Page 141 of Ransom

"I'm so sorry," Ransom murmurs close to my ear. "This happens a lot."

I shrug. "Why are you apologizing?"

His lips twitch. "Give it a few hours. You'll understand."

"Can we get ice cream after?" Max tugs on my sleeve.

"Sure, buddy." I run my fingers through his too long hair. "But first, want to see some cool space stuff?"

"Yeah! And make some tornadoes! Should I say bye to Mommy?"

"Definitely. She's asleep, but you can go in and give her a kiss. We'll come back later when she’s awake to visit some more."

Max and I slip into Maggie's room, his small hand clutching mine. He tiptoes to her bedside, pressing a gentle kiss to hercheek. She doesn't stir, and her breathing remains steady and deep.

"Bye, Mommy," he whispers.

Evie follows us in, closing the door softly behind her. She gestures me into the corner while Max lingers by his mom's bed.

"The science center's perfect for kids his age," she says in hushed tones. "And trust me, having the whole crew there? Max won't have time to worry about anything else."

I cross my arms, studying her face. "Why do I feel like you're not telling me something?"

Her eyes sparkle with mischief. "Let's just say our family outings tend to be... memorable."

"Memorable how?"

"You'll see." She pats my arm. "Just enjoy it. Sometimes chaos is exactly what you need."

I narrow my eyes at her cryptic response, but she just smiles and turns to Max.

"Ready to see some awesome space stuff, buddy?"

Max nods eagerly, taking one last look at Maggie before joining us at the door. I can't shake the feeling that I'm walking into something bigger than a simple trip to the science center, but Evie's right about one thing—Max needs the distraction. And maybe, if I'm honest with myself, so do I.

44

BLAIR

Ilean against the wall, watching three grown men and two children argue over the best way to build a dam out of sand. This water table is supposed to be for kids. It's in the toddler area. But all the men are on their knees, sleeves rolled up, looking all kinds of focused, like they're building an actual fucking dam. It's bizarre and adorable, but I'll never admit that to their faces.

"The angle's all wrong." Jonas gestures at the pile of wet sand Kade's molding. "You need a forty-five degree slope for optimal water resistance."

"When did you get your fucking engineering degree?" Kade slaps more sand onto his creation. "It needs to be steep as hell. Like a wall."

"No cursing around the kids," Ransom mutters, carefully sculpting his own dam with practiced movements.

"That ship has fucking sailed," Kade mutters, rolling his eyes.

As someone with an actual engineering degree, I could go over there and help them. But I'm not going to. This is too entertaining.

It's weird seeing Ransom like this. I know he's a family guy. I saw a little glimpse of that when Mia jumped into his arms after getting off that bus. And again taking care of the kids last night. But I didn't fully get the dynamic with his brothers until now. Seeing how relaxed they are with each other, how familiar, is eye-opening. I guess I expected him to be the dad, and for all of them to look up to him, show him deference. But they're not that. Yeah, they seem to treat him a little differently. They listen a little longer, but ultimately, they're still going to tell him to fuck off if he's wrong.

I don't know if it would be the same in some other setting—like during a corporate takeover or whatever the fuck they do on the daily.

Max dumps a bucket of water behind Kade's dam, making him yell. It crumbles instantly.

"See?" Jonas straightens his glasses. "The structural integrity?—"

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