Page 47 of Random in Death
“Bella Nummer One!”
“Come sit. We’re going to have our very first dinner party. McNab?”
“He should be here before too long.”
Leonardo rose, kissed Eve’s cheek. “I’ll get the wine.”
She drank wine. And since Bella shouted, “Watch me!” she watched the kid go down the slide on her playset, listened to the waterfall in Peabody’s seriously amazing water feature.
And because the happy and homey demanded it, put murder aside for a little while.
She knew nothing about gardens, but walked out with Mavis and watched the urbanite, the music sensation, the former street grifter, pluck tomatoes off the vine, pull carrots out of the ground, snip lettuce.
“I wanted a minute to ask how Jake’s doing. It’s so beyond awful.”
“He’s okay. He’ll get better.”
“And that poor kid won’t.”
“No.”
“But she’s got you and Peabody, and McNab and Feeney. Roarke, too.” Mavis walked along, plucking, twisting, snipping stuff to go in her basket. “You’ll find out who did this.”
“That’s the plan. Isn’t that a lot?”
“Not once you put it all together. I make magalicious salads.” Much like her daughter, Mavis threw back her head and laughed. “Who knew?”
“Not me.”
“There’s McNab. Look at Bella go. Nothing she likes better than having people all around. She’ll be sixteen one day.”
“Mavis.”
“No, I’m not like, what is it, projecting. I just mean you have to start letting them go, bit by bit, so, so soon. You have to because that’s part of it. It’s bitching scary, Dallas, those bit by bits, but you gotta, and that’s that. And the whacked of it? They’re scary, but they make you stupid proud at the same time.”
“You and Leonardo are great at this.”
“We freaking are. And now we have all this to give Bella, and Number Two, and all the ones who come after.”
“All? After?”
“Oh yeah, bet your ass. There’ll be more. There goes Peabody, off to make fries from potatoes. Jesus, Dallas, she’s teaching me so much.”
Mavis beamed at Eve. “Want me to teach you how to make a magalicious salad?”
“I absolutely don’t.”
Instead, she had more wine, got a quick update from McNab, and put it all away again.
She ate a salad made by her oldest friend, burgers Leonardo cooked—mostly—with Roarke showing him how it was done. And ridiculously excellent handmade fries fresh out of Peabody’s kitchen.
She figured Leonardo had a right to feel perfectly content with his world. The music sensation, the designer, the cops, and the kid (and the one on the way) had created a damn good one.
Chapter Seven
More than happy to turn the wheel over to Roarke, Eve kicked back in her seat as they drove home.
He gave her leg an affectionate rub.