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away.”
    “That’s okay Miss Carissa I like to help.” Malcolm glanced at the clock. “Man, it’s almost lunch time. I wonder what Mom’s made. I don’t think she went grocery shopping yet.”
    Carissa grinned, catching the not too subtle hint. “Okay, you finish putting things away and I’ll start lunch.”
    She cooked up a quickie casserole, consisting of cheese and bacon strips with diced potatoes . As she was putting the dish on the table, her cell phone buzzed. She grabbed it and saw a text message from her sister-in-law who lived two floors up. She was almost eight months pregnant. When she saw the message, her heart stopped. It said: COME QUICK!
     
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Carissa raced up the stairs, wishing she’d kept up her fitness workout; Malcolm following close behind. She knocked on the door to her sister-in-law’s apartment, then turned the knob. It easily opened in her hands although she’d told her sister-in-law to keep it locked. “Lina?” she said rushing into the living room. She looked around the exquisitely decorated apartment. “Are you okay? Do you need me to call the ambulance?”
    She heard the toilet flush and then Lina came into the room. “Sorry I kept you waiting. I swear I have to pee every hour. One sip of water and it’s Niagara Falls.”
    “But what’s wrong?” Carissa asked, surprised by her sister-in-law’s calm behavior.
    She blinked her pretty, naturally long lashes. “Nothing’s wrong.”
    “You told us to come quick,” Malcolm said, voicing Carissa’s irritation.
    “I didn’t tell you to come. Why are you always together?” She grinned. “Does someone have a crush?”
    “Leave him alone,” Carissa said. “Now tell me what’s wrong?”
    She headed for the kitchen. “I made some coleslaw the other day. I wanted you to have it before it spoiled.”
    Carissa gritted her teeth. Lina had done this to her before and she was annoyed that she’d fallen for it again. And she kept falling for it. These incidents were only getting worse and more frequent the closer it came to her due date. She’d had Carissa scrambling to her room the first day she was no longer able to see her feet after sending a text that said: OH NO!; the day she’d dropped the TV remote and accidently kicked it under the sofa and couldn’t reach it; the day she sent a text that said ‘ BIG NEWS !’ when she’d found out she was having a boy instead of a girl and burst into tears.
    She’d warned her to stop, but every time Carissa got a text she still came running. “How many times have I told you not to send me panicky messages like that? I thought you were in serious trouble.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    And she knew Lina was sorry, at least for the moment, but they rarely lasted. Carissa’s brother, Glenn, liked to spoil her and it was easy to see why. She was as perky and cute as a cheerleader with eyes as adorable as a kitten. She’d secured a major status coup by being the first one, on either side of the family, to bring in a grandchild so she was doted on from both sides. Yet all the attention didn’t seem to be enough.
    “Did you ever read the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf ?” Malcolm said.
    Lina took a seat on the lush leather couch. “The boy who cried what?”
    “You’re playing with fire,” Carissa said determined to be more direct. “One time you’re going to call me and I may not come because I won’t believe you.”
    “I wasn’t lying I didn’t…wait, where are you going?”
    Carissa put her hand on the doorknob. “I have to reheat Malcolm’s lunch.”
    “Isn’t he old enough to make it himself?”
    He shot her an ugly look.
    “It’s just that you’re a busy woman,” she added. “It’s not like you still have to babysit to make money.”
    “I’m not babysitting,” Carissa said.
    “I help her out,” Malcolm said clearly offended.
    Lina flashed an indulgent smile. “Sure you do, honey.”
    He narrowed his eyes and gripped his hands into