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June…

For the first time in a long time, Ronan O’Mara couldn’t make up his mind.

His life view was more black and white, rather than the many shades of grey his husband, Tennyson, preferred.

Unfortunately, this was a decision Ronan was going to have to make on his own.

Thankfully, neither black nor white nor grey factored into the equation.

Pink or purple?

Purple or pink?

“Daddy?” Everly sighed, rolling her eyes as if Ronan were a greater disappointment than the last Marvel movie. “I thought you picked the green skirt like an hour ago.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Everly had picked a pink skirt five minutes after walking into the store.

Ronan snickered. He appreciated his daughter’s sense of exaggeration, which she, of course, got from him. “I thought it was a little too Wicked Witch of the West.”

Father and daughter stood in front of a dressing mirror at Black Cats, Bats, and Broomsticks, Salem’s costume shop, run by witches, for witches.

The Salem Witches Dead Run was a week away.

The fun run fundraiser was to benefit Everly, Aurora, and Wolf’s Class of 2037.

The year made Ronan feel older than dirt.

Everly looked as if she were considering the matter.

Her blue eyes, identical to Ronan’s own, moved back and forth between the pink, purple, and green tutus her father had been admiring.

“You’re right. The green definitely gives Elphie vibes.

I think a lot of people are gonna dress like her for the Witches Dead Run.

I just hope they don’t all try to sing “Defying Gravity,” like they did at the movie theater sing-along.

” The six-year-old cringed, as if she’d just eaten a lemon.

“That was seriously awful,” Ronan agreed.

“ You were the worst singer of them all!” Everly threw her hands in the air.

Ronan’s eyes widened in mock horror. He knew damn well he sang in the key of rabid badger. Hell, that was half the fun. Wasn’t it a father’s job to embarrass his kids at every turn? Ronan slapped a dramatic hand against his chest. “How very dare you! I have the voice of an angel!”

“Yeah, Lucifer!” Jude called from one row over.

Ronan burst out laughing. Jude had a point. “Have you picked a costume yet?”

“I sure have! I’m Sooooper Jude!” Jude’s voice boomed through the store. He bounced over to Ronan dressed in a bright red tutu with a matching red cape. “I’m gonna have Tennyson sew a giant ‘J’ on the back.”

“Me too!” Wolf called, as he ran toward Everly. “I’m Wonder Wolf!” The little boy howled in his outfit that perfectly matched his father. “I want a ‘W’ on my cape.”

Ronan knew Ten would be overjoyed to help Jude and Wolfie with their fun run costumes. He held up the pink and purple tutus for Jude to see. “Which one?”

“Everly’s wearing pink, so you can be all matchy-matchy together, like me and Wolf.” Jude and Wolf high-fived each other.

Ronan shimmied into the pink skirt and admired himself in the mirror. “What do you think, Little Miss? Do you want to twin with me?” The reason he hadn’t picked pink in the first place was because he was afraid Everly wouldn’t want him to wear the same color.

“Hold on!” Everly dashed away from Ronan.

“I knew it,” Ronan muttered loud enough for Jude to hear him. “I’m an embarrassment to my daughter.” He was about to pull off the tutu when Everly ran back toward him. In her hands were two neon pink wigs.

“Try this on.” Everly handed him the larger of the two, before trying on her own. The wigs were long and curly. Everly’s reached the center of her back.

Ronan’s heart soared. He tried on the wig and burst out laughing at the effect. “Holy shit, I look amazeballs!”

“Right!” Everly agreed. “We’re a perfect team now!”

“Team Pretty in Pink.” Ronan ran his hands through the soft synthetic hair.

“You’re gonna need some tape or wig glue to keep that on during the race,” Jude said. “We don’t want it flying off and blinding other runners.”

“Or maybe I do!” Ronan waggled his eyebrows, sounding diabolical. “If I’m gonna win this race, I’ll need to employ booby traps like Data in The Goonies .”

“Ronan, for the tenth time, the fun run isn’t a race . That’s why they put the word ‘fun’ in the title. It’s supposed to be a fun way to raise money for the school.”

