Page 26 of What Haunts the Heart
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He guided Fallon away from the probably-hungry tiger. The rest of us followed suit. I couldn’t help but notice that Lani and Claire hung back, still enraptured by the big cat. It seemed the tiger wasn’t the only big cat on Claire’s radar. She hurriedly waved me off.
I smiled to myself and laced my fingers with Eden’s. I felt so light, like the weight that had hung so heavy on my shoulders had finally lifted, and if I let go of his hand, I might just float away into the atmosphere. As if he could sense exactly what I was thinking, Eden gave my hand a gentle squeeze.
Could I get any luckier?
By the time we came to the end of the Halloween tour and reached the entrance of the zoo, Fallon was beyond cranky. He scuffed his shoes along the sidewalk. “I’msotired. Daddy, will you give me a piggy-back ride?”
Kinsley rolled his eyes. I snickered. Fallon only pulled the “Daddy” card whenever he really wanted something, and Chester usually gave into his firstborn’s whims.
Not tonight, apparently.
“Ask your papa,” he replied. “My hands are full.” He hoisted Khloe out of the stroller and planted her on his hip. She yawned and rested her head against his shoulder while he one-handedly fumbled with Angel. Lani was quick to step in and help lessen the burden.
Fallon whined. “But…”
“Sorry, kiddo. Sisters are the worst,” Claire said apologetically. “I have two.”
He wrinkled his nose and then, defeated, offered Kinsley a small smile. “Papa? Willyougive me a piggy-back ride?”
Kinsley scratched his chin. “Hmm? Oh, I don’t know. You’re a big boy now, right? That’s what you always say, and big boys walk to the car.”
“But we parked so far away and my feet hurt and I’mtired.”Fallon pouted.
“We did park pretty far away,” Eden agreed. “I dunno, Kins. Maybe you should give him a ride, for old time’s sake.” He winked at Fallon, whose frown immediately flipped upside down. I could see these two scheming, all right.
“I suppose.” Kinsley held out his hands and, with a squeal of delight, Fallon leapt up onto his back. He swung around and fastened his legs around Kinsley’s waist while his arms nearly strangled my poor brother. It was all I could do not to crack up laughing. “Oof. You’ve gotten heavy,” Kinsley murmured.
“I’m big for my age,” said Fallon solemnly, and I lost it.
I burst into laughter, slapping at my knee. “Priceless.”
Kinsley huffed. “Just you wait. Your time will come and then we’ll see who has the last laugh. Alright, enough fooling around. To the car!” He took off running, making zoomy noises with his mouth, which told me that he actually adored carting his kid around. Fallon’s laughter echoed through the night.
I straightened up and wiped my eyes to see Eden gazing at me. His bottom lip pouted out. “You know, my legs are pretty tired too? I wouldn’t say no to a piggy-back ride, if you were to offer...”
“I love you.” I planted a noisy kiss on his lips, then threw him over my shoulder like a caveman. We ran after Kinsley and Fallon, leaving Chester and the girls to eat our dust.
By the time we reached my brother’s SUV, I was sweaty and panting for breath, but I was happy, and that’s all that mattered.
