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Who are you making this for? my beast asked.
That was a good question and one I didn’t have an answer for.
I made the first cut which was a shallow V and blew the dust out of the cut to see how it looked. This was slow work because if the chisel skidded, the stone wouldn’t forgive my mistake. Now I got lost in my work, making more marks, and it was when my stomach grumbled that I paused. And that was when I heard them.
The girls knew they couldn’t barge into the workshop. Unless we’d made a prior arrangement, they had to wait outside and ask if they could enter. It was the one rule they never breached.
“Daddy, can we come in, please?”
River must have collected them from school, so where was he? Oh damn, unless they’d tied him up in the basement, saying they’d only release him if he did their homework. But three small dragon shifters couldn’t overpower a grown man. I gulped and pictured River calling social services after I rescued him.
I flung a cloth over the limestone. “Just for a minute, and where’s River?”
My small trio charged inside—why did they never walk?— and they yelled, “He’s right here.”
My elbow knocked the chisel, and it slammed onto the flagstone floor, beside the spot worn smooth from me standing here every day.
“I’m sorry.” River was in the doorway, eyeing the workshop. “Your instructions about coming or not coming here were a little vague.”
I winced at his choice of words because there’d be no coming in here or the house.
“It’s okay. I’m done for the day.”
“Daddy makes things.” Ivy climbed on a stool and twirled around.
“I see that.” He stroked a piece of pale marble I’d set aside for a new project I was supposed to start next week. “You made the fountain in the garden with the carvings. You carved your girls into a f-fountain.” His voice wobbled and he wiped a tear from his cheek. “That’s beautiful.”
“Daddy says the fountain is timeless.” Wren put an arm around my waist, and I kissed the top of her head.
After getting kisses and hugs from my three daughters, River hustled them out while I tidied up and turned off the filtration. When I returned to the house, our manny was prepping dinner and the girls were giving him a long list of the foods they refused to touch.
“How about you don’t manhandle the vegetables and just eat them.” He was washing cucumbers and tomatoes at the sink, and I looked away because my eyes went to his ass. Damn, I should have added must wear a huge coat in the house at all times to cover your butt to the NDA.
His scent was overwhelming, and I couldn’t stand near him as it taunted me, so I scuttled into the pantry and pretended to be inspecting what was on the shelves. But I had to come out eventually, and my dragon told me I shouldn’t be resisting the pull.
Poppy whispered to her sisters, and they nodded. “We’re going to play a game.” She grinned, and my spidey senses tingled.
My beast rolled his eyes, much like Poppy did. He wasn’t fond of spiders, saying they creeped him out with all those legs.
“Outside?” River had his back to my daughters.
“No, you put something in your pocket and we guess what it is.”
He half turned. “Doesn’t sound like much of a game. You guess and I keep saying no, until around midnight, you get it right.”
The triplets giggled, and I understood where this was going, but I didn’t stop it. River might’ve been puzzled by their reaction, though he wouldn’t flee screaming. But I had an excuse ready if he was upset. I wasn’t panicking, just gripping a pepper grinder, hoping it didn’t crack.
He told my daughters to close their eyes and went into the pantry. Despite it being meat and more meat, there were other food items on the shelves.
He came out. “Okay, guess.” He was probably thinking they’d never get it right.
The girls sniffed and in tandem, they yelled, “Chocolate.”
I was staring at him, waiting for his reaction, and when it came, it wasn’t as rattled as I expected. He raised a brow and tapped his lips before bringing out the chocolate.
“Lucky guess.” He narrowed his eyes. “Did you peek?”
“No.” Wren shook her head. “We would never.”
