Page 42 of Quiet as Kept

“Daddy,” Dakota said.

“Elle,” Destin said since she couldn’t pronounce Xarielle.

“Should we get them dressed?” Xarielle asked.

“Nah, they’re cool in their pajamas. Just grab them some clothes and some underwear.”

“Where are y’all going?” Trinity probed.

“I gotta get away from here.”

She nodded her understanding. “What did Daddy say? What did Jayla say?”

“Nothing. I’ll text you when we get where we’re going.”

She jumped up and gave all four of us a hug. “Be safe.”

“Yeah.”

While Xarielle put the girls in the truck, I grabbed a container and filled it with enough of the crab boil to feed all four of us. I grabbed soft drinks, bottled water, and snacks, then joined the girls.

I put a movie on in the truck for Dakota and Destin and pulled out of the garage.

“Where are we going?” Xarielle asked quietly.

“Port Jackson. I own a small country cottage right off the lake. I was supposed to flip it or use it as a VRBO. I just haven’t gotten around to doing either one yet.”

“Okay.” She sat back in the passenger seat and relaxed her body.

That was why she was my calm. Xarielle was mellow and peaceful. She went with the flow. I needed that.

It had been a long ass day, but it wasn’t actually late. It was barely 7:00 p.m., and the sun was still out. I pulled into the parking lot of the big box store.

“Like I said, I never got around to setting this house up. We’re gonna need sheets for the bed, blankets, toothbrushes, toothpaste, stuff like that.”

With both Dakota and Destin in the cart, we made our way around the store. We paid for our selections and were back in the truck within the hour.

Xarielle

The outside of the house was cute, but I could see where so much could be done to make it a showstopper. The white shingled house screamed for shutters. I envisioned blue shutters to match the color of the lake behind it. The front door was a weather-weary wooden number that would sing if it was painted an elegant black or a candy apple red.

“It’s cute,” I told Kept as I unbuckled Destin from her car seat.

The girls had gone past the point of being sleepy and had moved into delirium. The state they were in caused Dakota to be extra emotional, which explained why she was teary-eyed and clung to Kept as he carried her toward the front door. It also explained why Destin was basically kicking me as she wiggled with all of her strength to get out of my arms.

“Down. I wanna get down, Elle.”

“I’ll put you down when we get in the house,” I told her.

I could see that the house literally backed up to the lake. In her state of mind, I already knew that Destin would make a beeline for the water. I had only had two swimming lessons. I wouldn’t be able to save her.

I looked around. There wasn’t much to the front room. You entered the front door and stepped right into the living room. It was spacious, square shaped with stark white walls, big windows, and a huge brick fireplace on one wall.

“Let’s take a tour of the house.” I took each girl’s hand in mine as Kept went back to the truck to bring the stuff in. Right past the living room, you entered a hallway. On the left side of the hallway was a sizable bedroom with what looked like a full-sized bed. That room was also painted a stark white. Gauzy white curtains were hung at the window. The bed and dresser were both a standard brown wood, and as Kept had predicted, the bed was stripped bare.

Across the hall from the first bedroom was a small bathroom. It was painted the same stark white as every other room. It offered all of the basic necessities—a toilet, sink, and bathtub-shower combination. It was clean but very sparse. Next to the bathroom was a teensy-tiny bedroom that would be best suited as a nursery or an office. It was empty.

Down from the first bedroom, on the same side of the hallway, was the primary bedroom. It was large. We stepped inside. I took in the king-sized bed, the dresser, nightstands, and chest of drawers that all matched and were an orangish-wood stain that I immediately hated. But it had a walk-in closet and an en suite.