Page 24 of Returning to Everton

He huffs at me. “Yes, Dad. She’s a girl, and she is younger than me, you know. Not someone I would normally be friends with, but I like her. I think she needs someone older to take care of her, like a big brother. Did you know she doesn’t even know any other magic users besides her mom’s family and Aunt Quinn?” he asks.

“Yeah, I know. She lived in a normal town where she and her mom were the only magic users. Her dad didn’t have magic, so I guess she didn’t get to use it as much as you’re used to,” I tell him.

“Yeah, she told me that. He didn’t like her using magic, but she’s just a kid, and magic is fun. Since her dad didn’t like magic, she would secretly practice in her room. Isn’t that sad, Dad? To have to hide who you are like that?”

“Yes, it is, Logan. It’s very sad. No one should ever have to hide who they are. Whether that is hidin’ that they have magic, or somethin’ else. You are who you are, and you should never be ashamed of that,” I tell my son. “I expect it might take some time for Violet and her mom to get used to bein’ around other people who use magic.”

“Yeah, that’s why I want to hang out with her more. It’ll help ease her into being around more people with magic,” Logan tells me.

My son is a very bright boy, and also considerate. I’m sure going from knowing no one else with magic to being surrounded by a community of people constantly using it, would be a bit of a shock to anyone’s system. She definitely needs to get used to being around other magic users before she starts school in a few weeks. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have Logan spend more time with her. Plus if Logan is spending time with Violet, that means I can spend more time with Rowen.

“I can’t wait to play at the park with her tomorrow. She’s never been to a magic park; I don’t think she knows it’s different than a normal park,” Logan explains.

I laugh at that. He’s right. I’m sure she has no idea that this park is going to be different than what she’s used to. He seems excited to be the one to introduce her to the world of magic. I’m glad she has my son to look out for her. Besides, if the guys have their way, Logan will be like a brother to Violet for real. It’ll be easier if their relationship starts off like that than if things progress with Rowen and us guys, and they’re just forced to be together all the time.

We walk into the house, and I hear the guys in the living room. I tell Logan to go get ready for his bath. When I walk into the living room, I see everyone sitting around watching tv. They look up at me and I smile.

“Guess who I met at dinner,” I say.

They all look confused, but Ayden finally speaks up. “Who?” he asks.

“Rowen and Violet,” I casually respond. “Then, after we all ate dinner together; I showed her the house while Quinn watched Logan and Violet at her house.” I turn and start walking away to give Logan his bath when I’m stopped by all of the guys yelling at me. I smirk as I turn around. “What?” I ask.

“Dude, what the fuck! You can’t just drop a bomb like that on us and just turn and walk away!” Ayden exclaims.

“Yeah, man, what the hell. You can’t do that to us. What happened? How did she look? Did she take the house?” Kayden asks.

I laugh. “Let me get Logan in the bath and I’ll come back down, and we can all have storytime,” I tell them. I hear them all groan as I walk away.

I get Logan in the bath and make sure he washes before I leave him to play. I think about what all happened tonight, trying to decide what the guys need to know and what I can keep to myself. Maybe I shouldn’t tell them that I flirted with her all night. I mean, they don’t really need to know that, right? I think I’ll try to keep it to the cliff notes.

I figure this conversation may take a while, so I stop by the kitchen for a drink first. I do a little probing and find most of the guys could use a drink as well, so I just grab a six-pack and head back to the living room. I pass out beers, then plop down in the empty spot on the couch with Hudson. I take a slow sip of my beer as I feel everyone’s eyes on me.

I finally pull the beer away from my mouth and set it on my thigh. I look around the room and find everyone is starting to get impatient so I give in and tell them the abridged version of dinner. Then, since I was tortured first hand, I decide to tell them about the lovely noises she makes when she eats. The guys all groan in agony.

“Oh, god, she’s going to be the death of us, isn’t she?” Ayden asks.

“Yes, I believe she will be,” I reply.

“So, what about the house? Is she gonna take it?” Nate asks.

“Well...she thinks it’s too big. She doesn’t think she’s going to need that much room with just her and Violet. But I could tell she really liked it, so I took her to the kitchen, thinking that would surely turn her firmly in the ‘I need this house’ mentality. Not so much.”

“What do you mean not so much? Doesn’t she love that kitchen?” Nate asks.

“I mean, yeah. What’s not to love? But it is huge, guys, and she’s used to only her and Violet these past six months. She’s definitely not used to five full-grown men and a seven-year-old boy who can eat. She asked me what she would do with all that kitchen. There’s no way she would fill that fridge with just her and Violet. I told her she can have company. She’ll have plenty of room for all of her friends and family to come for the holidays or just to visit. Or she can host dinners. I really tried to sell it, guys,” I assure them.

“Okay, and? Did it work?” Hudson asks.

“Maybe. It at least got her to not completely give up on it, and to finish looking at it. We still had the solarium to look at. So, I talked her into seeing it next.”

“And that did it, didn't it?” Nate asks. “I told you she would love that solarium. I bet you that one room made up for the house being too big in her mind,” he declares.

“Pretty much. She fell in love with that room, everything about it. Especially being able to sit in there and watch Violet play in the yard. Which reminds me, apparently Violet had a treehouse and she was pretty bummed that she had to leave it behind. I kinda overheard Rowen thinking about how there’s plenty of room for her to build Violet a new playhouse. She also momentarily thought about putting in a pool before she remembered she was just renting and she couldn’t just put a pool in. So maybe that can be a housewarming gift or something?” I suggest.

“Absolutely!” Ayden proclaims. “When can we do it? Can we do it tonight?”

I love how excited he is about this, but after spending some time with Rowen tonight, we should probably wait. I explain as much to the guys. I just think it would mean more to Rowen if she knew who did it. And she can’t know the guys did it until after she sees them and actually talks to them again. Ayden reluctantly agrees to wait until everyone has seen her and had a chance to talk to her before he starts trying to spoil her and Violet rotten.

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