Vicious Carousel (Suncoast Society #25)(25)

Leaning carefully, she stretched and reached for one of the shopping bags still setting on the end of the bed, where she’d seen a bathrobe last night. Fishing it out, she yanked the tag off and pulled it on before forcing herself into a standing position. Yes, trying to brush her hair would suck. That was something she still wasn’t sure she could do by herself today.

Maybe Tilly can help me shave my legs.

Turning, she dug one of the two pairs of slippers out of the bag and dropped them onto the floor, then slid her feet into them.

Clothes. It felt good to have comfy clothes.

Fuck, it felt good to have clothes, period, to freely choose to wear them.

Jack had required her to be naked most of the time.

She’d forgotten the luxury of having comfy, cute clothes to wear. Nothing fancy, but PJs that made her feel good. Her new phone lay on the dresser, plugged in and charging. She slipped it into the pocket of her robe.

Just that simple act felt good. Freeing.

Shuffling, she made it to the bedroom door and got it opened. As if equipped with radar, Nolan and Kenny rushed down the hall from the kitchen.

“Are you okay?” Nolan asked.

“You didn’t call for us,” Kenny said.

They both wore shorts, no shirts, and looked adorable.

She managed a smile. “Thanks, guys. I’ve got to do this by myself eventually.”

“But are you okay?” Nolan asked.

“I’m vertical. Does that count?”

They moved aside for her as she started what felt like a forever journey across the hall toward the bathroom. “Oh, guys?”

“Yeah?” they said.

She made a half-turn so she could look at them. “Thank you for the PJs and stuff. They’re really cute. I love Hello Kitty.”

The broad, beaming smile that lit Kenny’s face sent off warning bells inside her. Not because of him, but because she knew it’d be too damn easy to fall into the trap of wanting to keep making him smile like that.

Sort of the way Jack had trapped her.

She wasn’t so stupid that she was going to lock the bathroom door. Just in case she had pushed herself too far, too fast, and got in trouble and couldn’t get back up again. Fortunately, she managed to use the bathroom by herself this time. The men were waiting for her outside when she emerged.

“Coffee’s ready,” Nolan said.

She smiled. “Can I have it in my Hello Kitty cup, please?”

“Absolutely. Ice?”

“Yes, please.”

“I was hoping you’d like that cup,” Kenny said. “I thought it was cute and fun.”

“Believe me, I need all the cute and fun I can get.”

“Are you okay to walk?” Kenny asked.

She took stock of her injuries. She still hurt. A lot. Including her right ankle. “I wouldn’t refuse holding onto your arm.”

He held it out for her, and it was nice to have the choice of whether to take it or not.

Well, not really a choice, because as she moved more, her pain was growing, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she quickly hit her wall in terms of what she could do that day.

Kenny got her seated on the sofa and Nolan brought her water, ibuprofen, and then went back for her coffee.

“Can we make you breakfast?” Kenny said.

“When is Tilly getting here?”

“Any minute.”

“I don’t want to make you guys late for work.”

“It’s all right. We don’t mind.”

“How about some instant oatmeal?” Nolan called from the kitchen.

“All right. Thank you.”

“Your right eye looks a little less swollen today,” Kenny said.

She had avoided looking in the mirror again while in the bathroom. “I think it is. I can squint out of it a little bit.”

Outside, she heard a car drive up.

“And there’s Tilly,” Kenny said. He went to the front door and had it open by the time she swept up the walk and through the door, not even breaking stride to speak to Kenny.

“Good, you’re up. We have a lot to do today.” She had a computer case and a small tote bag slung over her shoulder.

“You look prepared for battle,” Betsy said.

“You have a shower yet?”

“No.”

Nolan brought Betsy a bowl of oatmeal. “Here you go. Let her eat first, Tilly.”

“Sorry. Eat first. Shower. Then we’re going to do some stuff and work on your resume.”

Kenny walked over. “The printer is on the desk in the office. We’ll turn it on and leave you the Wi-Fi password. It should show up as a networked printer.

“Excellent. Oh, and hi, Kenny. Hi, Nolan. Pardon my lack of manners, but I’m on a mission.”

Kenny smiled. “No problem. I could sort of tell.”

“And you two don’t worry. I’ll be here until you guys get home, at least.”

That meant one more person whose life she was interrupting.

Disrupting. “I’m sorry,” Betsy softly said.

Tilly frowned. “For what?”

“For getting myself into this mess in the first place.”

“Yeah, well, listen. We all do stupid shit from time to time. We’re human. Learning from it and not repeating it is the key there. Sometimes, we have to touch the stove.”