Page 76 of Fall of a Kingdom

I sniffed. “That’s not mud.”

“Iain slipped in a pile of sheep poop,” Noah explained. “And then when we started laughing at him, he pulled us down in it with him.”

“Oh, God, the car—” I wrinkled my nose at the potent aroma.

“Don’t worry. Angus made us sit on a towel,” Hawk explained. “And we drove home with the windows down. Still smells a bit though.”

I sighed, wishing Flynn was home to help me with the boys. They were a handful on a good day. A wonderful, exhausting handful. I couldn’t wait for the nannies to return from holiday.

“All right, lads. Out of those clothes—leave them on the front steps. Then head upstairs and take your baths.”

Piper was fussing and needed to be fed, but I had three boys who would not scrub themselves to my satisfaction without me present.

I went out to the patio, ensuring Piper was nestled against me and wrapped in a wool blanket for warmth. Sasha was still sitting alone.

“I need help with Piper.”

He stared at me for a long moment and then said, “What do you need help with?”

“She needs a bottle, and the boys need baths. I can’t be in two places at once.”

“Why do they need baths?”

“They fell in sheep poop.”

His lips twitched like he wanted to smile but he refrained. Sasha stood. “I’ll feed Piper.”

It took four rounds of scrubbing and draining the water before the boys were squeaky clean. After the boys were settled and snacking in their theater playroom and watching a movie, I went to find Sasha, bracing myself for the interrogation that had been interrupted.

I didn’t know what to say to him. A part of me was concerned that he’d tell Flynn what he’d overheard. I wasn’t sure he’d keep my confidence again, not after the Dolinsky house secret.

I walked into the den and found Quinn sitting on a floral couch, looking through a magazine. Helena was playing on the floor at her feet, but she was occupying herself.

“Hey,” I greeted.

“Hey,” she said. “Just so you’re aware, Sasha put me on Piper duty. He left after he gave her a bottle and a burp. She’s asleep in the bassinet and I opened a bottle of red. Hope that’s okay?”

“My house is your house,” I said. “Thanks for watching her. Where did Sasha go?”

I went to the liquor cart and poured myself a glass of wine.

“No idea. He just said he was going for a drive. I hope Flynn doesn’t mind, but he took the Aston Martin.”

“As long as it’s not the Shelby Cobra. That one was a gift from Hadrian and he’s quite possessive about it.”

“Yeah, we were warned.” Quinn smiled.

I held in my sigh of relief about getting a bit more time before facing Sasha.

Quinn’s phone chimed. She looked at the screen and quickly unlocked it. A frown marred her forehead.

“What is it?” I asked, taking my glass of wine and sitting down on the couch next to her.

“Sasha,” she began. She glanced at me, eyes wide. “He bought a house.”

“Are you serious?”

She nodded. “Wow, he really took what I had to say to heart.”