Page 47 of Devil's Hour
“Bailey’s,” Daniel chimed in without hesitation.
Royce raised a brow, and the boy’s cheeks turned pink. “Bailey is a baby. She drinks bottles and eats baby food and soft cereal. None of this mess looks like Bailey’s to me.” Royce dropped to his knees, lowering himself to their level because intimidating them wasn’t his goal. The mere thought of thundering at them or striking them in anger made Royce physically sick. That didn’t mean he was going to continue to let them walk all over their mother.
“Guys, you know how hard Mommy is working right now. Is this fair to make a mess and leave it for her to clean up? You’re old enough to be held accountable for your actions.”
Daniel narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips for a second. “What’s accowible?” he asked.
“It means we’re getting spankings,” Marc said.
Daniel burst into tears and threw himself at Royce. “No spankings, Uncle Ro.”
Royce choked down the rising bile. “No one is getting a spanking, little D.” He knew Candi’s mom was the one who imprinted the notion that unruly boys got spankings, which was one of the many reasons she was the last person Candi called for help. “Accountable means you’re going to pick up your messes from now on. We’re going to start down here, and after dinner, we’re going to look at your bedroom.”
“I’m only five,” Daniel said, sniffing.
“Nice try, pal. If you’re old enough to make the mess, then you’re old enough to pick it up.”
“Okay, Uncle Ro.” Royce wasn’t fooled into believing the battle was over that easily.
“Without fighting or crying, I want you both to start taking these dirty dishes to the kitchen sink. When you finish that chore, I want all these toys put away, and the dirty clothes picked up and carried to the laundry room hamper.”
“Yes, sir,” Marc said, nodding.
“Yes, sir,” Daniel repeated.
Marc scowled. “Stop copying me, Daniel.”
“‘Stop copying me, Daniel,’” his younger brother mimicked.
Royce recognized a stall tactic when he saw one. They’d rather fight than clean. “Boys, I said to do these tasks without fighting.” His phone rang, and he was relieved to see Sawyer’s name on the screen. “Hey,” Royce said softly into the phone.
“Hey.”
Peace settled over him just from hearing Sawyer’s voice. “Can you hang on for just a second?”
“I can call back if you’re busy.”
“No,” Royce said quickly. “Just hang on, okay?”
“Sure.”
To the boys, Royce said, “I’m going to step outside and talk to my boyfriend for a second, and when I come back in, I expect to see some progress.”
“Why ya talking to your boyfriend?” Daniel wanted to know.
“So I can make kissy noises at him.” Royce demonstrated the sounds, making the boys gag and express how gross kissing was. Sawyer’s warm chuckle on the other end made his heart race.Give it time, boys. You’ll change your mind.“Can I trust you boys to do the right thing while I’m outside?” They both nodded, so Royce left them to it and stepped out on the rear deck while supervising the boys through the sliding glass door. They checked to see if he was watching, so he gave them a finger wave. Their little shoulders slumped when they realized they couldn’t delay cleaning another second.
“I’m back.”
“Hey, is everything okay?”
“No,” Royce said around the lump in his throat. “I’m so sorry about the shit show at my house.”
“I know what you did and why you did it. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I got there. I’m not mad if that’s what you are worried about, dickhead. In fact, I owe you an apology. I promised to be patient but then act childish the first time our relationship is tested. We’re okay.”
Royce’s heart swelled impossibly larger, and he wished he could touch Sawyer. “You don’t owe me an apology, asshole. We are okay,” Royce said, not bothering to hide the relief in his voice.
“What’s going on with Candi and the kids?”