Page 94 of Finding the Forward: Part Two
She came back out. “Do you want to come with me to the greenhouse? Or do you want to come with the others?”
I’d like to come in you while in your greenhouse, Sweet Girl.
“I’ll go with you. Why don’t I make breakfast and see who wakes up? Maybe we’ll even stop at a bakery I like. They’ve reopened and I want to give them some business.” Yes, I wanted to see what noises she made as she tried fish-shaped waffles filled with delicious things.
“Sounds perfect.” She disappeared.
I used the bathroom, then went into the kitchen and started the rice and the coffee. While it cooked, I got dressed. When I returned to the kitchen, I made her a chai latte. AJ had brought home a few fresh things, including milk last night, but not any fresh vegetables. Instead, I sauteed some frozen ones. We had eggs since AJ had bought a ton of them.
Opening the curtains to let in the light, I frowned at thehandprintson the glass doors leading out to the balcony. Had they been there yesterday? I didn’t remember, since other people cooked and we’d been gone most of the day.
Ugh. I got the window wipes out of the cupboard and cleaned them off.
Putting the wipes away, I returned to cooking and fried some eggs. As Verity came out, I put some rice in a bowl, along with the vegetables. Placing a fried egg on top, I drizzled it with some chili oil and added sesame seeds and dried green onions.
“Your breakfast.” I put it next to her mug.
“Thank you.” She beamed, put her phone on the counter, and began to eat. Verity was wearing those jeans that hugged her ass and a Maimers hoodie, her hair in a bun.
Getting my food, I sat next to her at the breakfast bar.
“I loved you coming into my bed last night.” I leaned in and kissed her.
Mercy thundered down the stairs in sweats. “Ooh, breakfast?”
“Help yourself, there’s still two eggs in the pan, and coffee in the pot,” I told her, figuring she’d smell food and want some. She was a growing young athlete and ate accordingly.
Mercy grabbed some food. Her eyebrows arched at her sister’s presence. “Ver is going running with us?”
“We’re going to the greenhouse early. You can always run there. We might stop at a bakery so you can have a post run reward.” I grinned.
Mercy had become my running buddy. It was fun to go running through the snow with her. I would’ve thought that with her being from the South, she wouldn’t be up for it, but she was.
“That sounds fun. Do we get coffee, too?” She shoved eggs and rice into her mouth.
“I have dining dollars and meal swipes I need to use before the new semester starts. So, coffee for everyone, and lunch is from whatever in the student union is open and taking meal swipes,” Verity replied.
Verity’s phone rang. She frowned and answered it.
“Saph, is everything okay? Are they delaying our access to the greenhouse again?” Exasperation ran through her voice. She rubbed her temples. “My siblings are where? Okay. I’m on my way. Make sure they stay there. They didn’t tell me they were coming today.”
Oh shit.
Verity ended the call and downed her latte.
“Tru couldn’t wait for me to email the notes, booked herself a flight, and is at your greenhouse because she doesn’t know where we live? I guess we’ll get her, feed her, and call your parents to see what to do next?” My brow furrowed as I downed my coffee.
She shook her head. “It’s actually Hale and Dare with boxes of flower bulbs. These are earlier versions of what I was working on, but a much better specimen than anything I might buy.”
Verity came over and kissed me. “It’s adorable how you rolled with the prospect of one of the littles showing up. Because it already happened, only she showed up at Grace’s because she was pissed about moving to London and missing math camp.”
“How do small children fly internationally without their parents?” I asked, finishing my breakfast. Though, I understood being pissed at having to move and miss important things, given I’d been force-moved many times.
Often right in the middle of hockey season.
“They fly private and know how to access their passport. She got online and figured out how to schedule herself on my sister’s pack’s private plane, then called herself a children’s car service both to the airport and to their house when she got to Rockland. We literally woke up to her eating cookies in the living room because she knew the door codes.” She snorted. “No one had thought to call Spencer because the flight crew knew who she was and figured we were flying her out for math camp.”
“It was wild. Mumsy was pissed. Dad, while not condoning running away, was proud of how clever she was. So was Grace.” Mercy took a gulp of coffee.
