Page 126 of Code Word
He was such a dad.
Benny was the cutest kid ever, and she ran inside. Wes yelled after her to slow down and almost dropped one bag, which Luke was quick to grab.
Amy took the tray. “I told you I could carry this,” she said.
“Careful, it’s hot,” he said. Then he looked at me. “Your house is about to get hit by Cyclone Benny.”
I took a bag from him and looked at it and grinned. “From Prada to Disney.”
He snorted. “It’s a short fall, my friend.” Then he hurried into the living room, looking for what damage Benny was getting into.
I followed him and clapped him on the shoulder. “Relax, man. She’ll be fine. The pool’s fenced, and there’s nothing she can really get into in here.”
He looked at me like I had noooooo idea, before he laughed a slightly manic sound. Then he dropped his other bag onto the kitchen counter and saw Benny run up the hallway. He bolted after her, and the rest of us all laughed.
“She’s fast,” Luke said, surprised.
Amy laughed. “Oh yes.”
I couldn’t help but smile after Wes. “He looks so happy,” I said quietly.
Amy pulled out a tray of some kind of food, smiling fondly. “He’s such a great father.”
Wes came back holding a grinning Benny. “Can’t take your eyes off ’em.”
I laughed. “Living the dream, huh?”
He grinned at me. “Wouldn’t change a thing.” Then he looked at Luke and back to me. “So, things here are good, I see.”
I felt a rush, a thrill at the mention of us. Giddy, even. “Ah, yeah,” I said, unable to take my eyes off Luke.
His smile was shy, his cheeks a little pink. “You could say that.”
“Well, I’d like to say I’m surprised, but that’d be a lie,” Wes said. “To tell you the truth, I thought you were banging years ago. Like,Beacon-album era. That long ago.”
Luke sighed. “Nope.”
I put my hand up. “It’s me. I was the idiot. We’ve established that fact.”
Wes snorted. “NowthatI knew.”
Then Benny decided she wanted to go outside, reaching for the glass doors.
I held my hands out for her. “B-b-b-Benny and the Jets, come to Uncle Blake. Let your dad have a minute.” She looked at me, unsure. “You wanna go outside? I’ll take you. Let’s go see if we can find some squirrels.”
That was the magic combo, apparently, because she launched herself at me and pointed to the doors, leaning to make me go faster. “Does she need a coat or something?” Well, the sun was out and she had a long-sleeve shirt, but I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know how kids operated.
“No, she’ll be fine,” Amy said, amused.
I ignored how Luke’s eyes were all hearts and how Wes’s were mostly fear, and took her outside.
It was a nice winter’s day, blue skies and sunshine, at least. Not as warm as Mexico but still. I took Benny over to the trees and watched for any movement. “Look!” I said, pointing. “There’s one.”
So we looked some more, and she wanted to walk along the garden wall while I held her hand, and before long, Wes came out. I could hear other voices inside and I knew I’d put it off long enough.
Wes scooped Benny up, and she showed him where thesquirrels had been. He listened intently but eventually his attention turned to me. “You got some visitors inside.”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah.” I inhaled deeply. “Can I ask you something?”
