Theo nodded before he opened the door and placed Jaycee into her booster seat. “Yip. We’ll be using it for the next few weeks.”
With Jaycee’s seat in the middle, both boys took a widow seat.
Hayden finally found his voice. “Does it have cool buttons, like in the movies?”
“I don’t know about the movies.” Theo opened my door and took the bags from me. “But the buttons can do some cool things. Not that we will be testing any of it while we drive across town.”
As we drove off, I was fully aware of the reason we needed the SUV and the fact that Fred was out there. He was desperate, alone, and wanted revenge. Harry once told me when I first left Fred, that a man with nothing to lose was only marginally less dangerous than one who had everything to lose.
The drive back to Theo’s house was quiet. Jaycee was drooling onto the padding of her car seat. Both boys chattedabout what they would get up to first when we got home. Theo was silent, fingers drumming on the steering wheel as he kept his focus on the road.
My timing may have been less than convenient, but as I sat in the car, something inside me lightened. For years, the weight of being the only parent felt like a boulder on my chest. As I watched Theo check on the boys in his rear view mirror while occasionally answering their questions, I realized that I was no longer alone. Theo was a capable and steady force I could rely on. He gave me the room to be a lenient parent from time to time. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until I listened to him and Hayden in the kitchen earlier.
As we pulled up to those black wrought iron gates, our new reality crashed into me. While Theo’s home already had a state of the art security system, the uniformed security guards were new. Two stood at the gate waiting for us.
“What’s going on?” Hayden’s voice was cautious as he leaned forward.
Theo of course did not miss a beat. “I am just improving security for a little while. I want to make sure everyone I love is safe. And I also want to test all the safety measures I’ve put in place. You can help me.”
Ethan also leaned forward. “If there’s an emergency?”
“Can we call a code red?” Hayden added.
Theo smiled as he looked over his shoulder at the two of them. “Actually, a code red is when someone who doesn’t belong here is in the house. For now, we’re all the good-guys. So, it's code blue.”
Oh, good. My kids would be hypervigilant security experts before the end of the summer. Well, one of them, at least. Something told me Jaycee wouldn’t notice anything beyond more people to invite to her tea parties.
One of the security guards handed Theo a key card. “You’ll need this to get into the house along with the nine digit code sent to your phone when you tap it against the security pad over there.”
Theo tapped the key card and the gates opened as expected. “I’ll need to get you one of these. Our gate remotes have been disabled for the moment.”
I nodded, deadpanned. “Yippee.”
Fucking Fred. Because of him, my kids needed to live in a cage. Because of him Theo needed secure protocols to enter his own home. Theo explained to the boys that everything would be to keep everyone safe. That even Connor and Zoe were to follow the new security rules. At least, for a little while.
“Boys.” Theo looked in the rearview mirror. “Get the bags out of the trunk.” Then he turned to me. “Don’t move. I’ll get your door before I get Jaycee out of her seat.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m a sure thing, Theo. You can stop the wooing.”
“You think I’m going to stop after one date and a fancy party?” The corners of his mouth barely lifted as he climbed out and rounded the hood. He opened my door with the sexiest smirk. “Love, you wanted wooing, you’ll get it for the rest of your life.”
I tried not to let his words affect me. I wondered if he understood what he said, or at least implied.
Zoe and Connor were at the door when we stepped inside.
“Firstly.” Connor darted his eyes between the two of us. “The two of you need to make less noise if you’re going to continue to share a room. Also, Hunter told us what happened.”
Hunter lived on the property and would have overseen all the security improvements that happened over the last few hours.
Then it occurred to me what he said and my face heated. “Fuck. Sorry. Shit. I didn’t know you were home.”
“I made curfew.” Connor answered. “I think I got in just after you two.”
Zoe motioned over to Jaycee sleeping on Theo’s shoulder. “Let me take her. She can nap in my room, while the boys move everything across from the east wing. Hayden, why don’t you pick your room first.”
My son smiled at his cousin. “Wanna help.”
“Sure.” Ethan’s response was swift as the two boys rushed up the stairs.
