Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“Of course,” Claudia agreed.
“I’ll be in the empty room next door,” Miss Martha added, holding up the scavenger hunt map. “Have Savannah text us when you’re heading up the stairs, and we’ll all go to our assigned locations.”
“Thank you, ladies,” I said and backed out of the room, distinctly uncomfortable with their approving smiles and compliments. This was definitely my last good deed for a while. My reputation couldn’t stand another episode like this one.
Chapter Fourteen
FINN
Downstairs, I found Nicky and Savannah outside the kitchen. Nicky’s face was flushed and his nose was red, but for the moment, it wasn’t dripping snot. That was a win in my book.
“How’s the fever?” I asked. Savannah let out a sigh as she zipped the back of Nicky’s bright yellow Pikachu costume.
“Lower, but still there,” she said.
“No school tomorrow!” came Nicky’s muffled voice from inside the costume. The costume covered him from head to toe, the mask sewn into a matching hood that zipped to the full, fuzzy yellow costume. Good for germ spread, but it had to be warm in there.
“You look awesome, little man,” I said. “You look exactly like Pikachu.”
“I love Pikachu,” Nicky said.
I could relate. I loved Pikachu when I was his age, and I had a box full of cards upstairs to prove it. I hoped he would like the one I picked out for him. We headed out the door.
Savannah looked up and gave me a wobbly smile, dark circles under her eyes. “Thanks, Finn. He’s really excited. This is definitely making up for, you know, everything else.” Clearly she didn’t want to mention the festivities at the Inn and the fun Nicky was missing.
“Long day?” I asked with a nod and a faint smile.
“Yeah. I had a lot planned, and then, you know, little guy here.” She rolled her shoulders as if trying to shed the weight of fatigue dragging her down. I imagined she hadn’t gotten much sleep, given the way Nicky’d been coughing and sneezing most of the day. Still, the smile she sent Nicky was gentle and warm with love.
“Everyone wants their mom when they feel like crap,” I said.
“Don’t I know it? Pretty much the reason I’m back here,” Savannah said.
“Speaking of Miss Martha, she wants you to text her when we hit the stairs so they can get into place.”
Savannah pulled her phone from her pocket, murmuring, “We can see Griffen and Hope first, give the others an extra minute to get to their rooms.”
We went straight ahead to the top of the staircase. The master suite was the only one in the central part of the house, and it took up most of the floor. Nicky hesitated before raising his hand to knock, looking over his shoulder at his mother, though I doubted he could see her well through the eyeholes in the mask.
“Go ahead, buddy,” I said. “Give it a good hard knock.”
Nicky did, his tiny fist barely making an impact on the thick wooden door. It swung open a moment later. Nicky stared at Griffen in silence. I nudged him in the back and stage whispered, “Trick-or-treat.”
With a giggle, Nicky repeated after me. “Trick-or-treat, Mr. Griffen.”
Hope opened the door wider and smiled down at Nicky, staying further back, out of the range of germs, probably to keep Griffen from putting her in a bubble for the rest of her pregnancy.
Leaning down, she said, “Nicky, that costume is amazing. Good taste. I’m not going to tell you not to eat all this at once, because I’m sure your mom will handle that. Happy Halloween!”
Griffen handed Nicky the bag filled with candy. Nicky opened the bag and gasped with delight. “Thanks, Miss Hope! Thanks, Mr. Griffen!”
Savannah smiled at both of them. “Thank you both so much.”
“Any time,” Griffen said with a smile of his own. “We didn’t really do anything. This one was all Finn.”
They all looked at me with that same approving expression I’d gotten from Aunt Ophelia, Claudia, and Miss Martha. It took everything I had not to squirm. I was not used to being the good guy. I didn’t think I liked it.
I mean, the excitement in Nicky’s voice, his giggle, all that was fucking awesome. Absolutely. Especially after hearing him cry that morning. That part made me feel like the fucking king of the world. But my siblings and the mom generation looking at me with gentle approval? That was just weird. It didn’t fit the person I knew I was. I think I was Nicky’s age the last time I got those looks from anyone, especially anyone I was related to.
We followed Nicky back to the head of the stairs and to the guest wing, guiding him first to Ophelia’s door, where she ooh’d and ahh’d and made much of his costume and how great he looked.