“Exactly!” Saylor beams at him, batting her eyelashes. “Please, Uncle Coopy? Pretty please? I’ll be your best friend forever and ever.”
I watch the internal battle play out on Bane’s face. He’s trying to look stern, but it’s clear he’s putty in his niece’s hands.
“You’re a good kid,” I tell Saylor with a wink. “I like your style.”
Saylor grins, showing a missing front tooth.
Bane sighs heavily, the sound of a man who knows he’s been defeated. “Fine.”
“Yay!” Saylor squeals, throwing her arms around Bane’s neck.
“Sucker,” Jagger mutters, shaking his head.
As I watch Bane with his family, I see a different side of him. A normal-ish guy who loves his family and would clearly do anything for them.
It’s... confusing.
Roxy smiles at me knowingly, like she can read my thoughts. “Finish your breakfast, dear. You’re going to need your strength.”
Chapter Eight
Frankie
“Twenty dollars for that?” Bane grumbles, turning the small vinyl figure over in his tattooed hands. “It’s a fucking plastic toy that probably cost fifty cents to make.”
Saylor jumps up and down, her tiny hands reaching for the boxed Funko Pop like it’s made of solid gold. “But it’s dipshit Derek, Uncle Coopy! Ineedhim!”
I press my lips together to keep from laughing. I’m pretty sure Saylor’s using the character’s nickname as an excuse to say ‘dipshit’ in public. Based on the way Bane’s eyes narrow, he’s caught on, too.
“Language, squirt,” he warns as he passes the Stranger Things character back to her.
Saylor hugs the box to her chest, her eyes sparkling with triumph. “He’s my new favorite.”
“I don’t know, kiddo. Erica is pretty great. I mean, you can’t spell America without Erica.”
Saylor’s eyes light up. “She’s my favorite, too!”
Giggling, I scan the shelves, asking, “Do you have her already?” If she says no, I’m totally gonna get it for her.
She looks at me in that ‘are you crazy’ way kids do. “Heck, yeah. I have them all, except for the new ones that just came out.”
Saylor Benson is officially my favorite person on the planet.
I glance at Bane and have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from snickering. The expression on his face is priceless. He’s both confused and overwhelmed, judging by the way he’s staring at the wall of vinyl figures. There are at least a hundred different kinds of Funkos, all mixed up from people rifling through them. Star Wars characters next to Disney princesses next to horror movie villains.
Bane sighs heavily, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. “I’m going outside to smoke,” he announces, his eyes meeting mine. There’s a question in them that I understand immediately.
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” I assure him.
He nods, tugging on Saylor’s ponytail. “Be good for Frankie, squirt.”
“I’malwaysgood,” she rolls her eyes like she’s offended he would suggest otherwise.
I watch Bane walk away, his broad shoulders and confident stride turning more than one woman’s head as he moves through the store. It takes every ounce of control I have not toyell across the store for them to keep their eyes to themselves. I close my tired eyes and sigh.
God, my life has gotten weird.
“Come help me look!” Saylor demands, already digging through the boxes.
