When she saw Rowan, Skylar ran to her and carefully hugged Rowan’s legs. Even at three years old, she was a little heiress in training. “Aunt Rowan, I’ve missed you.”
Rowan picked her up. The little girl wrapped her arms around Rowan’s shoulders tightly. Another wave of sadness overtook her as she realized that Skylar would never get a hug from her mom again.
“Did Daddy tell you I need cupcakes?” Skylar said when Rowan put her down. “It’s my turn!”
“How about we go to Magnolia Bakery?” Rowan suggested. “Or Crumbs?”
Pink blotches appeared on Skylar’s cheeks. “Mommy always makes them.”
Rowan’s heart stopped. She kneeled to Skylar’s level and looked in her eyes. “Well, I’ll make them today too. I’m the best cupcake maker this side of the Hudson River.”
She reached forward to tickle Skylar, which usually sent the little girl into a fit of giggles, but this time Skylar just squirmed away. “Where is Mommy?” she asked, her three-year-old voice high and innocent.
Tears pricked Rowan’s eyes. She glanced at James, but he was staring at his hands.
“She had a very bad fall,” Rowan fumbled. “But she’s always watching you. And if you talk to her, she’s always listening.”
Skylar’s little face registered an incongruous blend of obedience and confusion. “My daddy said we could paint my toenails if I want,” she said after a moment.
“Well.” Rowan took her hand. “I think that sounds nice. Maybe I could give you a makeover too.”
“You?” James snorted. Rowan shot him a look, and he shrugged. “Sorry. Skylar, Rowan will give you a wonderful makeover.”
This seemed to cheer Skylar up, and she walked into the kitchen with Rowan. James trailed in last and stood at the island, staring at an unopened box of cupcake mix. He looked so helpless and confused. Rowan wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him like that, and she was seized with the desire to take care of him too.
She turned to Briony, who had followed them in and was pressing a flushed cheek to the stainless steel refrigerator door. “You okay, sweetie?” Rowan said softly, and swept the little girl into her arms. Briony koala-beared her legs around Rowan and started crying. “It feels like she has a fever,” Rowan said over her shoulder to James.
James nodded. “I gave her Tylenol ten minutes ago.”
Rowan nodded. “I’ll hold her until it kicks in. And tickle her!” She shoved her fingers into the fold between Briony’s chin and neck until the little girl finally cracked a smile.
On the counter, James’s phone rang, a sharp run of piano notes bleating through the apartment. The device was sitting closer to Rowan on the island, and she subconsciously glanced at it. A 917 number popped on the screen. “Do you need to grab that?” Rowan asked him, shifting Briony higher in her arms.
James glanced at the number, then hit IGNORE. “Nah. We’re in the middle of a cupcake emergency, after all,” he said with a wan smile. “It can wait.”
Rowan looked at the box James was holding. “You were losing it over this? We only need three ingredients, and one of them is water.”
James opened the fridge and stared inside. “My head isn’t screwed on straight.” He sighed.
“That’s fine, because my head is exactly where it should be.” Rowan looked at Skylar and pretended to adjust her head on her neck. Skylar offered an amused smile. Rowan picked up at the Duncan Hines box again. “Okay, Dad. Get us some eggs. You remember what those look like, right? Round, white? Come from chickens?” She looked at Skylar again, tucked her fists in her armpits, and made chicken-wing-flapping motions. Skylar snickered.
“These?” James pulled out a tub of butter, joining in on the joke.
“Those aren’t eggs!” Skylar cried.
James looked at them mock-confusedly. “I could have sworn they were eggs.” Next he yanked open the crisper drawer and pulled out a cucumber. “Is this an egg?”
“Daddy!” Skylar cried, marching to the fridge herself. “Those are eggs!”
“Really?” James seemed astonished. “Skylar, you are the smartest girl ever.”
Rowan hid a smile and took the carton from James, then taught the little girl how to crack three of them in a bowl.
Once the cupcakes had been spooned into their little wrappers and were baking in the oven, she glanced in the fridge. It was piled full of stuff in Tupperware, takeout boxes, and Dean & DeLuca packages—from neighbors and family, she guessed. She pulled out a white box and inspected what was inside. Three marinated chicken breasts and a side of garlic mashed potatoes. Perfect.
Turning on the second wall oven, she passed Briony to James and placed the meal on a baking sheet. James hung back, but she felt his gaze on her as she moved around the kitchen. He didn’t answer his cell phone when it rang again.
James pulled out a chair and said, “What do you think, Sky? Should Aunt Rowan stay?”
“Yes, please!” Skylar clasped her hands together, her eyes begging.