Page 4 of Manny Included
He rolled his eyes as he stood.“Thanks.”
“Can I have a hug, Petey?”Belle asked.“My belly hurts so bad.”
“Oh, baby girl.Always.No matter what.”
“Are you sick, Belle?”Bay asked.He assumed Pete knew who the family doctor was.
“She’s just worked herself into a sick tummy.Her mom did that too.”
“Ah.She needs tools, eh?For stress?”He wasn’t hurting for money.Whatever the kids needed, they could have, and he imagined a family therapist could help a lot with the grief.
Pete nodded.“She’s processing a lot.”
“I’ll have Will look up family therapists who specialize in grief.Are the kids going to be okay with the funeral tomorrow?”If he could, he’d forbid them to be there, but he had a hunch they needed to be able to say goodbye.
Pete gave him a wide-eyed stare.“Can we talk about this later?”
He nodded.“Not too much later, though.This thing is happening whether we want it to or not.”Just like the accident that had torn Tony and Cindy from their lives, from their children.
“Excellent.”Pete turned and poured himself another cup of coffee.“Come on, kiddos.Let’s watch a minute of TV.”
He sighed as Pete and the kids headed out of the kitchen, and he did the same.He went up to his bedroom and grabbed his laptop before hitting the button for Will on his phone.It was time to get organized.
ChapterTwo
Pete’s head hadn’t stopped pounding in days, he thought, and he didn’t foresee it stopping in, well, ever.
These kids were not ready to go to a funeral—they were having a closed casket, for fuck’s sake, why did they need to go?
He rocked the baby, keeping his ear out for any of the others.
It had been about three hours since Bay had excused himself to go check in with work, and he hadn’t heard anything from the bedroom he’d put the kids’ uncle in.
Belle was watching cartoons, Eric was napping with Merida, and he had Flynn, who was trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.
He understood.
He was going to fight to stay with these kids.He knew that part of the will stated that he was going to be kept on.
Or at least that was what he’d been told.
He had no idea what Bay had in his head.Hell, the man clearly hadn’t actually seen the kids in a while, even Belle hadn’t recognized him.
Bay came into the room, hair a little wild, like it had been slept on, the man blinking, dark bags under his eyes.
“Shit.Sorry.I fell asleep.”
“It’s all right.”Watch your mouth.“Everyone’s resting, pretty much.”
Everyone but his Flynn.
“I don’t know how you’re doing this with four kids on your own.You let me know what we need and I’ll hire the right people.Housekeeper, a second nanny, whatever.Just tell me.”
“I—I don’t know.I’m just trying to get through today.I’m not going to leave them, though.I love these kids.”
“Okay.Okay, good to know.I honestly don’t know what I’d do if you did.Leave, I mean.”Bay ran his hand through his hair, mussing it up even more.It made him look more vulnerable, less the sharp-edged business tycoon he’d seemed when he’d arrived.
“No.Never.These kids are my heart.”He’d never leave them.This was his family.