I swallowed hard, breaking myself from the Cal spell I’d fallen under. Hell, I lived most of my life under that spell. “Yes, baby, come and get it.” I smiled.
“I’m starbing,” Emmie replied dramatically as the kids all filed in.
“Well, we can’t have that.” I laughed, feeling lighter by the second.
I placed their apple and peanut butter snack in front of them. Max started in again about his day at school as Emmie chimed in and Mason babbled.
Cal was right. I could handle anything he shared with me. But I didn’t have to—not anymore. Instead, I could listen to my kids’ joy and let the rest wash away.
Gone, but not forgotten.
Chapter 31
“Jilly.” Emmie’s whisper woke me from a deep sleep a few nights later.
I opened my eyes to find her standing next to the bed, her large brown eyes staring at me. “What’s wrong, baby?” I asked hoarsely as Cal shifted beside me.
“I didn’t like dos sharks,” she whispered, clambering up on to the bed and snuggling in to me.
We’d let the kids watchFinding Nemothe night before. They’d loved it but I’d worried that a few of the scary scenes were too much for Emmie. Clearly, I’d been right.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Cal’s deep voice asked as he reached over my body to stroke her curls.
She sighed, nearly back asleep already. “Da sharks.”
“Nemodidn’t go over so well I guess,” I whispered to Cal.
He leaned over me, watching as Emmie’s eyes fluttered closed. “She looks okay to me,” he murmured with a tender smile.
A movement in the doorway caught my eye and I turned to watch Max step into the room.
“Honey? You okay?” I whispered.
He shrugged, looking toward the ground.
“You want to crawl up here with us?” I asked, patting the bed.
He nodded immediately, climbing up on the bed and situating himself between Cal and me.
“What’s going on, bud?” I murmured, moving to lie on my back so I could look at him. Being sandwiched between the kids was one of my favorite places in the world to be. “Was the movie too scary?”
Cal threw an arm around his small body, cuddling him close. I loved how affectionate he was with all three kids.
“Nemo’s mommy died,” Max whispered. “You’re not going to die, right?”
My heart lurched. I hadn’t thought about how the plot would affect him. “No, baby,” I murmured.
“And if I got lost you’d find me, right?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Of course we would,” I assured him, trying like hell to keep my voice even.
“You won’t get lost, bud,” Cal replied. “But if you did we’d find you. We wouldn’t stop looking until we did.”
“Even if I was on the moon?” Max asked incredulously.
Cal’s handsome face broke into a gentle smile. “Even if you were on the moon. And you know, it wouldn’t just be me and your aunt. It would be the entire club. We’d all look for you and we’d find you right away,” he assured him.
“You mean Uncle Ax and Uncle Ryker too? Everybody?”
