Page 14 of Pieces of You

I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone other than Colt, but I was 100% sure Reese was racking up victims on the West Coast. In his and River’s hunt to find Shay, they’d stop at nothing.

“Dada!” Dylan picked that moment to smash his pacifier against my mouth and laugh hard.

To be young and free of all worries…

I mustered a smile for him. “You think Daddy should have the pacifier?”

He giggled and nodded.

“All right. You’re not gettin’ it back. It’s mine now.”

“Noooo! Mine, Dada!”

I snorted and let him steal it back.

“Food coming!” I heard Macklin holler from the kitchen.

Christ, he needed to take a breather. And possibly stop making weird food.

He soon appeared in the wide doorway with a tray of…something.

Archie had made it his project to try to get through to Macklin, who had spent the past few days essentially just cooking. He wouldn’t rest. He wouldn’t listen to Walker—who had resigned himself to letting Macklin work until he passed out. In short, Walker stayed close. He’d taken time off work and didn’t leave Macklin’s side much. Today, he’d picked up Ty’s granddaughter in hopes of thawing Macklin out.

Cam, Gael, Santiago, and Penelope looked up from their phones, all seated on some of the couches and cushy chairs we’d dragged closer to the TVs.

“Honey, you’ve been feeding us nonstop,” Pen said patiently. “Nobody’s hungry.”

Macklin gave her a brief stare. “Do you speak for everyone now?”

“Oi.” I jerked my chin at him. “Fuckin’ manners, boy.” I had limits.

“Oi!” Dylan echoed.

Maybe he’d heard something, because Walker came in from the patio, with little Savi in his arms. And he nodded for Macklin to follow him.

“Come out here,” he ordered.

Macklin clenched his jaw but did as told.

I suppressed a sigh and glanced down at my son.

He grinned. “Oi, oi.”

“Oi, oi.” I kissed his forehead. “Let’s go find Daddy A. I think we all need a nap.”

“Nooooo!”

Yeeeees.

CHAPTER 4

Tate Madden

Iloved having our girls close, but I was relieved when Mom picked them up that evening. For the next three or four days, Kingsley and I could focus on each other and what was happening. He was off work till Monday too, so we decided to return to Mclean and stay there.

A lot of our friends seemed to have had the opposite idea. Maybe they needed a break from being out here. The sun had set, and the only people around had gathered for a barbecue on the patio. Except, no music was playing, and the atmosphere was anything but cheerful.

Greer, Archie, Colt, and Mr. West were here. Colt was standing by the grill.