Page 38 of Unseen Danger
Pops stood at the curb, his hand raised in a still wave until she could no longer see him in the mirror.
“Auntie Nev, do you have a boyfriend?” Felice aimed her big brown eyes at Nevaeh.
The image of Branson holding his tiny cat against his broad chest sprang instantly to her mind. For some crazy reason.
“Not right now.” Though a smile found Nevaeh’s lips. Branson Aaberg cuddling the miniature cat had to be one of the most adorable things she’d ever seen. And he hadn’t shown even a trace of embarrassment or awareness that babying a white fluffy cat named Princess might threaten some men’s sense of their masculinity. Didn’t damage his a bit. It did make him seem much more—
“What would you do if Riley St. James asked you to be his girlfriend?” Felice’s voice cut through the thoughts that were doing odd things to Nevaeh’s pulse.
She caught the groan in her throat before it released. It was going to be a long ride.
But thanks to Felice’s constant questions and the kids’ fighting in the back, the time flew by, and Nevaeh soon pulled up in front of the school to let the critters loose. With two minutes to spare.
“Okay, go, go, go!” She hopped out on the driver’s side and rounded the front of the pickup to help the kids out onto the wide sidewalk.
“Bye, Auntie Nev!”
“Bye, Auntie Nev!”
Dawton’s and Felice’s farewells overlapped as they took off.
“Be good!” Nevaeh’s reply was echoed by a bark from Alvarez, who’d stayed in the cab like he was supposed to. Didn’t stop him from watching the action with his ears perked.
Carrie teetered as she tried to insert her arms into the straps of her pink backpack. Nevaeh stepped closer to help, but Lillibet beat her to it. The seven-year-old struggled with the weight of her pack almost as much as Carrie, but the mothering effort was too cute for Nevaeh to interrupt. They could be Nevaeh and Sherinda all over again.
“Okay.” Lillibet patted Carrie’s shoulder. “Be good.”
Nevaeh tried to hide her smile as Carrie scurried off with a “Bye, Auntie Nev!” and Lillibet turned toward her.
Her large, soft eyes blinked up at Nevaeh. “Boys are silly. You should’ve told Felice.”
Ah, so Lillibet had been listening to the boyfriend discussion from the back. Not surprising. Unlike her siblings, Lillibet did a lot more listening than talking.
“They aren’t bothering you, are they?” The idea of any boy trying to tease or be a so-called boyfriend to her seven-year-old niece raised Nevaeh's hackles.
Lillibet shrugged her skinny shoulders beneath the straps of her backpack. “I can handle ’em.”
Nevaeh smiled. “I know you can. You’re tougher than they are.”
“Yep.” Her gaze drifted beyond Nevaeh as if she wasn’t fully paying attention.
“You better dash inside or you’ll be late.” Unusual for Lillibet to linger. She was the only one of her siblings responsible enough to care about things like being late for school.
“Auntie Nev?”
“Yeah?”
“Why is that man staring at us?”
Nevaeh’s stomach clenched. “What man?” She spun toward the direction of Lillibet’s gaze, her pulse speeding up.
A few people, hurrying moms and kids, peppered the grassy patch across the driveway and the parking lot beyond. No men.
Her heartbeat kept an uneven rhythm as she looked at Lillibet. “I don’t see anyone.”
She shrugged again. “He was just there.”
“What’d he look like?”