Which gave me my first tried-and-true glance of the woman that had taken care of my family while I had been absent.
“Hey there, you two,” I said softly.
Lexi peered up at me through water-stained eyes. “Hey, handsome.”
Chloe groaned as she tried shifting herself. “Better late than never, yeah?”
I chuckled. “Can’t get away from us that easily.”
“Here,” Lexi said as she clung to Chloe’s hand, “let me help you get out. Hold on.”
We worked together to get Auntie Chloe out of the back of the van as easily as possible, but it was clear that she’d need medical attention. I set my sights on finding Ruby while Lexi helped her best friend inside, but it didn’t take much to find her. She was already set up in the living room, ready and waiting for us.
And the second I laid eyes on her, she smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got her. I’m sure Notch will help when he gets back, but Diego called and told me that she didn’t seem to have any major injuries.”
“Ruby,” Lexi said breathlessly, “thank the Lord. She has a bloody nose and a sprained ankle, I think.”
Chloe cleared her throat. “I got choked out pretty good, too.”
Ruby extended her arms. “Here, come sit. I’m just going to give you a top to bottom exam to make sure you’re all right.”
We all helped to get her in a comfortable position on the couch before Ruby shooed us out of the room. And just as she slid the living room door closed, I heard a cheerful voice wafting down the hallway.
“Was that Auntie Chloe!?” Natty asked happily.
Lexi turned to our daughter with a great, big smile on her face. “That was Auntie Chloe, sweetheart. She’s home.”
Natty came rushing for us. “Can I see her!? When can I see her?! I really wanna see her, Mommy.”
Lexi scooped our daughter into her arms. “Miss Ruby has to look her over to make sure she’s not hurt really badly, and then we can see her. I promise.”
That’s when Natty peeked over at me. “Did you save my Auntie?”
I nodded. “I helped, yes. But, your mother did just as much. It was a joint effort.”
My daughter smiled at me, and my entire world stopped. “Thank you for saving my auntie.”
I swallowed back my tears. “You’re so very welcome, Natasha.”
She laid her head down onto Lexi’s shoulder. “Are you my mommy’s boyfriend now?”
My eyes widened as Lexi let out a bark of a laughter. “Well, I, uh…”
Lexi walked her into the kitchen. “Yes, actually. Dean is my boyfriend now.”
Natty lifted her head. “Ew, that’s so gross.”
I followed them into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. “Come on, you two. Let’s get you some food or something.”
And that’s when Natty showed me that she really was my daughter. “Do you have steak?”
I chuckled. “I see someone’s got an expensive appetite.”
Lexi rolled her eyes. “Wonder where she gets that from.”
As we all headed inside, I got them both sat down at the kitchen table with water, some fruit to snack on, and plates. Then, I pulled out a few marinated steaks from the fridge Stone had sitting around. We always kept meat like that in the fridge whenever someone wanted to pull it out and whip up something quickly. And as I heated up a pan to get them seared on all sides, I cubed some potatoes to get them boiling in some water.
Because steak and potatoes sounded like a fucking good meal after all the bullshit we had fought through.
