Re: The woods
She didn't seem to think anything of his odd quirks, and maybe she held his hand a little too long, before giving him an apologetic little smile. "Sorry. I don't see many people either," she explained, and she glanced up toward the stairs when he said no one seemed inclined to help Stella. Once she was sure the little girl was out of earshot, she sighed, and her voice went quieter, quiet enough not to filter to the little girl who was singing a mishmash of babbled Disney songs upstairs. "I'm not very popular here," she admitted. "I, well, if you just moved in, I might as well be the one to tell you. One of the others will eventually, I guess. I- My past isn't very good," she said, obvious embarrassment coming with the confession. "We moved here because Silver - my husband - liked the security, but they don't normally let people like me in, and five years hasn't changed that very much." She shrugged a little. "Silver takes the car when he goes - he has a business chauffeuring wealthy, influential people - and I'm here alone a lot, and so is Stella. So- Sorry? We're a little needy," she asked with a tiny, helpless shrug. "I'm hoping it will be better for her once she goes to school, but Silver likes homeschooling. He says it's safer and we can hire tutors. Don't worry. I'll distract her about the teaparty," she promised, after the very long winded explanation.
His mention of having a son of his own made her smile brighter. "That explains why you were so good with Stella. How old is your little boy?" she asked, waiting for him to pick Rhett up before continuing. "Where did you move from? I've been here since I was eighteen, but I was in Florida before that." She smiled as she walked past him to close the door which, despite her lies to Silver, had been ajar. "I lived in Seattle for a month, but it was so cold that I couldn't take it," she continued, obviously realizing that she was babbling a moment later and giving him a small, apologetic shrug of her shoulders. "Sorry, sorry, " she repeated, biting her lip and giving him another smile before worrying her lip for another minute. "You're just really easy to talk to, in case no one's ever told you," she said, even as she tugged Rhett's pacifier from between his lips and brushed it back and forth against a tiny, pudgy cheek until the baby giggled, seemingly unaware that it was a strange thing to do while a stranger was holding her child.
She followed him up the stairs quietly a second later, and she pointed to Rhett's room at the top. Stella had gone quiet, but she didn't seem to think anything of that either. She just turned into the room, which featured a toddler bed and toys on every bit of carpet, including piles of wrapping paper that she obviously hadn't made it to cleaning up yet. "How did you get them to let you move in if you aren't married? They're really picky, and I still think they got our paperwork confused. We don't have tons of money, and Silver doesn't have any connections that matter in any-"
But her breath caught sharply, and she pressed a hand to her side and laughed a soft laugh. "Feel," she said, tugging Luke's hand to her belly, where the baby was obviously kicking up a storm. She smiled brightly, but the smile dimmed a little when she noticed the open window. "That's funny," she said, moving toward it and away from Luke's touch.