Page 35 of More Than an Ex-Girlfriend

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Mason sits sideways in the chair, legs draped over one arm and his head tilted back over the other, looking at me upside down.

“I have a friend who is a girl.” Unlike Dag, I’m not interested in getting relationship advice from Mason.

“Me too. Clementine. She tells everyone else to call her Minnie, but I like the name Clementine, so she lets me call her that. Plus it’s her name.” He sits up and slurps from his juice pouch. “I like her, but we don’t kiss.”

Ever since this kid saw Clint kissing Joji in the goat barn, kissing is a regular topic of conversation. And it’s always funny. But he’s being serious, so I bite back my chuckle.

He’s quiet while I finish the level.

Then I hold out the controller. “Your turn.”

“You play again. I’ll watch.” He stands up. “But can I sit in your lap?”

“Sure.” I check the time. His parents will be back soon. “I’ll turn on a show and we can watch that until your dad and mom get back.”

“Okay.” He nestles into my lap, which is a first.

Before the first episode is over, he’s asleep. Poor kid.

A few minutes later, Poppy walks in and stops when she sees him in my lap. “What happened?”

“I think maybe he’s sick. He was playing like normal. But then he didn’t want cake and wanted to sit in my lap. And he’s kind of warm.”

“Oh, no.” She trails her fingers across his forehead. “Mason, honey, let’s get you home.”

Kent walks up beside her, his brow pinched.

Mason mutters, “I beat the level.”

“Great job.” Kent scoops up the kid.

I’m not sure Poppy could carry him anymore. He’s nearly as tall as she is.

When I stand, she gives me a hug. “Thank you so much for this. Are you sure we can’t pay you?”

“I’m sure. I had fun. Keep me posted about how he’s doing. It was crazy how fast he changed. One minute, he was bouncing around. Then he flopped in the chair.”

She nods and follows Kent out. I clean up the small mess we made, then head home. Lettie’s been asleep for hours, so I’m extra quiet when I slip inside and go to bed.

I need to sleep fast so that I can be up to take her to work. It’s been quiet, and there haven’t been any more sightings of her mom. Even the messages have stopped, which has me feeling uneasy.

CHAPTER13

LETTIE

My body clock doesn’t care that the shop is closed on Mondays. And by six, I’ve made all the final adjustments to my big project.

Oddly, I’ve heard no peep from Archer’s side, which is unusual. He’s always up by now. The last couple of weeks have been great. After he babysat Friday evening, we spent all our free time during the weekend together. I made dinner again last night, a recipe I’d never made for him before. If there’s any truth about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach, I might have a chance. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Last night, he seemed tired, but he works hard all day. He’s tired at the end of every day.

But this is strange, so I shoot off a text to him.

Me:Sleeping in? Everything okay?

I get out eggs and breakfast sausage links, and while making enough breakfast for two, I keep tabs on my phone. When the food is ready, I plate it up and cover everything with foil. Then I knock on our adjoining door. “Archer?”

Ear pressed to the door, I listen. It’s too quiet. There’s no way he’s awake. I push open the door a crack and listen some more. Something is wrong. Or maybe he left before I woke up. I’ll only know if I check.

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