He was also convinced that the Alexa was the reason that he got so many ads in his browser telling him to buy a certain product that he and my mom were discussing at some point the night before.
Which, on that note, I believed him.
How the hell did Facebook and Instagram know that I was in need of wigs and hats if they weren’t listening in on my conversations in some way? I mean, it wasn’t like I’d actively searched for the products.
“I don’t care,” Mom finally said. “I’m livid, Derek. Livid.”
Derek’s eyes took in my bald head, and I saw his hand clench around his coffee mug.
Yep, he was pissed, too.
“If you didn’t have such a cute head.” Katy came into the kitchen then, her husband, Logan, hot on her heels. “I would be a lot more worried about this. But honestly, you look adorable with your head shaved.”
That was the only thing on my body that looked ‘adorable.’
I looked down at my simple black leggings, dressier blue top, and ballet flats.
They were my comfort clothes.
If I was still in San Antonio, I would’ve tried to be a little dressier. But this was Kilgore, Texas. Not San Antonio.
People weren’t going to care if I was wearing leggings or jeans, to be honest.
Mom clenched her hands into fists as Katy walked up to her and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Chill, Mom,” Derek said as Katy walked to the kitchen cabinet and pulled herself a mug down.
Logan dropped a kiss onto Mom’s forehead, and I smiled.
“Where are the twins?” Mom asked.
“Daycare,” Katy sighed. “They’re doing so well. It sucks. I expected them to miss me more.”
I snorted out a laugh.
Katy and Logan’s twins were adorable… and handfuls.
Instead of moving away from my mom, Logan stayed and draped his heavy arm over her shoulders.
He was already dressed in uniform and ready to go on shift, so I wondered why he was here so early in the morning when he could’ve spent a few more minutes at home instead.
But then I rolled my eyes.
They were all here for one thing and one thing only.
My bald head.
“You do look cute,” Logan said as he studied me.
I rolled my eyes again, this time so hard that it made my head hurt.
“Whatever,” I said. “How’s the morning sickness, Katy?”
Katy gave me the stink eye and sighed.
“I only threw up on one corpse yesterday,” she said, sounding proud of herself. “Luckily, it was only his hand. I had to do an autopsy for an insurance company. The jerks. I guess it could’ve been worse and been one of the murder investigations I’ve been working on.”
Mom looked at her.
“You’re going to have to learn to control it a little better,” Mom suggested. “It’s not going to go away any time soon. Which you should know since this is your second pregnancy.” She grinned then. “When I was pregnant with Derek, I threw up in the middle of the police station. Everyone saw it. I was never more embarrassed in my life.”
Katy made a sound in the back of her throat, then took a sip of coffee.
“You’re not supposed to be drinking coffee, either,” Mom continued.
Katy shot my mother the stink eye over the rim of the coffee cup.
“I’m making it for Logan,” she paused. “And taking a drink of it.”
I rolled my eyes and walked up to the cup that was to her lips.
“That’s why it’s halfway gone?” I asked.
She turned and studied me, her eyes narrowed.
“I don’t remember you being this mean when you left,” she pointed out.
I grinned at her.
“I’m not being mean,” I countered. “I’m being real. And you’re allowed to have caffeine. Just not copious amounts.”
Mom sighed from behind me and started ticking off the merits of eating healthy and following guidelines while you were pregnant so that the children didn’t come out acting like hers.
I rolled my eyes and waited for her to finish.
Katy held out the coffee cup to me, and I took a sip of it before passing it to Logan.
Logan took the cup, glanced inside, then snorted.
“This is like a quarter of the way full now,” he pointed out. “A swallow at most.”
I took the cup back from him and finished it off.
He huffed out a laugh and took the cup from me, bumping his wife out of the way with his hip as he got himself a cup of coffee.
“That’s probably what you should’ve done in the first place,” Derek suggested. “Never trust a woman to do something for you. There are always hidden agendas underneath their ‘kind’ gestures.”
Katy threw her arm around my neck, and we both stared at Derek as if he was a bug.
“You’re thinking what I’m thinking, right?” she whispered.
“That he won’t retaliate against you for what I think you want to do?” I asked just as quietly.