Page 61 of Don't Hurt Us
“Mad?No.That was a pretty decent prank.I can’t believe he’s been doing this himself for years.Do you know how much money he probably wasted on toilet paper?Plus, the jokes on him.He had to clean it up every month.”Colt chuckles.
“Well, he didn’t always do it.He used to pay Tucker and I to teepee the house.”Maverick chuckles when Colt’s eyes snap to his.
“Excuse me?”
“Since he retired, he’s been doing it himself because he’s bored.He doesn’t mind cleaning up the toilet paper.He checks the weather first to make sure there won't be any bad weather.How did you not realize his house only gets teepeed when the weather is nice and there’s no snow?”
Colt’s quiet the rest of the drive and when we pull up in front of the house, he doesn’t say a word to us.I think he’s a little hurt his friends helped trick him, but I know it won't last long.Knowing Colt, he’ll think of some way to get back to them.
We wave goodbye and shut the door to the house when Colt’s car is out of sight.Maverick takes a seat on the couch and pats the spot next to him.
“I was thinking on our way home,” he begins.I can see the wheels in his head turning and I wonder what that’s all about.
“Ok?”
“Peck and Sophia are moving in a few weeks.What if we help them and visit Mulberry Lane?We can help them get settled in and have a wedding celebration while we’re there.That way you can have both of your brothers there for it.I think the kids have spring break right around that time, and even if they didn’t, I'm sure Skylar would figure it out.”
“You’d do that?Don’t you want to do something here so Colt and Tucker can be there?”
“Well, I don’t think it would be that difficult to convince Colt and Zoey to travel to Mulberry Lane for a weekend.I'm sure we could get Tucker and Skylar to come too.And if they can’t, we can do something another time with them.I'm not worried about it.”
“You’re perfect, you know that, right?”I blink back tears.I don’t know what I did to deserve this man, but I’ll never take him for granted.
“Nah, baby.I'm just putting you first and you don’t know what to do with that.”He leans in and brushes a soft kiss across my lips.
“Do we tell the kids?”
“That’s up to you.I was kind of hoping by waiting until Peck moves, maybe we’ll have the adoption papers by then and we could surprise them with those.”
“They’d love that,” I whisper.“I think we should tell them we got married though.It might help them.Peck said they were really anxious when he took them to school today and they didn’t know what was going on.I think they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.I think they’re terrified you’re going to leave one day.”
“I'm happy to put their minds at ease then.”
Maverick and I work the entire day to unpack boxes around the house.Since we didn’t bring any furniture, there isn’t as much to do as there could be, but it’s still a lot.We take a short break for lunch, but other than that, we’ve been working all day.
Peck was kind enough to pick up the kids from school and drop them off at home even though he’s on duty.That’s one of the benefits of living in such a small town.
The kids race inside the house and drop their things in the mudroom before coming to find us in our bedroom.
“Is everything ok?”Danny’s eyes frantically search my face.My heart breaks for him.A boy at his age shouldn’t worry about everything being ok at home.
“Let’s go out to the living room.”Maverick helps me off the floor before leading all of us into the living room.
The kids are an anxious mess and I can only imagine the things going through their heads.I’m hoping once we tell them, their anxieties will melt away.
We take a seat on the couch and Maverick tugs both of the kids onto his lap.Danny already has tears gathering in his eyes and Bree looks like it won't be long before she’s following in his footsteps.
“Hey, why are you so upset?”Maverick tugs them closer.
“Because you’re going to leave!You don’t want us, just like Rob didn’t.”Danny buries his face in Maverick’s chest and his body shakes with his sobs.
“I don’t want you to leave, Maverick!”Bree flings her body into his and wraps her arms around his neck.
I pinch my lips together as my own tears gather.I didn’t realize they were feeling this uneasy about everything.I hate how they’re questioning Maverick’s position in their lives.
“Maverick isn’t Rob.We all need to remember that,” I try my hardest to reassure them, but I feel like my words are falling on deaf ears.
“Mom and I wanted to talk to you about something.Today, we went to the courthouse to get some things settled with Rob.It’s over and done with.He’s not allowed to come near any of us and he can’t talk to you at all.”
