He glanced up when Juliette stalked into the foyer, kicking off snow from her boots and undoing the zipper of her coat. Laurence poked his head out of the kitchen almost a split second later, a fresh mug in his hand.

Where Javier was short and round, Laurence was tall and thin and reminded Juliette of someone who spent a great deal of time reading. All he needed was a knitted sweater vest and cargo pants.

“Hello!” she called out as Jake and Melton stomped in after her.

“In here!” came a voice from the dining room.

Shrugging out of her coat, Juliette followed the voice and found Vi and Phil bent over a glass chess set. None of the pieces had been moved, but both were staring so intently at it, she half expected them to move on their own.

“What’s going on here?” Juliette asked, dumping her purse and coat on a nearby chair.

“I’m learning the fine art of chess,” Vi declared, never taking her eyes off the set. “I’m winning.”

Juliette peered at the board, at the neat row of glass figures in their perfect formation. She was no expert at the game, but she was almost certain someone needed to move.

“You are not winning,” Phil mumbled in that gruff, smoker voice.

“Sure I am, by refusing to partake in a senseless massacre.”

Phil sighed as though this was an argument they’d had way too many times already.

“Don’t you huff at me!” Vi warned, narrowing her eyes at the man. “My little pawns don’t want to fight the queen’s war. If the two feel so strongly about it, they should do what normal people do and get a reality TV show where they make bad choices and fight like real women.”

Juliette mashed her lips together to keep from laughing.

“I think that makes me the bigger person here,” Vi finished with a definite nod.

“Then why did you want to learn chess if you didn’t want to play?” Phil muttered, his tone barely controlled.

“That was before you brought these little guys out.” She picked up a pawn and held it up for Juliette to see. “Look how adorable they are! How can I ever send them into war? This is Mike. He’s married to Gina and they’re expecting their first baby. Do you really want the father of her unborn child to get killed?”

Juliette could have sworn a muscle ticked just beneath Phil’s left eye.

“You … named them?”

Vi blinked. “You didn’t?”

Phil rose. “Okay, I think we’re done.”

Vi watched with just the right amount of blank innocence to make Juliette suspect her sister was playing the poor man. Phil gathered up the pieces and gingerly set them back in their velvet box. He shut the lid and walked away with them tucked under his arm.

Vi snickered. “He’s so fun to mess with.”

“You’re horrible.”

Vi’s cackles only grew. “I know.” She turned brown eyes to Juliette. “How was your trip to the Big House?”

Juliette shrugged. “It was … crazy.”

In less time than it took to actually experience the whole thing, she rehashed the whole day’s event to the girl, leaving nothing out—except the part about Killian’s promise to hurry back so they could finish what he’d started. She didn’t think Vi would want to hear that part.

“Wow, the sister is a grade A twat canoe.”

“Viola!”

Vi, unfazed, gave a delicate shrug. “You were thinking it.”

She couldn’t deny that. She had been thinking it, not so much in those words, but close.

Casting her sister a disapproving frown anyway, she started for the door. “Any ideas on supper?”

“God, anything but chicken casserole,” Vi groaned. “I swear, I will run away from home.”

While Juliette didn’t say as much, she had to agree. It was kind of Mrs. Tompkins to take the time to prepare them supper every night for the last three years, but that was three years of chicken casseroles. She was fairly certain it wasn’t healthy to eat that much chicken. Occasionally, it was tuna or pasta, but if Mrs. Tompkins could get her hands on chicken, it was made into chicken casserole. But, in all fairness, Mrs. Tompkins was the only one who knew how to cook. It was part of their agreement since Juliette didn’t charge her for rent and she would only be cooking for Vi the majority of the time. But even she had gotten tired of the dish.

Mrs. Tompkins was in the kitchen when Juliette walked in. All her usual items were laid out across the counter and she was humming softly as she got ready to start.

“Hello Mrs. Tompkins.” Juliette offered her a smile.

“Hello dear, how was your day?”

Juliette nodded. “It was fine. Thank you.” She watched as the woman began reaching for the knife. “Mrs. Tompkins, why don’t you let me handle supper tonight?”

That got her the expected response—confusion.

“You, dear?”

The bemuse pulling all the folds on the woman’s face together was insulting.

“Well…” Juliette had no response.

She was saved when Vi skipped into the room, followed almost immediately by Phil; the man certainly took his job seriously, Juliette thought. Even Jake and Melton didn’t follow her around that religiously.

“What’s for supper?” Vi asked.

Juliette turned to her. “I was just telling Mrs. Tompkins to take the night off while I cooked something.”

Vi’s expression did the exact same wrinkle of confusion that was further insult to injury when she cocked her head to the side and regarded Juliette like she’d inexplicably begun singing in German.

“All right then, Miss Smarty-Pants, what do you suggest?”

“Grilled cheese,” she decided. “I’ll handle the actual cooking, but you can butter the bread.”

Mrs. Tompkins, who’d been watching the scene unfold, stepped aside as Vi marched to the cupboard and freed three loaves of bread. Juliette grabbed the butter and cheese from the cupboard and everything was dumped on the already cluttered island. As one, as though reading the other’s mind, they cleaned away Mrs. Tompkins’ss near attempt at chicken casserole.

“It’s nice to see you girls working together,” the woman said as the grilled cheese making process began.

“We just thought it would be a nice break for you,” Juliette said evenly. “You’re always making supper.”

“Always making chicken casserole,” Vi muttered under her breath and got kicked under the island by Juliette.

Mrs. Tompkins didn’t seem to hear her, to which Juliette was thankful. “You girls are such dolls. I’m certainly going to miss you both when I’m gone.”

Juliette chuckled uncertainly. “Gone? Gone where?”

She thought maybe the woman meant dead, but she still had loads of time left before thinking about that.

“My daughter wants me to move in with her,” the woman surprised them by saying. “She’s been asking for ages, but it wasn’t time.”

The buttering of bread was forgotten as both Juliette and Vi stared at her.

“But you said no, right?” Vi broke in. “I mean, you’re not going to go live with them, are you?”

But Juliette could see the flash of guilt in the woman’s eyes even before she lowered them to the counter.

“I don’t have very long in this world,” she said instead. “Each day is one day closer to when I won’t be here anymore. You girls have been my family for three years and I wouldn’t change that for anything, but I miss my children and grandchildren … and great grandchildren,” she added with a chuckle. “I think it’s time I spent some time with them now.”

“That’s rubbish!” Vi blurted. “We need you here.”

“No,” Juliette cut in softly. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

Vi rounded on her. “What?”

Juliette kept her attention on Mrs. Tompkins. “You’re always welcome to come back anytime.”

Relief loosened the knots along Mrs. Tompkins’s thin shoulders. They lowered from their place at her ears and she offered them a tiny smile.

“I will miss you girls,” she admitted, her gray eyes glistening. “I was worried about leaving you alone here, but the last few weeks have really changed my mind. You’re both so happy and finally working together. It really warms my heart.”