Page 25 of Coup De Grâce
To her credit, she didn’t even flinch. She looked me straight in the eyes and lied. “I wicked my wips weawy, weawy hard.”
I nodded sagely. “You did, huh?”
She nodded again.
“Then what’s all the red on your pajama top?”
“Fuckers.” Her eyes widened and she slapped her hands over her mouth, realizing she’d just given the game away.
“That’s what I thought,” I laughed, choosing to ignore the fact that she called suckers fuckers. “Into the bath! Clothes in the hamper. Let’s move or no one’s getting candy for the rest of the year!”
They both groaned and cried, making way too big a deal out of taking a bath, but in the end, it took me all of five minutes to get them both cleaned up. We worked as a team, much like we had since the day Cash shot his brother and basically disappeared from our lives.
Our routine was the only thing keeping us going. Well, keeping me going. I was pretty sure they’d forgotten about Cash now. At first, I talked about him all the time, sure he wouldn’t be gone for long. But eventually, the questions got too hard to answer and I stopped bringing him up.
Where’s Daddy?
When’s he coming home?
Does Daddy still love me?
Most of the questions came from Benjamin. He remembered Cash the most, but occasionally, Eloise would surprise me by saying something about him. I hadn’t removed his photos from the house. I wasn’t about to completely erase him from our lives, but it was easier not to talk about him all the time.
Once they were dressed and ready to go, we headed out, walking down the road to the silo. It was faster to walk than to try to get them in the minivan. The inevitable fights broke out about who was sitting where and who was touching who. It was a thirty-second drive that seemed to last hours.
“Don’t touch me!”
“Momma, Benny wicked me!”
“Did not!”
“Did too!”
“Stop!” I snapped, already losing my cool. Fuck, I just needed one day where the kids weren’t driving me up the wall. At least when I brought them to work, someone usually took pity on me and distracted them in the training center.
I flung the door open and was immediately met by Knight’s intense gaze. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were—” I glanced at my kids and then back at their uncle.
He was immediately tackled with hugs, and I was grateful he didn’t get pissed at their enthusiasm. Instead, I thought I saw a hint of a smile that eased the anger simmering under my skin.
“Hey, Ellie,” Knight smiled, picking up my daughter. He set her on his hip and reached for Benjamin’s hand. “Are you guys ready to have some fun?”
Shock startled me for a moment, but I quickly raced to catch up as he headed for the elevator. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s not just for you,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact. “I have a surprise for you.”
Eloise clapped her hands on either side of his face and squeezed. “For me?”
“For your momma,” he corrected. “But it’s for you also.”
A huge smile broke out over her face and her little golden curls bobbed as she wiggled in his arms in excitement. “Is it a pony?”
Knight actually laughed at that, shaking his head. “Nope. No pony, kid.”
“A race car?” Benjamin asked, tugging on Knight’s hand.
“Not that either.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing my kids needed was anything that would get them into trouble. They were enough on their own.
