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“Momma used to say that fearing a word is silly.”
My eyes flicked to Lock’s, who was glaring daggers at me. “That’s true.”
She motioned for me to come closer, then cupped her hand to whisper in my ear, though she wasn’t very quiet. “Maybe you should tell him that.”
That got a few laughs out of everyone in the room, but I could tell having my daughter here was only going to cause problems. I was just about to suggest I leave this meeting when a very familiar show tune filled the halls.
“Baby, whatever you hear?—”
But I didn’t get a chance to finish. Fox came rolling through the door in a pair of roller skates, singing “Good Morning”. “Not this again,” I groaned.
“He watched Singin’ In The Rain with Eva last night,” Lock muttered. “Should have known this was coming.”
“What’s coming, Daddy?”
I looked at my little girl and prayed she would be spared from the worst of it. “This man’s name is Fox. He’s a little weird.”
Fox’s voice carried throughout the room as he skated around the table, spinning Rae around in her wheelie chair. You would think the man was high on drugs.
“Momma said it’s not nice to call people names.”
“That’s true,” I nodded.
He came skidding to a stop in front of us, grinning at my daughter with bright eyes. “And what do we have here? Dost I see thou littlest of fair maidens?”
Carli leaned back, then looked at me. “You’re right, Daddy. He’s weird.”
“Weird is a relative term,” Fox grinned. He pulled a bag of Funyuns out to my daughter. “A tasty treat for?—”
I snatched the bag out of his hand before he could get my child addicted to Funyuns. “There will be no yellow snacks allowed in my house.”
Fox flinched back. “No…But…why?”
“Because I don’t want her to start singing show tunes and throwing knives at the drop of a hat,” I growled.
Carli whipped her head around to meet Fox’s gaze. “You throw knives?”
The awe in her voice made me instantly regret my words.
“Why, yes, fair maiden. ‘Tis but a favorite pastime I enjoy.”
“What’s a pastime?”
“Alright,” I said, cutting him off. “I think we’ve seen enough of Fox for one day.”
“Actually,” Lock spoke up. “A little tour might not be a bad idea while we finish up the meeting.”
If I could burn Lock’s house down right now, I would. The fact that he even mentioned my daughter and Fox in the same sentence made me want to commit mass murder.
“There will be no tour,” I ground out.
Jack coughed, shaking his head at me. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
My gaze snapped to his and I covered her ears with my hands. “She could come back as a psychotic killer.”
“Not very likely.”
”—are what we call throwing knives,” Fox said, getting on his haunches for her to see what he was holding.