Page 56 of Silver Spoon Falls, Vol. I

AUTUMN

"You are in so much trouble, little rebel," Zane growls, stomping into the kitchen with our four-year-old tucked under his arm like he's trying to contain her more than carry her.

Judging by the scowl on her face and the way she's kicking her feet, I'm guessing contain is probably closer to the truth.

Olivia is just like me…which is to say that she rarely makes it through the day without causing some sort of chaos or finding a new cause to champion. She has a heart as big as Texas…and a stubborn streak that runs deeper than the ocean.

And she does not like it when her daddy tells her no. Nothing upsets her more than her hero putting his foot down. She's still trying to master dealing with big feelings, so when she's upset…she can be a tiny terror.

I'm not honestly sure if she hates hearing no from Zane more or if he hates saying it more. He's wrapped around her little finger. So if she's in trouble, whatever she did probably isn't good news.

"Um, hi?" I say, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip to halt the grin threatening to form when she tries to bite his hand like the feral child she is.

He plants her on her feet in front of me like he's presenting evidence to a jury. She immediately tries to make a run for it, but Zane is quick on the uptake with our kids. He's already got one finger hooked through her little belt loop, keeping her from going anywhere

"Lemme go, Daddy!" she grumbles at him, crossing her arms to glower at him.

"Not until you tell your mama what you did at preschool today, Olivia."

"I didn't do nuffin."

I adjust her little brother in my arms, meeting my husband's exasperated gaze. His expression is grim…never a good sign. I drop my gaze to our daughter. "What happened, Olivia?"

"Nuffin," she lies.

"Your daughter started a riot during recess."

A surprised laugh escapes my lips. "Do what?"

"You heard me the first time, little rebel," Zane growls. "She started a riot."

Olivia blinks wide, innocent eyes at me. "I didn't do nuffin, Mama."

"Her class got in trouble for chasing birds, so Alice cut recess short.

Your daughter," —Why does he keep emphasizing it like whatever she did is my fault?

—"decided the punishment didn't fit the crime, so she convinced the entire class to revolt.

Alice says she had them lock arms and take a seat on the playground.

They were chanting, 'Heck no, we won't go,' when Alice called me to come get her. "

I cover my mouth with my hand, my eyes wide.

Don't laugh. Do not laugh , I coach myself.

"It's not my pault, Mama!" Olivia cries. "We was chasing the birds acause they tried to bite a cat. Miss Alice wouldn't wisten to us! We just wanted her to wisten."

"Olivia, sweetheart," I sigh, crooking a finger for her to come to me.

Zane releases her like he expects her to make a run for it again, but she rushes toward me instead, flinging her little arms around me and her baby brother. Her face presses up against my arm.

Zane's expression immediately softens. He just can't be mad at her. It's impossible. He tries like hell to be firm when she needs it, but I think it kills him to do it.

"Sweetheart, you still have to listen to your teacher," I murmur, tipping her little face up until she meets my gaze. "You can't just convince the whole class to revolt because you don't feel heard."

"B-but…the cat was sick, Mama." Her little lip quivers.

"Did you listen to Miss Alice?"

"We was just trying to help!"

"Were you helpful to Miss Alice, Olivia?"

Her bottom lip pokes out.

"Her job is to keep all of you safe. If she asks you to do something, it's important that you listen. You can always talk to her about the issue after you do what she says, but you can't just refuse to listen."

"I'm sowwie," she whispers, her eyes locked on the floor at my feet.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing too, baby girl," I murmur. "I think you need to apologize to your daddy, to Miss Alice, and to the rest of your class."

She nods her little head and then turns to face Zane. "I'm sowwie, Daddy. I didn't mean to be bad to you."

"Come here," he says, kneeling in front of him.

She stumbles toward him, flinging herself against his chest. He immediately scoops her up into his arms, pressing his lips to the top of her head.

"You aren't bad, Olivia," he says, his voice gentle. "You have a big heart and big feelings, and that's okay. It's not wrong to want to help when you see people and animals hurting."

"The cat wooked really sad, Daddy," she says earnestly.

"What should we do about it?"

"Maybe we call the bet to help?" she asks.

"That's a good idea."

"And maybe we can hang fyers to find his people?"

"We can do that," Zane agrees readily. "But you need to apologize to Miss Alice and ask if your class can help make the fliers since they want to help too, okay?"

"Okay!" she cries, flinging her arms around him again.

He drops another kiss on top of her head. "Head to my office, princess. I'll be there in a minute."

She immediately turns and scurries from the kitchen, far happier than she was when he carried her in. He rises to his feet with a sigh, shaking his head.

"She's just fucking like you, little rebel," he growls, bending down to kiss me hard on the mouth. "What the fuck am I going to do with two of you?"

"Love us," I murmur against his lips.

"Plan on it." He nips my bottom lip before swiping his tongue across it. "Alice may quit by the time she graduates from preschool this year."

I laugh softly because I'm not entirely sure he's wrong. "She just wants to help, Zane. And she doesn't always know the best way to do it."

"Clearly not." He chuckles despite himself, running his hand across Jacob's little head. "Just wait until she's older and realizes she can chain herself to shit like you did a few times."

My eyes widen. "Crap. I didn't think of that. Maybe we need to find a productive outlet for her before it gets to that point, Zane. I don't want her to get arrested before she's even in the double digits!"

"I'll call the animal shelter and see if she can volunteer to pet cats. It'll be good for her to see that there are positive ways to help that don't include recess revolts."

"She really had them chanting, huh?"

"Yeah. The whole fucking class."

I giggle, peeking down at the baby sleeping in my arms. "At least we have a few years until this one is old enough to help her, huh?"

He narrows his eyes at me. "We don't have a few years until Lena is old enough to join her, little rebel. If we're lucky, we've got a few months."

"Shit," I whisper, wide-eyed.

He chuckles, kissing me on the lips again before he pulls away. "I'm going to go make some calls. You want me to put him down on my way?"

"No." I smile up at him. "I want to hold him a little longer. He's so peaceful when he's sleeping."

Zane's expression softens as he reaches up to touch my cheek. "I fucking love you."

"I love you, too."