter and down the side. The pasta jar I'd set on the counter earlier was broken on the floor. Penelope put a hand down to help herself up, but immediately she pulled it back with a yelp. I carefully stepped around the broken jar to help her to her feet. Luckily she had her shoes on so I didn't have to worry about her stepping on glass.

Her hand was bleeding.

"What happened?" The CPS worker asked, and it's only now I realized she'd followed me into the house.

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