Page 92 of Nothing to This

“They are, Little Sproutette.I love them.”

Kye blew a raspberry and she laughed, just pleased to be breathing normality.Both kids looked at her like she was crazy.

“Sorry,” she said and cleared her throat, doing a bad job of blanking her face.“Kye, don’t mock your sister.”

Chastising him was the expected course.Once she’d fulfilled that presumption, and routine was maintained, they went back to their lives.Ducking down, Sky went into the loop of her father’s arms and faced the screen, blinking at the controller in his hand.

“What’s this?”Sky asked and pressed a button on JD’s controller.“This one.”

Rylee coughed.JD glanced up, to the screen and back at her, she side nodded.

“Here, Sproutette, you play.”Still pressing buttons even as he handed the controller off to Sky, he lifted a leg over their daughter’s head to join her backing into the hall.

“Daddy!”Kye called.

“Back in a minute, Sprout,” he said, putting his hands to her hips as she reversed out of the kids’ earshot while keeping them in view.“You okay, Siren?What do you need?”

The slant of his smile betrayed his hope for a repeat of yesterday’s request.Another source of guilt.In refusing her advances, he’d saved them and touched something within her.

“What time is your flight?”she asked, stroking his hands on her hips.

His smile quickly vanished to a frown.“My… what?”

“California,” she said.“You’re leaving today, aren’t you?”

Shaking his head, the furrow of his brow deepened.“No.No way.I’m staying with my family.”

“JD,” she murmured, trying to be gentle.“You should go.”

Searching her eyes, he tried to figure her out.“You said you wouldn’t exile me.Babe, I’m sorry for Gabby.I swear I had no idea she was even capable—”

“I’m not exiling you,” she said, brushing her thumb across his chin.“I want you to come back when you’re done with your business.We told the kids that everything was going back to normal and this is what normal is supposed to be.You said your security friend was going to set us up, right?”

“Stone,” he said and nodded.“He’s putting together three separate teams for you and the kids.”

“I don’t need a team.”

His expression stayed the same.“You’re getting a team.I’ve seen Stone with his wife, I know he understands how much I value keeping you safe.”

“We should get him something special,” she said.“To thank him for his help and for mobilizing so quickly.You said he had kids?”

“A son.His wife is pregnant with their daughter now.”

Pregnancy.Casting her mind back to that time in her life, she hadn’t acknowledged the challenge of carrying her babies.She’d thought only of the optimism and love she had for the children growing inside of her.

“I was so naïve when I was pregnant,” she said.“I had no idea how helpless they could make me feel and how much I’d want to protect them.I wonder if his wife knows.”

“I don’t know the whole story, but before she was his wife, his best friend kidnapped her.That’s how I know Stone understands… We can get them something, anything you want, but I don’t know if it will ever be enough to repay him for ensuring my family’s safety.”

“Maybe something for the baby, to celebrate their family’s future,” she said and looped her arms around his neck.“That’s the only time we can keep them safe and with us every second, when they’re growing inside us.”

“Has this put you off having more?”

More?“We neglected them yesterday,” she said, dropping her arms and stepping away.“We got caught up in us and our babies suffered.I don’t know what’s happening between us or what will, but… if we hadn’t wanted to be alone, we’d have been with them.”

“They were with family,” he said.“What happened was no one’s fault, no one’s but Gabby.”

“I know,” she said, running her fingers through her hair.“I know that intellectually, but I feel guilty.I feel guilty for wanting to be alone with you, for being selfish and enjoying being in your arms.We talked and agreed we couldn’t be together because it would lessen our effectiveness as parents.We were right.Look what happened the minute we got caught up in each other.”