Page 19 of Slice

“Who is ready for lunch and the mayhem that ensues with all the kids and animals?” Slice asked.

“Animals?” Micah yelled.

“Dogs, cats, and who knows what else has been added,” Slice muttered with a smile.

Micah held Isaiah’s hand as Slice led them in with his hand on her waist. The little touches were what made her feel special—opening her door and his hand on her waist.

The door opened, and the sound intensified.

A couple foam darts flew across the room, then one of her students from last year popped up from behind a chair. Phoebe had kept her on her toes as a kindergartener when the little girl had come to her class in the middle of the year after relocating to Bluff Creek following the death of her mother.

“Missed suckers!” she yelled, then ducked back down.

“Phoebe, is ‘suckers’ a nice word to call your friends?” a male voice yelled.

“Sorry, Papa. You missed you treacherous nitwits. Is that better, Papa?” the girl yelled.

Phoebe’s grandfather, a tall older man with a beard, walked over to the girl. “It was very funny, Phoebe, but if you wouldn’t call your best friend that, then you probably shouldn’t call the boys that,” he said, hiding a smile behind his hand.

Slice led them over to the man. “Faith, have you met Rascal? He runs Bluff Creek Ink with Roam and Sprite.”

Faith held out her hand. “I have. He picked up Phoebe from school a couple of times. It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you again, too. And who are these well-behaved boys with you?” Rascal asked.

“This is Micah and Isaiah.”

Both boys stood between her and Slice, waiting to see what happened. They were still skittish around new people.

“There’s about fifteen more minutes of playtime if you want to join the kids,” Rascal said.

A young boy, Faith guessed was maybe four, almost five possibly. He hadn’t been through her class yet, so she knew he was younger.

“You guys can be on our team because we need help. Blake and Phoebe are massa-massa. They’re beating us. I’m Grant, and that’s David.”

The boys looked at her and Slice. Once Slice nodded, the boys took off.

“And now since they’re taken care of, give me the little one for some snuggles before my woman or someone else tries to grab him first,” Rascal said, waiting until Slice set the carrier on a table before unbuckling LB’s car seat straps and then cuddling LB up to his chest.

“Go show Faith around and introduce her. I can change diapers or soothe an upset baby if needed,” Rascal urged.

Slice smiled and grabbed Faith’s hand. He walked her around the room, introducing her to all the men and women who had already arrived. Faith was pretty good with names, but therewere too many she’d met at one time, and she was sure she’d forget some of them.

The Franks sisters had such big personalities that she’d remember them, plus she’d met Winnie and Remi already. Regina had run the diner when Faith first moved to Bluff Creek, so she knew her, too. Even though it was a smaller town, she was surprised at the number of people she didn’t know. In no time at all, lunch was called, and it was a stampede to get all the kids situated in booster seats if needed and then find their own seats.

Baron, who was the previous President and War and Roam’s dad, said grace. Then everyone started passing around the food.

Faith was thrilled to see fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, and some side dishes because the boys loved fried chicken. She had hoped it wouldn’t be something strange that she’d have to force them to try a couple of bites. Rascal had lost out on holding LB, and Rascal’s woman, Meg, now had him. He wasn’t due a bottle for an hour, so Faith wasn’t worried about him crying. He loved being held and was such a good baby.

“Faith, how is school going?” Jesse asked.

“Umm, besides needing Slice to bring me clothes because the stomach flu is going around, pretty great.”

“Faith is trying to be nice. Two of the teachers weren’t nice to her when I brought her clothes,” Slice said.

Faith hadn’t been sure she wanted everyone to know what had happened. Slice had already chatted with her on the phone, and she’d had to explain to him that he didn’t need to solve all her problems because sometimes they weren’t solvable.

“Hmm, let me guess which ones. Prim and Candace?” Winnie asked.

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