Page 49 of Hearts of Fairlake

He meant deal with, but there would be no use in pointing that out. “Fine, just...give me a minute."

No sooner had Phil nodded his head and walked off before my phone started trilling in my pocket. Once again, Bennett had gotten hold of my phone when I wasn't paying attention and changed the ringtone. This time, it was Britney, proclaiming how she was a slave for me, and I sighed heavily, pulling the device out and seeing it was my husband, which made sense. Other people had called several times today, and there were no changes to the ringtone. I'd probably want to check the ringtones for our friends and family before I ended up having Dixon Dallas singing about having a guy bouncing off his booty cheeks while I was meeting with a client.

Again.

"I could use a few slaves right now," I answered.

Bennett chuckled. “Kinda forgot I did that. It's been a couple of weeks."

"We live together...and usually text."

"True, true. By the way, is the fruit of your loins with you? Because your mom and dad came here looking for him, and they're...a little freaked out."

"How the hell did he get away from them in the first place?" I growled, not caring how annoyed I sounded. Everyone could proclaim how patient and easygoing I was, but they also had their limits. My parents had agreed to watch the kids while I was busy with the festival, and Bennett was working a shift. Bri and Keith also had their jobs, and my parents were well into retirement age and thrilled to be grandparents.

"I guess he kept saying something about Papa Bennett and Daddy. There was this whole thing about him and Amber getting into it like they do. Then Brendon got upset because of the yelling. They tried getting everyone to calm down, but they blinked, and he was gone," Bennett said rapidly. I heard the background noise get muffled, and I figured he was telling them what was happening. When he returned, his voice was quieter. “They're pretty freaked out, so I'm not going to tell them you sound like you're going to fuck something or fight it."

I should have known if anyone could pull me out of my sour mood with a laugh, it was my husband. People always teased me about how serious I could be, and honestly, they weren't wrong. Even when we’d been 'just' friends, Bennett was a good counterbalance to my more serious, sometimes moody tendencies. People joked that he was like a golden retriever, and they weren't wrong. It was rare that you saw Bennett genuinely unhappy or dour. It just wasn't in his nature.

"Now there's a sound I love hearing," he proclaimed, and Icould hear the grin in his voice. "Although if you were looking to, uh, fuck something still, I'm sure that can be arranged."

"We're both working," I said with a shake of my head.

"There's supply closets that can be locked," he snorted. "And if you're wanting a little danger, there's always Chief Price's office."

"There's a little bit of danger, and then there's inviting death," I pointed out. "And I definitely don't have time."

"Pfft, you've had quickies before."

"Bennett."

"And there's the exasperation I wanted so much, feeling better?"

"Not particularly," I grumbled, stroking my son's head as he held tight to me, but at least he wasn't whining as heavily. "I'm going to bring Colin over to you guys. I can't babysit all these projects and watch him."

"I figured," he said. "Hopefully, your parents keep a better eye on him."

"Tell me about it. I know Fairlake is pretty safe, especially in this area, but…" I stopped there, not wanting to entertain any worst-case scenarios. If I knew my mom, she was already running endless bad outcomes through her head, and when I showed up, she’d still be cycling between chastising herself and then my father for letting Colin out of their sight when any number of things could have happened to him. "I'll see you soon."

"You bet," he said and then sighed. "Jesus, I think I hear Ira again. Talk soon."

"Ira?" I wondered aloud, not sure what she would be so upset about.

"Daddy?" Colin asked in a thick voice that was thankfully calm. I peered down into his face and felt something tug in my chest at his red, tear, and snot-streaked face. It occurredto me that I’d done little else but get irritated with his interruption when whatever had upset him had clearly been the worst thing ever...for now.

"Hey, buddy," I said softly, bending down so I could get my hands under his arms and pick him up. He came readily, helping to hoist himself up so I could hold him at my side. At some point, far sooner than I would like, he was going to get too big for me to hold him like this. He was already on the big side as it was, and I could already feel myself mourning the day I had to tell him he was too big to pick up. "Daddy's sorry, I shouldn't have been grumpy with you."

"It's okay," he said, laying his head on my shoulder. "I feel better now."

"Well, that's good," I said, signaling to the team that I would be back shortly. "Wanna tell me what got you so upset?"

"Amber," he muttered and sighed as only an aggrieved sibling can. "She was being mean. She bit me."

"Oh," I said. Great, was this a new stage? I’d hoped none of the kids would go through a biting stage. "I'm sorry, I bet that hurt."

"It did!" he said, sounding outraged. "And Grandma and Grandpa didn't believe me."

"They didn't?" I asked, a little surprised. "Why not?"

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