“Winning is fun!” Ronan proclaimed. He was willing to die on this hill, which was a distinct possibility, considering the fact that the only recent thing Ronan had run, was out of Cheetos.

Ever since Jude ended up in the hospital after tearing a ligament playing basketball, and was nearly the victim of a serial killer, he and Jude had let their fitness regimens slide.

“Daddy, I told you a million times, I’m not running!

” a familiar voice rose over the din of the shop.

“I’ll wear a costume and help Dad hand out the water, but that’s it!

I refuse to get all sweaty and smell like a goat.

” Aurora declared, coming to stand at Everly’s side.

She was dressed in a witchy-princess gown, which made her look like a hybrid of Rapunzel and the Sanderson sisters.

“Ohhhh,” Everly said, reaching out to touch Aurora’s outfit. “I love it! You look great!”

“I know!” Aurora grinned at her friend. She grabbed Fitzgibbon’s phone out of his hand and started taking pictures of herself and Everly. Both girls giggled as Wolf stood behind them and held up bunny ears.

“Woofie and I are gonna do the fun run. You should too,” Everly said, sounding casual.

Ronan nearly burst out laughing when he saw his daughter wink at Fitzgibbon. Obviously Everly and his boss had struck a deal to help convince Aurora to take part in the Witches Dead Run.

“Imagine the cool pictures we’ll take at the finish line with our medals.” Everly spoke with wonder in her voice.

Aurora seemed unmoved at the mention of medals.

“Daddy said if I beat him, he’s gonna buy me a two-wheeler!” Everly chirped sweetly.

Blackmail! Ronan had done no such thing.

Everly had been after him to get her a real bike for two months, after her cousin, Brooke, got one for her birthday.

He and Tennyson had discussed it several times.

Their final decision had been that they’d get one for Everly when Wolf and Aurora got one too.

It was the only fair way to do it. The other two kids would be heartbroken to be left out, but to be honest, Ronan hadn’t been in much of a hurry to talk to Fitz and Jude about the matter.

If Everly could ride a two-wheeler, that would be another step toward his daughter’s independence from him.

As much as the other kids wouldn’t be able to bear not having a bike, Ronan couldn’t bear the thought of his daughter not needing him anymore.

“Really?” Aurora’s eyes widened. “Daddy, if I run the race can I get a bike too?”

“Me three!” Wolf said, grabbing Jude’s legs and looking up at him with a happy face.

“Uh, Ronan, a word, if you don’t mind.” Fitzgibbon’s tone left no room for dissent.

Ronan was going to die. Fitz was scared to death that Aurora would hurt herself on a two-wheeler, but he suspected the reluctance on Fitz’s part was the same as on his part. Neither man wanted their little girls to grow up too fast. “Before you hit me, let me explain.”

Fitz didn’t look like he was in the mood for explanations. “If my daughter gets so much as a scratch during this fun run, I’m coming for you!”

As Ronan muttered a quick Hail Mary, Fitz lunged toward him, wrapping his arms around Ronan and holding him tight. What the, what?

“Aurora has given me every excuse in the book not to run the race and you gave her one reason to do it.” Fitz set a dazed Ronan back a step. “I could kiss you.”

Jude snorted from behind them. “We all need to be in agreement when it comes to Operation Two-Wheeler. Not just the three of us, but Cope, Ten, and Jace too.”

“I’ll talk to Ten tonight, although it might already be too late.

” Ronan pointed toward the kids who were debating what color bikes to get.

He knew in his heart of hearts that Everly deserved this rite of passage, just like he’d gotten when he was six years old.

He hadn’t known it at the time, but Erin had worked overtime for three months to be able to afford to get Ronan a bike for his sixth birthday.

Whatever the cost, it would be worth it to see the look on Everly’s face and to hear her triumphant squeals of lighter when she mastered the bike without training wheels.

As for the moment, Ronan would take the win buying matching outfits for himself and Everly.

The debate on growing up too quickly could wait for another day.