Karma tried to keep up with the tumble of words. Her breath caught, and she leaned forward. “Is Rose well? Have you seen her?”
“Yes.” Sarah straightened her shoulders. “We, Max and I, adopted her when she was brought here. We’ve been trying to have kids for a while, but immortals can take centuries to procreate, right?” She chuckled. “Except the Kayrs family. There must be something in their gene pool.”
Karma’s chin dropped. “You and that Max adopted Rose?” Oh, Sarah seemed nice enough, but Max was a killer. She knew one when she saw one.
“Yes.”
Karma bit the inside of her lip. “I did not adopt Rose. I only knew her for a short time before Benjamin rescued her.”
Relief flashed across Sarah’s freckled face. “Oh. Okay. Well then, thank you.”
A scream sounded down the hallway outside, and then giggles erupted. The door opened, and Max strode inside with Hope Kayrs-Kyllwood over one shoulder and a pretty blond toddler over the other. They both were thrashing and giggling, with a squeal or two thrown in. Max dropped to his knees and tossed them both safely on the sofa.
Karma’s mouth dropped open. The deadly soldier’s face was gentle, and with amusement dancing across his blunt features, he appeared charming.
The little girl launched herself at him. “Get Daddy! Hope, get Daddy now!” Her little fingers dug into the warrior’s neck.
“That tickles,” Max complained, leaning forward and pressing a kiss on her upturned nose. “Calm down for a second, Rosy. You have a nice chat with your mama, and then I’ll take you sailing later this afternoon if the rain stops. But you have to wear your pink coat.”
The little girl sat back and crossed her arms, her small face scrunching up. “No coat.”
The soldier smiled and tugged on her ear. “Little girls who don’t wear coats end up getting colds, and then they can’t eat ice cream.”
Rosy, her chubby cheeks a lovely red, frowned. She seemed to think about it. “Okay. Coat.”
“That’s my girl.” The tenderness in Max’s tone couldn’t be misinterpreted.
Rosy tilted her head, mischievousness in her smile. “Can Burt come?”
Max sighed. “Last time we took him, he jumped in and I had to swim after him.” He looked over his shoulder at his mate. “Never met a dog that couldn’t swim on its own to the shore.”
Rose giggled. “My doggie is funny.”
Karma straightened. When Rosy had been with her, she’d talked about a doggie all the time. “You got your doggie?”
Rose’s eyes sparkled. “Yep. I knews I was gonna have him. Had dreams about him, and we gots him.”
Max sighed. “She named him Burt the Babykins. We’ve shortened the name to Burt—usually.” He smacked Hope on the knee and stood, turning to face Karma. “Are you feeling better?”
Numb, she could only nod.
“Good.” He turned and brushed his hand along Sarah’s arm before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Sarah, you should come sailing with us after class. The weather is going to turn soon, and we’ll have to get out the ice skates.”
Delight brightened Sarah’s already pretty face. “That sounds like a plan. Maybe we should get Garrett out on the water. I’m worried about him, Max.”
Max ran his knuckle along his mate’s cheekbone. “So am I, Malaya. I’ll see what I can find out.” With a tug to her ear, he prowled to the door and left the room. In his wake, the energy in the room calmed, and three sets of eyes turned to study Karma.
Hope smiled. “It’s nice you’re feeling better.”
Karma couldn’t look away from the toddler. She was absolutely adorable. Her thick hair was in two ponytails, and she was dressed in jeans and a soft-looking green sweater that had bunnies on it.
Rose looked shyly at Karma. “Hi!” she shrieked.
Sarah laughed. “Inside voice, baby.”
“I know!” Rose screamed, launching herself at her mother. “Inside voice!”
Sarah caught her easily and settled the girl on her lap. She laughed. “Sorry about that, Karma. We’re going through an interesting phase.”
“A loud phase,” Hope interjected, curling one leg beneath the other on the sofa. “Although it’s better than the phase where she would only eat blue foods. Turning bananas blue was just gross.”
“Gross!” Rose agreed loudly.
Hope laughed, turning toward Karma. “Anyway, Rose wanted to meet you, and we wanted to thank you for saving her and bringing her to all of us. I babysit her when Sarah has class and I don’t, and it’s like having a little sister. A loud little sister sometimes.” Her blue eyes sparkled.
“Sisters!” Rose yelled.
Sarah cuddled her close and snuggled her nose into the girl’s hair. “I’d like for this phase to be done, but I’m worried about the next one.” She lifted her head, delight in her eyes. “Okay. Not worried. But definitely curious.”
Karma’s arms ached for her girls. Were the twins safe right now? Were they asking for her?
Hope laughed. “I hope the next phase is her picking up her toys. That’d be a fun one.”
“Toys!” Rose agreed. Then she looked at Karma. “Karma!”
Delight filled Karma. Maybe the little girl somehow remembered her. How wonderful would it be to introduce her girls to Rose. They would all be great friends. But that was not to be. Even now, the Kurjans were watching Rose through Karma’s eye. Would they try to retake her someday? They’d have to go through the Realm, Sarah, and Max. All of a sudden, Karma was thankful Max seemed so dangerous. “I’m glad you’ve found a good home, Rosy,” Karma whispered.
Rose smiled and bounced on her mom’s legs. “We’re going sailing. Wanna come?” Her voice lowered to a normal decibel. Then she frowned. “But you hafta wear a coat. Daddy’s rules.” The sweet little girl rolled her eyes and shook her head as if life was just too much right now.
Humor bubbled up through Karma, and she laughed. Finally, her mind could be at rest about the toddler. She was safe, and she was obviously loved. “While sailing sounds fun, I believe we’re flying out in a couple of hours.” Benjamin had said they needed to leave the Realm before he punched the king, and she believed him.
Rose’s lips pouted. “But you haven’t met Pax yet. He’s my bestest friend.”
“Hey,” Hope protested, grinning.
Rose smiled, her eyes glimmering with mischief. “You like my sister. Pax my boyfriend.”