Page 150 of Sins of Innocence

"You're right. It hurts a little, petal," he admits. "I've had worse shaving."

I'm grateful for his honesty. Trust starts with the small things.

Joy stares up at Kieran doubtfully. "You shave your arm?"

The corner of his mouth tilts upward. "No, but I have cut myself shaving my face."

"Oh."

Before Joy can add more, Sadie demands, "What happened to your arm though? Was it to do with…before?"

This kid. She's taking the weight of the world on her shoulders and it's not hers to carry. Not even a little.

Kieran shakes his head decisively. "No."

"We were mugged." I finish cleaning Kieran's graze and apply a clean square of gauze to it.

Sadie's eyes grow round. "Mugged? But…" She looks at Kieran with doubt-filled worry. "I thought…"

"They tried to mug us," he stresses.

"I bet you kicked their butts," Neeve says with satisfied hero worship as she crumples the now bloody towel into a ball and holds it tightly in both hands.

"He so did." I refuse to be embarrassed if my voice has a little hero worship in it too. "There were five of them and Kieran disabled all of them."

The man was amazing.

"But one of them hurt you?" Sadie asks, her own tone still laced with uncertainty.

"We can't always avoid getting hurt," mom says briskly from her chair, speaking for the first time since I started cleaning Kieran's wound. "But that doesn't mean we give up fighting."

There's a message in there for all of us.

Kieran nods. "That about sums it up, Maureen."

"Your new dad isn't Superman," mom cautions the girls. "But he's a strong man that will never stop fighting for you or himself."

I don't know why mom is so firmly on Team Kieran, but I'm glad she is. The fact she always refers to him as their new dad and not their stepdad? That's as telling as how quick she is to stand up for him.

Maybe it's because he reminds her of dad, like she said. Or that she listens when Ellie talks him up.

I know I do.

Whatever her reasoning, between mom and the girls, Kieran's approval rating in this family is at 100. After the gifted phones, I have to give him a 99. He was hovering closer to 80 before the mugging, but I have to admit to an undeniable susceptibility to his willingness to take a bullet for me.

Even if it only ended up grazing him.

Kieran stood between me and the gun pointed at me without a second's hesitation.

Something expands in my heart and I do my best to ignore it. It's too soon.

You keep telling yourself that.

"You want to put that in the laundry?" I ask Neeve, nodding toward the dirty towel.

Her shoulders hunch, a sure sign she does not want to leave the room.

"Here. Put it with Kieran's shirt." I plan to throw the shirt away because of the rip in the sleeve. The towel can be washed though. "I'll take care of it after I'm done."