Page 102 of Stolen Fate

We didn’t talk for the rest of the time Ms. Bennett took to clean the kitchen. She washed the last of the dishes and placed it in the drying rack before turning to me. “I’m going to head out now. Dinner is just about done, and I’ve left the stove on a simmer to keep it warm. Don’t forget to turn it off before eating.”

I nodded. “Are you sure you can get home at this time of night?”

“I may be a decade older than you, but I’m not that old.”

I shook my head, my lips twisting in a slight smile. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just a little later than usual.”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Enjoy the meal with your family. You work too much, too hard. This is some well-deserved time off.” She patted my head on her way out the kitchen. And I was, once again, left alone with only my thoughts to keep me occupied.

Though not for very long, because a damp-haired Elliot appeared in my line of sight suddenly, sporting the biggest smile I’d seen him wear all day. He was in his favorite Spider-Man pajamas, and he had his arms wrapped tightly around Wilbert.

He walked over to me and I smiled. I’d learned long ago that Elliot responded best to a smile on my face. If he was in the room, I made an effort to smile at him more, even if I wasn’t the smiling type.

“Can I sit on your lap, Daddy?”

I reached down and pulled him up, exaggerating my groan a little as I settled him in. “Oh, you are getting really big, aren’t you? I can barely lift you up now.”

He giggled, and it was the sweetest sound in the entire world. “Daddy, did you know I grew one inch taller?”

“You did, huh?”

He nodded fiercely. “Yes. Evelyn says it’s because I eat all of my vegetables.”

“Is that right?” I had been trying to get Elliot to eat his vegetables for years. Three weeks under Evelyn’s care, and he was eating them like they were his favorite food in the world.

I leaned down and kissed his head. He was getting a little big for me to carry him around.

Elliot was a little tall for his age, but then again, so had I been when I was growing up. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he would grow to be as tall as me, if not taller when he’s older.

Which was an unnerving thing to think about. That Elliot would be an adult. Right now, all I saw was my little boy, who still sometimes needed his teddy bear when he was stressed or scared, and who was obsessed with all the Spider-Man cartoons and books. I hadn’t quite let him watch the live-action movies yet, but I had no doubt he would ask once he got a little older.

“Promise me you won’t grow up too fast,” I said softly.

He wasn’t really paying me any attention. He was talking to Wilbert as if the bear could actually talk back.

Movements ahead caught my attention and I moved my gaze up to see Evelyn standing there. Strands of her brown hair had fallen out of her bun, her makeup had barely stayed on from the long day, and her shirt had droplets of water on them, obviously from giving Elliot his bath.

She smiled at me and I had never seen a more beautiful sight in my entire life.

I didn’t say anything for a moment. I just soaked in the sight of her, and tried to calm the tingling sensation in my gut, the racing of my heart, and the panic I could feel building up.

I didn’t love Evelyn.

I couldn’t love her. It was too soon, but I could feel myself falling, and what an exhilarating, terrifying feeling that was. I could see a lifetime with her, and the thought didn’t scare me as much as she did.

She scared me more than anyone ever had, and I knew it was because of how much power I had handed her. It was more than she should have, and I knew if any one of my business associates could see me now…

Hell, if Jensen could see me now, even. I had always been cool, calm and collected, even under pressure.

Especially under pressure.

Evelyn just had this way about her that blew all of my control to bits, and I realized I would much rather lose any control I might have to her than I would holding onto it with anyone else.

I crooked my finger at her, and she shot me a slight scowl. I worked hard to keep the smile from showing on my face and waited patiently. Only after a small hesitation did she slowly make her way over to me. I patted my lap and her brows scrunched together in a small frown.

I smiled and lifted Elliot up and held him out to her. She held onto him without hesitation, like I knew she would, and before I could really think about what I was doing, I grabbed a hold of Evelyn’s waist and pulled them both onto my lap.

Evelyn let out a startled squeak that made Elliot jump a bit before he quickly settled, so sure in the fact that she wouldn’t let him fall. That I wouldn’t let either one of them fall.

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