Page 25 of Declan's Dove

“You guys are teaching him terrible things.”

“Actually, I heard you tell that to Cash when you were working with Mama at th?—”

Skyler jumps out of Ethan’s arms, and slaps her hand over Carter’s mouth, chuckling.

“Kids.” She shrugs. “They have wild imaginations. Who knows where they pick this shit up. I won’t tell and neither will you.” She says the last part pointedly to Carter. He nods his head.

“Ew!” Skyler shouts. “You licked me. You little shit.” Carter is laughing while back pedaling out of Skyler’s reach. Ethan grabs her around her belly, gently pulling her back into his front.

“You never complain when I lick you, Sunshine.” Ethan says, making Skyler blush.

“Now who’s teaching him bad words?” I tease.

“Come on, baby. Let’s get you home and fed. Clearly, you’re hungry because you’re getting extra feisty with the boy.” She rolls her eyes, and Ethan leans in, placing his cheek close to hers as he says, “I’ve got something I think will fill you up nicely. I might even let you get away with keeping your little secret between you and Carter if you play your cards right.”

“We have no secrets. Right, Carter?” Skyler gives the kid that deadly mom-glare all women seem to be born knowing how to do.

“We don’t have any secrets,” Carter says, tossing two fingers back and forth between himself and Skyler. “But I can’t speak for you and Uncle Ethan.” The boy shrugs.

He is a shrewd little shit. I like it.

Skyler points a finger at him, still holding her mom-glare firmly in place. “You let me worry about Uncle Ethan. Just remember, I know the little girl you’ve been crushing on. You spill mine and I spill yours. Got me?”

Carter’s eyes grow wide. “Okay. Okay. I got you. Sheesh.”

I scruff his hair. “Seems you’re full of secrets, Little Man.”

Carter steps back, his face suddenly full of concern. “I-I don’t keep secrets. Mama says secrets are bad.” Carter looks between the three of us, suddenly seeming uncomfortable. I don’t know why he reacts the way he does, but suddenly I’m thinking I need to dig a little deeper. “We just don’t tell everybody everything because people aren’t always who they seem to be. Some people are up to no good, even when they say they want to help.”

My brow furrows. His words setting alarm bells off in my head. Ethan must sense the same thing because his face matches my thoughts.

“Well,” Skyler clears her throat. “We should get going so you two can start dinner and get Carter’s homework done. Don’t forget to get a shower and clean up your mess, okay?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Skyler turns, giving Ethan a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you at home.” She pulls out of his arms and gets into the truck. He follows her, giving her a quick kiss before closing the door. The truck starts up. She backs out, and Skyler takes off down the road, leaving us to sort shit out.

“Let’s get your stuff in the house, kid.” Carter grabs his backpack. I grab the other two bags that Ethan helped him pack up. I don’t know why he brought the extra shit when all the kid needs is his clothes, toiletries, and his shit for school. But Ethan thought he should bring a couple books and his video game station and some games to play with it.

Not that I mind the kid staying and hanging out for a while. I told Violet I’d watch him from time to time and help her out if she wanted to go back to school. This could be a good opportunity to show her the kid and I can be left unsupervised for a while. Though, she must already believe that if she named me his guardian. The thought fills me with a sense of pride. It’s also very telling in the way she feels about me.

Violet has been pushing back every time I try to convince her to give us a chance. She won’t tell me what haunts her or what demons her past holds, but I recognize the signs. Shying back from loud sounds and shouting voices. Trying to make herself small and invisible in crowds. Flinching when someone moves too quickly around her, especially men. I had my hunches, but the Trident Elite Forces business card I found in her room tells me my gut was right on the money.

Someone abused her.

Kayce Eaton and I served together. The missions we took were not all on the books and most of them dealt with missing people, human trafficking scumbags, and eliminating problems under the radar and completely off-the-record.

I reach for my keys and unlock the door to the house, ushering Carter in and pushing the button to close the garage door.

“Put your stuff in the first bedroom on the right. I’m going to put the game console and shit out here in the living room.”

“Okay.” Carter answers, making his way down the hall.

“After you get everything put away, get yourself a shower. I’ll order us some pizza for dinner. It’ll be here by the time you get done.” I holler from the kitchen.

“Pizza? Yes!”

“I think he just fist pumped on his way into the room.” Ethan laughs. “Fair warning, the kid has a hollow leg. He can eat nearly an entire medium pizza by himself. I’ve seen him do it at my house. The girls call it his superpower.”

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