“No,” he said. “No brothers or sisters. A good friend has sisters, though. I get the basics of a sleepover.”
Her face cleared. The microwave timer dinged. Emily brought in two mugs of cocoa and set them on the coffee table, then squirmed under the covers like Shane’s mutt did when he got invited up on the sofa during a marathon video game session. Emily and Cady claimed the sofa, leaning against piled pillows at either end, sharing a big blanket between them.
The movie was pretty good, actually, enough sports to keep his interest. The pizza delivery guy arrived twenty-five minutes in. Conn paid the guy, who showed absolutely no interest in the house, the property, or the address, then closed and locked the door.
“How much?” Cady said as she set three plates on the granite-topped island.
“Fifty-five with tip.”
She nodded, handed him two beers and a bottle opener, then returned with the cash. He traded her the open beers for the money, which he shoved in his back pocket, then helped himself to breadsticks and two big slices of pizza. Emily was still on the sofa, using her knees as a table, ostentatiously ignoring him.
Conn relaxed back into the armchair, which let him see into the backyard, although with the reflection from the TV, the fire, and the lights in the kitchen, he couldn’t see much, and tuned out the movie. He still hadn’t heard back from Kenny, or Hawthorn, for that matter. Watching Cady sing was a pretty good distraction, but sitting around watching a movie while she and her sister munched their way through a bowl of popcorn mixed with M&Ms was about to drive him crazy.
“I’m going to step out for a second,” he said.
Even though they were snuggled under a blanket, watching the movie, Cady’s energy danced at him, as subtle and playful as one of the songs she sang tonight. Emily’s was like coal smoke, thick, dark, toxic as she obviously didn’t look at him. He gave a mental shrug. As long as Cady was happy, Emily could resent his presence in her special girls’ weekend to her heart’s content.
The December wind hit him like a slap, cold, sharp enough to freeze his breath in his lungs. He peered into the woods beside the house, wary of the possum or deer or crazy internet stalkers who might jump out of the deep shadows stretching up the hill behind Cady’s house. Shivering, he shoved his hands into his jacket pocket and jogged to the woodpile. Might as well get a few more logs, in case movie night turned into a double feature. He grabbed an armful of thick, rough-split logs and carried them up the steps to the deck, then rapped a knuckle against the glass.
The slats parted with a click. Cady peered out at him. “Let me in. I’m freezing.”
She opened the door. “Thanks,” she said. Her voice was low, her smile as promising as her singing.
“If you had security cameras and motion detectors I wouldn’t even need to go outside.”
“You look pretty tough to me,” she said, soft and low.
That was still a no to the cameras. He added logs to the fire, settled back into his chair, and accepted a bowl of popcorn from Cady. Emily still wouldn’t look at him, appearing to be transfixed by the ending of the movie. When it was over, Cady gave a jaw-cracking yawn.
“Sorry,” she said through the end of it. “Between the fire and the blanket and all the heat you give off”—she nudged her sister under the blanket—“my day caught up with me. Turn on the lights and get your designs out.”
“No,” Emily said. “I’d rather talk about it when you’re fresh. Tomorrow morning?”
“Don’t you want to sleep in?”
“It’s fine,” Emily said in the tone of voice that meant it obviously wasn’t fine. She got up and wandered over to the floor-to-vaulted-ceiling built-ins, and started examining the objects on them. As she passed, Conn got a big whiff of pissed off teenager. “No big deal.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Cady said. “Tomorrow. I promise. What time do you work?”
“Not until three.”
“Great. I’ll make brunch, and take a look at everything then.” She yawned again. “I’m going to take a steam shower, then go to bed.”
Conn resolutely did not think about Cady’s body slowly turning pink in the heat, steam drifting against the glass, her hair dark and wet against her cheeks and shoulders.
“I’ll come with you. I brought my laptop. I can check out the chatter about the website, see if anyone’s taking credit for it,” Emily said.
“So it’s a home day tomorrow?” He almost dreaded the answer. Doing nothing was going to drive him insane.
Cady smiled ruefully and nodded. “Good night.”