Page 29 of The Captain's Little Girl

“That drives them nuts,” River chimed in as she nodded. “This crib is beautiful. Mark selected gorgeous furniture. All this has to be ordered special.”

“So, he’s really had this room put together for a while?” Cricket asked as she looked around.

“No, he put it together for you when he met you. Sam offered to come help him assemble the furniture, but Mark wanted to do it all himself,” Hope shared.

“You knew?” Cricket glared at Hope.

“Just long enough for us to sneak in and leave you nursery-warming presents,” Hope finished with a devilish grin.

“I’m sorry I scowled at you,” Cricket apologized.

Hope bounced up to her knees and hugged Cricket. “No problem. If my friends had hidden important information like a nursery for long, I would have done more than give me a dirty look.” That drew a laugh from everyone.

“What should we do?” River asked.

“Let’s look in the toy chest and find a game or something,” Cricket suggested.

Inside, they found a gorgeous puzzle of a basket of kittens. They took it to the kitchen table as well. Soon, they were busy flipping over the pieces so they could see the colors and searching for the edge pieces.

They were about halfway done when River pointed to the clock. “We better go to Rosie’s. Who’s driving?”

“Let’s take mine. I haven’t tried it out since Mark had it fixed for me,” Cricket suggested. “It might be cluttered in the back. That’s where I always throw everything.”

Piling into the car, Cricket looked around in shock. Every surface gleamed. “It’s so clean in here. I don’t think there’s a speck of dust left.”

“Wait until you start it,” River said knowingly.

Cricket pushed the ignition button and shrieked in joy as it purred to life. “My car never sounded like this, even when I got it.”

Sobering, she looked at the others and asked, “Do you think this is my car, or did Mark swap it out?”

“Go look in the trunk,” Hope suggested.

“Why?” Cricket questioned as she pushed the trunk release.

“Just go look,” Hope urged, pushing her toward the door.

Laughing, Cricket jumped out and peered inside the trunk. “All my crap is back here,” she proclaimed.

As she slid behind the steering wheel, River commented from the back seat, “Guess it’s your car.”

“I’m going to have to keep it clean now, aren’t I?”

Both passengers nodded.

“Crap.”

They pulled up just as Ember walked out the front door of the large business where she worked. Ember waved and jogged to the curb to pile into the backseat with River.

“Your car is so clean, Cricket. I hope I don’t get dirt in here. I’ve been outside working,” Ember worried as they pulled away.

“Not a problem. My car’s never this clean,” Cricket reassured her friend.

“Your daddy took it in for service?” Ember guessed.

“Yes. Look, there’s Rosie’s place.” Hope pointed through the windshield.

Within a few minutes, they’d parked and walked through the front door. Rosie greeted them with a flurry of vanilla-scented hugs. Somehow, the sweet flavors she used to concoct her delicacies always seemed to linger around her.

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