King had his eyes on Trinity; he tried to put on a brave face for her daughter. “You are teaching my child to root for the wrong team, chère.” A hint of his Cajun accent slipped into hiswords.
Lips trembling, Trinity managed a smile, although worry still filled her eyes. “No baby, I’m teaching her what every good Southerner knows. The Hogs are the only team to rootfor.”
King blew out a long breath, unable to help himself for a moment longer, he lifted Trinity with his free arm and crushed a hard, intense kiss on her soft lips. “I loveyou.”
He’d been lucky to find this woman in the first place. He’d never had a family before, never thought he would have one. He’d been totally unprepared for Trinity to walk into his life and completely turn his world upside down. He’d married her within six months, got her pregnant right after that, cried when he held his baby girl in his arms for the first time, and thanked God every day for the gift he’d givenhim.
“Yuck!” Hope pushed against his chest drawing his attention. Reluctantly King broke his kiss with Trinity, both of them just a little breathless. He turned his attention to hisdaughter.
“What?”
“You’re not supposed to kiss Mommy in front ofme!”
Pulling his arm from Trinity, he lifted Hope high in the air, so that she was almost touching the ceiling. She squealed, flailing her arms and kicking her legs. “Daddy!”
“Who’s my favorite girl?” heasked.
“Me. Me!” she said much more emphatically. He lowered her back to his hip, squeezed her one last time, and let her slide to thefloor.
“Want to go on a trip? I’ve been gone so long I’ve been thinking of taking a vacation.” He squatted down in front ofher.
She jumped up and down, squealing and clapping her hands. “Disneyland!”
King reached out and ruffled her dark hair. “Maybe. I’ll see what I cando.”
Amid Hope jumping up and down, King straightened and turned to seriously look at Trinity. “Help her pack, I’ll get your things. The team should be here in a couple of minutes. I’ll explain in a littlebit.”
Trinity knew what he did for a living. He didn’t talk about it, never told her where or when he was going, but nothing but trust showed on her face. “I can have her packed in fiveminutes.”
King yanked her to him, kissed her once more, and then patted her bottom, urging her toward the door. “Hurry.”
All business now, he quickly got his duffel out of the closet, checked the spare gun, and tucked it into the back of his pants. Then he grabbed Trinity’s go bag, double checked its contents and was ready to go in less than three minutes. By the time he reached Hope’s room, Trinity was zipping up Hope’s pink and purple striped suitcase. Hope was still jumping up and down, squeezing her toy stuffed unicorn in her arms. “We’re going to Disney! We’re going to Disney! Always wanted to go to Disney! Do you think I’ll get to meet PrincessElsa?”
King shook his head ruefully at Hope’s excitement. He hadn’t planned on taking her to Disney— they’d have to go to a safe place for a while until they were able to clear the threat from Vladimir—but by God, if it was the last thing he did, he was taking her to meet Princess Elsa, whoever she was. “We may have to go somewhere else first, but after that we’re definitely going to Disney,” Kingconfirmed.
Gesturing for Hope and Trinity to precede him out of the room, King slung his duffel over one shoulder and grabbed up Hope’s suitcase in the other hand. He stacked them next to the back door while Trinity quickly cleared the kitchen, dumped out the bowl of cheese dip and placed it in the dishwasher. “Do you know how long we’ll begone?”
“Not yet. I’m sorry babe,” Kingsaid.
She shut the dishwasher, hit the start light, and turned to him, hands on her hips. “Don’t apologize, I understand. You wouldn’t do this unless you hadto.”
Overwhelmed with gratitude for her unquestioning understanding, King shut his eyes once more and thanked God for this miracle of a woman. She never complained, never griped. She held steady and strong each time he had to leave suddenly. And she’d always been there waiting, ready, and willing when he returned. “I don’t deserveyou.”
She padded across the tile kitchen floor, stood on her toes, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “You deserve me and so much more. I love you, Kingston. I always have and alwayswill.”
Warmth spread across his chest. King dropped his forehead to hers, savoring every soft inch of herbody.
She whispered, “And I know you’re doing this to keep us safe and to protect ourfamily.”
He was lost in her gaze, lost in her embrace. Reverently, he brushed her hair back behind her ear, aching to do so much more than that. “I used to pray that God would give me a family, and he did. You and Hope are my entire world. No matter how many times I have to leave, you are who I want to come hometo.”
Her arms tightened around him, his emotions reflected back in her expression. “And no matter how many times you leave, we will be right herewaiting.”
He could have stayed there, just like that, forever, and died a happyman.
He heard the car pull up outside. With a sigh, he kissed her forehead and took a step back. “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, we’re going to have to make a detour to the bedroom before weleave.”
Her mouth curled mischievously. “It has been a longtime.”
