“I have, but I didn’t know you’d become a babysitter for them.”
“I’m just holding her until Lizzie gets back.” Bea cooed and reached for Rose’s nose, which made her laugh. “More importantly, what are you doing here?”
“Getting a beer with Harrison and Caleb. When do you get off work?”
“Not until ten,” she said.
“Too bad, otherwise I’d ask you to join us.”
Considering how much the Thorntons looked alike, the last thing Rose wanted was to hang around guys who looked just like Seth. She smiled at Bea, laughing again when the baby did anything remotely adorable.
Lizzie returned, Trent in tow, and Rose handed Bea over. Bea started to fuss instantly.
“Oh no, she definitely loves you now,” Lizzie said. She bounced Bea in her arms. “Rose has to get back to work. Come on, I bet you’re just hungry.”
Trent nodded at Heath as he left with his wife and daughter. After Heath saw Harrison and Caleb enter, he told Rose he’d see her later. Rose went into the back to fetch Rebecca, who’d definitely taken a way longer break than necessary.
The Fainting Goat always got busy on Saturdays, and this evening was no different. About a half hour later, Sara, Megan, and Jubilee entered. Sara was Harrison’s wife—and, Rose couldn’t help but notice, cradling what looked like a growing baby bump—while Megan was Sara’s sister and Caleb’s wife. Jubilee was the youngest Thornton.
When Caleb saw the women, he waved at them. “Come sit with us!”
Megan put her hands on her hips. “What are you doing here?”
“Getting a drink, like I told you.”
“I don’t remember you telling me that.”
Caleb pulled up a chair for her, kissing her cheek. “You just weren’t listening, as usual.”
For that, he was pinched, and Rose found herself helping Rebecca serve the table of six. As the two singles, Heath and Jubilee sat next to each other, and Rose couldn’t help but notice that Jubilee would not look Heath in the face.
And Heath? Her normally easygoing older brother seemed…distracted. Rose narrowed her eyes. That’s interesting. Very interesting.
As she filled Jubilee’s glass with water, the girl seemed not to notice Rose at all, but instead stared straight ahead. As Rose moved to Heath, Heath grabbed a napkin from the stand in the center of the table right at the same time as Jubilee reached for her glass of water. Their two arms bumped, and Jubilee reacted like she’d been burned. In something that seemed straight out of a sketch comedy show, Jubilee dropped her glass, dumping most of the ice-cold water in Heath’s waiting lap.
Heath jolted; Jubilee cried, “Oh!” And Rose had to shove her fist in her mouth so she didn’t laugh too loudly at her brother’s discomfiture.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Jubilee kept saying. Heath had stood up, and Jubilee was handing him napkin after napkin.
Heath just shook his head. “It’s fine. It’s just water. It’s fine.”
Jubilee, clearly not thinking, pressed a napkin against the water spot—right on Heath’s upper thigh.
She snatched her hand away, a bright red blush on her cheeks, a second later. Heath’s own cheeks looked a little red, and he muttered something about going to the bathroom before stalking away.
The rest of the party had missed everything except Heath leaping up like a scalded cat.
“What was that about?” Megan asked.
“I spilled water on Heath.” Jubilee sounded miserable, like she’d accidentally run over his dog.
Harrison snorted. “He’ll be fine. Don’t worry, Jubi. It’s just water.”
“I know, but he’ll be all wet now—”
Rose leaned down to Jubilee. “I’ll get him a towel, plus there are dryers in the bathroom. No worries.”
Jubilee gave her a grateful smile, although when Rose went to the kitchen to get some dish towels, she couldn’t help but notice Jubilee rushing to the women’s bathroom.
Well, that had been memorable.
Rose knocked on the door to the men’s bathroom. “Heath, it’s me. I have some towels.”
Each bathroom was just a single stall, and Heath opened the door after a few moments. He seemed to have regained his composure, although when Rose saw the giant wet spot on his crotch, she started laughing.
He rolled his eyes. “Are you five? Give me those towels.”
She followed him inside the bathroom and locked the door.
“Do you really want to see me take off my pants?” he asked.
“No, but I just wanted to ask you: what is Jubilee Thornton to you?”
She’d never seen her brother go so…still. Completely frozen. It was like time stood completely still. Rose had never understood the expression, “you could hear a pin drop,” but in this instance? You could hear a pin drop.
He stared at her via his reflection in the mirror. “She’s nothing,” he ground out.
“You know, it’s funny to me that you get to grill me about my nonexistent love life, yet when I ask you, you refuse to say a thing.” She tapped her lip. “I think that’s called something. Oh, what’s the word? Hyp—hyp—hypocrisy?”
He growled. “Go away.”
“I’ll just say this,” she said with a wide smile, “be careful of those Thorntons.”
He swore under his breath at her parroting his words, and before he could throw something at her, she ran from the restroom. She did hear some more swearing from inside before she returned to work.
She might be Heath’s younger sister, but that didn’t mean Rose wouldn’t use any leverage against her brother whenever he tried to tell her what to do.
Some hours later, Rose walked home, yawning multiple times as she walked the few blocks back to her apartment. She didn’t have money for a car, although luckily, she didn’t live too far from her work.
Despite her tiredness, she remained alert to any strange noises or movements. She wasn’t stupid: she knew Johnny or Rich or some other crony could appear at any time. Johnny might have said he was going to Seattle, but that didn’t mean a damn thing.
When a figure appeared from the shadows only feet from her door, she reached inside her jacket to pull out her gun. Until she realized it was Seth.
“Now you must be stalking me,” she groused. She was halfway tempted to point her gun at him anyway.
He had his hands up, although he didn’t look scared. Of course not. Rose was fairly certain nothing scared Seth.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked when he said nothing.
He shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. It’s nice out. I thought I’d say hi to my neighbor when she got home. The usual.”
“Uh-huh. Well, you’ve said it, and now I’m saying goodbye. I need to let Callie out before I go to bed.”
“Then I’ll walk with you.”
She wanted to stomp her foot, she was so frustrated, but she had a feeling that would only make it worse. Sighing, she went to get Callie, ignoring Seth even as he walked alongside her.
Callie, to Rose’s annoyance, decided she was not going to do her business quickly. The dog wanted to sniff every bush and every mailbox, and despite Rose’s continued commands, Callie ignored her entirely.