Page 175 of For Wrath and Redemption
Brynn follows my line of sight and then snorts. “Yep. That is a Wiggle.”
“Good Lord.”
“Look on the bright side, Aunt Claire. At least you don’t have to do any of the cleanup.”
I laugh and nod. “At least there’s that.”
As soon as Jonah spots me, he practically sprints to my side. He kisses me, kisses Teddy, then flares his eyes.
“Isn’t this the best?”
I smile and nod. “The best.”
“Hammond got a Wiggle. Did you see the Wiggle?”
“I did. I did see the Wiggle.”
He kisses me again, then scoops our daughter into his arms. “C’mon, Teddy baby. Let’s go ride a pony.”
After a few minutes of observing, I have to admit that this party is pretty great. They were all right. It’s fun. It’s a lot of fun, and the best part is seeing Teddy have fun. She’s nothing but giggles and smiles as she’s passed among all of these people who love her, and seeing her with Ezra, Crue, and the other two princesses is something I will never forget.
By the time we get to cake and presents, my cheeks hurt from all the smiling I’ve done. But then the mountain of gifts is revealed, and my smile falls.
So much for “nothing big or extravagant.”
My eyes find the Caveat boys in the crowd, and I march over to them, stopping in front of Ezra.
“Did you get her a drum set?”
“How’d you know?”
He’s playing dumb. He’s good at that. I gesture to what is obviously a drum set with each individual drum and cymbal wrapped in wrapping paper.
“What does that look like to you?” I ask with an arched brow, and he grins.
“Okay, you got me. But I had to upstage Rock.”
I turn to Rocky. “What did you get her?”
“A guitar.”
I laugh. “Let me guess. It’s a bedazzled pink Fender.”
He doesn’t answer, but he smiles, and that’s all the confirmation I need.
“Guys. She can barely walk.”
“Don’t worry, Claire Bear. I’ll keep the drums until Ted’s old enough.”
“Yeah, and then I’ll teach her how to play the Fender.”
A familiar tattooed arm drops onto my shoulder, and I’m awash in Jonah’s clean, woodsy scent.
“If anyone is going to teach my daughter how to play guitar, Halstrom, it will be me.”
“You’ll have arthritis in your hands by then, old man.”
“An old man who can still outplay you.”
