Page 41 of Steadfast

“Not yet. When I got down here, I figured I’d do this first.”

“I’ve got Ronan’s bag. I’ll have him carry it down once I’m done packing it.”

Cian nodded, but I was already jogging back into the house. We were running out of time. Richie was going to come back, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep him from followingus. I would’ve given anything to have him with me, the thought of separating made a ball of dread sit heavy in my belly, but I couldn’t let him burn down his entire life. I may be selfish when it came to Richie, but I’d never be that selfish. The kids were my responsibility to keep safe, not his.

Ronan was practically bouncing off the walls when I got to his room, his clothes in neatly set-out piles on his bed.

“We’re going on a road trip?” he asked excitedly. “To see Aunt Ashley, right? In Oregon?”

“Right,” I said, giving him a gentle shove in the shoulder. “You started packing?”

“I knew you’d want to do it,” he frowned. “But I got my clothes out.”

“Perfect,” I said with a nod. “You still have that little blue suitcase?”

“It has cartoon dogs on it,” he replied flatly.

“It’s a bag that will hold your crap,” I replied. “Grab it.”

“It’s embarrassing,” he called as he scrambled under his bed, grunting as he pushed shit out of the way.

“No one will see it.”

“Cian will.”

“Cian knows you have it,” I pointed out. “You share a room.”

“Still.” He yanked the little suitcase out and handed it to me.

I started filling it up. “Grab your flip-flops,” I ordered. “And your Legos.”

“The whole tub?” he asked dubiously.

“Whole tub,” I confirmed. “Put the lid on it.”

“Can I bring my blanket?”

“Of course.”

We met Saoirse in the hall, and I handed her Ronan’s bag. “Carry these down and help Cian load the car. I’ll grab Ash.”

“We have to get Aisling’s medicine from the pharmacy,” she reminded me.

“We’ll get it on the way.”

I left them and took a deep breath, pausing only for a moment to calm my racing heartbeat. Then I walked quietly into Aisling’s room.

“Come on, baby,” I murmured, putting Funky Frog against her chest before lifting her from the bed.

“Where we going?” she mumbled against my neck.

“On an adventure,” I replied. She was already asleep.

I was sweating and breathing heavy by the time I put Aisling into her booster seat. She slept the entire time, listing to the side before I’d even closed the door.

“You’re in the middle,” Saoirse ordered, pushing Ronan toward the other side of the car. “Get in.”

“This is so awesome,” he said, practically hopping as he climbed in.

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