Page 111 of Lockout

He chuckled. “Syrup.”

My brows shot up. “Getting frisky, huh?”

“I wish. Trying to feed some kids waffles.”

“What’s frisky?”

We both looked down at the little girl in my arms in surprise. I’d forgotten she was there. “Oh. Uh… It means to be playful,” I told her.

She nodded, absorbing that information, but otherwise staying quiet.

Okay.

Looking back at Hell, I shrugged. “Want to bring everyone down to the playground?”

“Shit, yeah,” he said, then gave Bay a guilty look. “I mean… Yeah, I’ll round them up.”

“Bring all of them,” I said. “Let’s clear this place out so that Isla can get some sleep. They don’t need kids running up and down the halls.”

“Leave it to me, Prez. I’ll spread the word.”

With that, I went to my apartment and smiled as I saw Keely setting dishes from breakfast into the sink.

“Everything alright at Skyhawk?” she asked. She came over and took Bay from me without even questioning why she was here. “You hungry, Sweetie?” When the girl nodded, she started making up a plate for her.

“Yeah, Matt just had a few questions before the new group of students started tomorrow,” I told her. I’d finally started up the school I wanted and now once a week, I taught people how to fly.

“Good,” she said. “Lamar, put that fork down right now,” she said, narrowing her eyes on our seven-year-old.

He put the fork—and the food that he’d been about to launch at his twin—down. “Sorry, Mom,” he mumbled.

Leo waited until Keely’s back was turned then stuck his tongue out at his brother.

I sat down next to them and gave my sons ‘the look’. Unlike Butcher I’d fallen into fatherhood quickly and easily. Probably because I spent years basically parenting both Butcher and Toxic.

My boys grinned at me while Lily, our ten month old, munched on her eggs in her high chair. I’d wanted to name her after Daph, but didn’t want to make anything tough on Hush, so we’d settled on Lily, another flower name in honor of her aunt.

“We’re meeting everyone down on the playground,” I told Keely. “Leave the dishes, I’ll come up and do them as soon as all the kids pass out for their afternoon naps.”

“Thanks,” she said and came to sit at the table while the kids finished breakfast. “That’s a good idea,” she said, giving me a sly look.

“What is?”

“Getting the kids outside where they can scream and play but not bother Isla,” she said, reaching out and wiping a drip of ketchup off Bay’s chin with her thumb. She wiped the sauce off on her jean shorts, not caring if she made a mess of herself. Keely was an amazing mother to our kids. She was loving and kind, but cracked the whip when she needed to.

We had great kids because of her. We’d gone a long time between the twins and Lily so that Keely could figure out how to be both a lawyer and a mom. She was fucking phenomenal at both jobs. But she was retired now and had wanted another baby. Lily might not be our last if my wife had anything to say about it. It’d give this woman anything she wanted. As big of a family as she wanted.

I shrugged. “Wasn’t that long ago that we were getting zero sleep,” I told her, making a face at Lily. “That was you,” I said to my daughter. “You were the one making sure none of us slept.”

She grinned at me, laughing a little as if she understood what I was saying to her.

“Can we go down, Mom?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, we’re done,” Lamar insisted.

“Go put your shoes on first,” she said.

“Ugh,” they both groaned together.

---