“Is everything okay?” Rachel asked.
He could tell she was relieved he no longer wore Brewster’s clothing. “We’ll know soon. Did you bunch eat without me?”
“It’s almost midnight.” Jean replied, yawning. “We ate a long time ago. Where were you?”
“Running errands,” he answered, and left it at that.
Nick took his beer out to the back patio with Deke trailing him. He felt much better after a shower, but knew from experience it would be a while before he could sleep. The sliding glass door opened behind him, startling Nick. Rachel pulled another chair over near his, holding out a fresh beer to him. Rachel wore the same shorts and blouse she had worn earlier.
“I thought you went to bed,” he said.
“I couldn’t sleep. I keep seeing Brewster staring at me with the ‘I’m dead’ look.”
“It was all nice and cozy there for a few moments, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, Nick,” she said with a sigh, “It really was.”
Nick glanced down at Deke where he lay near his chair. He nudged Deke’s flank with his foot, smiling when Deke replied with a short growl without looking up. Nick had been typing away on his new manuscript since getting up at six. As usual, writing smoothed the rough edges of reality. A mobster put out a hit on his character Diego, endangering the assassin’s way of life. Nick had enjoyed turning Diego loose to cut a swath through the mobster’s ranks, killing indiscriminately until the mobster rescinded the order and paid Diego a million dollars. He heard footsteps and looked up as Jean walked into the kitchen. The little girl waved at him before fending off Deke, who was now leaping around in front of her. Nick gave out a short whistle, and Deke returned to his place beside Nick’s chair.
“You’re up early.” He noticed it was only twenty minutes past eight. “I figured you’d wake around noon after being up so late.”
“I’m excited about hanging out with Kelly and Garth today.” Jean slipped into the chair next to his. Nick had cleaned and moved the chair Brewster had died in, and Jean sat in the same spot. He dropped the image of Brewster’s last moments at the same kitchen table from his mind and patted her hand.
“What can I get you for breakfast? Your mom did the grocery shopping for me while I was doing my errands. We have lots of food.”
“Could I have toast and tea?”
“I remember having toast and tea when I was a kid. The tea has to be strong, mixed with lots of sugar and milk, while the toast has to be crispy with butter, right?”
Jean nodded. “You know a lot of stuff, Nick.”
“Do you dunk the toast like I did?” He hung a teabag in one of his larger mugs, filled it with water, and heated it in the microwave. “It used to drive my mom nuts. The tea would end up filled with crumbs and I’d slurp it up. She’d look at me like I was from outer space.”
“That’s what my mom does!” Jean laughed, nodding her head excitedly. “She always says, ‘that is so gross’. Is your mom still alive?”
“No, honey, she passed away many years ago.” He put the bread in his four-slotted toaster and took the margarine from the refrigerator.
“Nick, is Mom mad at you?”
“She was a little upset because I had to go out on those errands last night and leave you two alone. I’m sure she’ll be fine this morning. You’re a pretty neat little girl, Jean. You don’t complain, and none of the awful things happening around you for the last year has messed with your mind too badly. What’s your secret?”
“I was messed up real bad when my dad was killed.” She clasped her hands in front of her in serious fashion. “That’s why I like you, Nick. See…ever since Dad died, everyone’s been running us around looking all scared and worried, even Grace and Tim. They’re US Marshalls, but they can’t really do anything. Bad guys killed Dad. Bad guys are tryin’ to kill us. Bad guys are why we had to leave New York. I kept wondering how come we can’t just kill the bad guys before they hurt us.”
Nick laughed, pointing at Jean appreciatively. “You’re all right, kid. I’m sorry things aren’t as easy in real life, or as straightforward.”
He spread margarine on the toast and doctored the tea up as he remembered from his own childhood. After cutting the toast diagonally, he placed the tea and toast in front of Jean on saucers.
“Better sip the tea, Jean. Make sure it’s perfect or the whole tea and toast thing will be ruined.”
She sipped the tea and made an audible ‘ah’ sound in satisfaction. “Yep, just right.”
Nick made more toast and filled his cup, joining Jean for breakfast with toast and coffee. She made a face as he dunked his toast in the coffee and gobbled it up.
“That’s gross! You’re supposed to dunk the toast in tea.” She giggled.
“Why you little elitist.” He reached over toward Jean as if to swat her, only to earn a no nonsense warning growl from Deke, who had appeared instantly at Jean’s side. “One of these days you won’t be with your bodyguard. You’ll be sorry then.”
“I still like you, Nick,” Jean petted Deke. The dog started lapping at the crumbs and bits of margarine on Jean’s hand. “Can I give Deke a piece of toast?”
“Sure, if he’ll eat it. He already scarfed a whole can of dog food this morning.”
Deke gulped the toast down as if he hadn’t eaten in a month.
“Wash those yucky hands after you finish giving Deke his treat, young lady.”
“Nick,” Jean said suddenly, sipping her crumb-filled tea. “How come you’re allowed to kill bad guys?”
Nick grinned. “Uh…actually, I’m not allowed to kill bad guys. You should know by now that no one is allowed to kill bad guys. They had tough childhoods. Their mommies and daddies beat them. Their self-esteem was lowered from the time they were in diapers. No one wants them to be bank presidents. People flash devil’s horns on their heads when they get their pictures taken. Animals growl at them. Pigeons decorate their cars. Even their -”
“What’s going on in here?” Rachel asked from the doorway, seeing Jean laughing raucously as Nick barked out his bad guy excuse list, counting them off on his fingers.
“Nick was…” Jean suppressed her laughter. “Nick was explaining why no one’s allowed to kill bad guys even though they keep trying to kill us.”
“Oh wonderful.” Rachel gave him a malevolent look, geared to make his toes and testicles curl up simultaneously. “Perhaps it would be better if you left off on teaching Jean from the psycho training manual for now.”
“At least Nick does something about bad guys!” Jean turned on Rachel. “Maybe if Nick kills enough of ‘em, we won’t have to run anymore, Mom. I’m tired of being scared all the time. I want the bad guys to be scared!”
Deke barked, lending his support. A few toast crumbs exited his mouth. Rachel’s shoulders sagged. Jean climbed off her chair and walked over to hug her around the waist.
“Don’t be mad at Nick. We weren’t really talking about killing. Mostly, we were talking about toast and tea.”
“I know.” Rachel held Jean’s head to her gently. “I’m cranky from sleep deprivation. Sorry, Nick, I’m just jealous from hearing you two yucking it up in here. What’s this about toast and tea?”
“Nick ate toast and tea when he was a kid, just like me. He even slurps up the tea and crumbs same as I do.”
“Eeeewwww!” Rachel exclaimed, making a face. “There’s an image I could do without.”
Jean laughed and ran back to her seat. She held up her crumb-filled tea for Rachel’s disgusted reaction, and then sipped it noisily. Nick followed with his crumb-filled coffee.
“I think I’ll just have coffee,” Rachel announced, walking to the coffee maker with her left hand held up to the side of her face like a horse’s blinder, preventing the sight of crumb tea and coffee slurping on the way by.