Page 56 of Perfect Bragg

“Is that a goat?”

Any hope I had of Ms. Cross not noticing Billy flies out the window with her question.

“Yes. It’s Billy.”

“Billy the goat?”

“He’s perfectly harmless.”

“Unless he’s feeling amorous,” Elder mumbles as he enters the living room. Phew. He finally found a t-shirt to wear.

“Here’s my girl now,” I say as I take Robin.

Elder’s eyes widen and he shakes his head.

“What’s wrong?” I whisper.

Ms. Cross clears her throat. “Ms. Kingsley?”

I drag my attention away from Elder who’s making some kind of hand gestures I can’t make heads or tails of. “Yes?”

“Can I see the baby?”

“Of course.”

“Keep her preoccupied,” Elder mutters as I pass him.

“What?” I hiss.

He points to a sheet and pillow behind the couch. “Why didn’t you put those in the bedroom?” I whisper.

“I did.” He motions toward the dogs. Black Ops practically smiles at me. Damn devious dog.

Distraction. I need to distract Ms. Cross.

“This is our little Robin,” I say in an overly loud voice.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Elder creeps toward the back of the couch. What is he doing? Creeping looks suspicious. I snap my fingers at him. When he glances over, I mouthAct normal!at him.

His response? He starts tiptoeing. As if tiptoeing is better than creeping.

“Do you want to hold her?” I ask before shoving the baby at Ms. Cross.

She drops her notebook in order to catch the baby. “I’ll get it,” I say and drop to my knees.

“Stop tiptoeing. It practically screams I’m doing something nefarious,” I whisper to Elder.

“What’s going on?” Ms. Cross asks and Elder falls to the ground.

“Nothing,” I answer as I stand. “I’m picking up your notebook.”

I motion to Elder to get going while Ms. Cross is distracted. He gathers the sheet and pillow in his arms and rushes out of the room. The dogs think this is some kind of game and bark and chase after him like.

Naturally, Ms. Cross notices the commotion. She shakes her head as she watches Elder hurry into the hallway with his loot. This can’t be good.

I snatch the baby from her. “Isn’t Robin gorgeous? She’s such a good baby.”

“Except when she’s up all night screaming,” Elder adds as he re-joins us. He places an arm around my shoulders and gazes down at the baby. “You’re quite the screamer, aren’t you?”

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