"WHAT A JERKASAURUS!"
Katherine flinched and yanked the phone away from her ear the second Irene's voice exploded through the speaker. The shriek was loud enough to make her wince, her arm jerking like she'd been electrocuted.
"God, Irene…" she muttered, casting a quick glance down the hallway as if afraid the sound had disturbed the entire neighborhood.
From the slightly open bedroom door, Katherine paused in the doorway, phone tucked between her cheek and shoulder.
Nathan and Maya were fast asleep, each in their own tangle of blankets and limbs. Nathan lay diagonally across his bed, one arm dangling off the side, mouth slightly open. Maya was curled tightly around her favorite stuffed dinosaur, the quilt half-slid to the floor, one knee poking out.
Katherine smiled, quiet and warm.
"—and then she had the audacity to say I used a fake product on her! Me!" Irene's voice stormed back into her ear.
Katherine blinked, as if waking from a trance.
