“We will, daddy.”
Sara took Nik and Brand by the hands and kept them by her side while the Diederiks drove away. They paused at the street when Ezreal drove in. He said something to them. They waved and pulled away.
“I want Ezreal,” Brand cried, trying to pull free from his mother.
“Wait until he stops.”
When the SUV did, Sara let her son tow her forward. Then she noticed there were four car seats in the vehicle.
“I hope you didn’t buy those just for this trip,” she said, her voice pitched a little with frustration. He shouldn’t be spending a lot of money on a simple picnic.
“No.” Ezreal paused in the process of getting out, his expression unsure. “I borrowed two of them from Rafe. He keeps a set for Lessa and Nik. I picked up the boosters at Goodwill. Makes sense to be prepared.” He shrugged, sounding apologetic. “I didn't buy them new.”
At his defensive tone, she felt guilty and reached out to touch his arm.
“I’m sorry. You can spend your money however you want. You’re right anyway. As close as you are to the Diederiks, it does make sense to be prepared.”
Ezreal gave her a small smile. “You guys want to help me load up your food?” All four children started squealing and jumping around.
They did eventually get them calmed down enough to help load the food and then settled into their seats. Sara was surprised when Ezreal put on a video for them. She glanced at him, one brow cocked.
“Learned that from Rafe. He says they don’t fight as much.”
“But you do have to be careful not to overdo it.” Sara clipped on her seatbelt.
“True, but I don’t take them places very often.”
They sat in a comfortable silence. Once again, Sara enjoyed the simple pleasure of being in his company. He was such a soothing person to be around. She wondered what it would have been like to have a mellow father like him. Maybe they’d have been able to do fun things.
“I’ve never been on a wagon ride before,” she said.
“Well, I hope you enjoy this. We used to go on hayrides in the Fall when I was a kid,” Ezreal said, turning off the main road. “Especially around Halloween. They had the best corn mazes.”
“I always thought those were creepy looking.” Not that her father would have paid for them to go to any.
“Did you ever go to Georgetown Morgue?” he asked.
“The haunted mansion? No.” Sara shuddered. “Real life was always scary enough.”
“What do you mean?” Ezreal kept his voice low enough that she doubted the children could understand, for which she was grateful.
“Let’s just say my father was a heavy hitter.” It was more than she’d intended to say, but the words had just slipped out. She forced herself to meet Ezreal’s quick gaze before he looked back to the road, his head nodding. It was just as well he knew that she came with a lot of baggage, her father being the least of it.
“What kind of things did you like to do when you were growing up?” Ezreal finally asked.
“I enjoyed going over to my girlfriend’s house.” Sara watched the trees along the side of the road. “I only got to do that when my father was out of town on business. He never allowed it when he was in town. My mother was always a nervous wreck by the time I’d come home.”
“Why?”
“My father was a control freak, and he’d call at random times. I didn’t understand it at the time, but it was really her only act of defiance. She knew how important it was for me to go.” Sara sighed. “It stopped when I was thirteen.”
“Your father found out?”
Sara could only nod, the lump in her throat keeping her from speaking. Her mother hadn’t been able to go outside for over a week, not until the bruises had faded enough for makeup to hide them. And her father had made sure that Sara knew it was her fault. She hadn’t asked again.
They were silent for a few minutes, and she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. She hadn’t talked to anyone but Tia about it before.
“Where did you go on family vacations?” Ezreal finally asked.
