Page 4

“Hi, guys!” Ten greeted, when Everly, Aurora, and Wolf crossed the street.

“Hi, Dad.” Everly ran to Ten and hugged him. “Aurora and Woofie are upset about our homework,” she whispered.

What the hell kind of homework could possibly upset a third grader? “Why don’t we head inside and have a snack? I got Pringles for you girls.” Ten’s attention was on Aurora. He noticed she didn’t even crack a smile.

“We’ll be over around five for dinner,” Cope said, before crossing the street with Wolf.

“See you then.” Ten led the girls up the front stairs and into the house. “What would you girls like for a snack?”

“I don’t want anything.” Aurora threw herself onto the sofa.

Everly hugged her friend and followed Ten into the kitchen. “Uncle Fitz needs to get his head out of his butt.”

“You’re right. Any idea how to do that?” Ten grabbed juice pouches and chips. “Fitz texted me earlier today and asked if I would keep Aurora all week.”

“Dad, she’s barely hanging on now. I don’t think Aurora will make it through another week without her Daddy. She thinks he’s mad at her, that’s why he sent her away.”

“Oh, no,” Ten said, feeling on the verge of tears.

“It gets worse,” Everly said, sounding grave.

“Worse? How?” Ten couldn’t imagine how much worse it could get for his niece.

“Miss Weatherfield assigned us a project. We have to interview a member of our family about what family life was like back in the olden days.”

“You mean back when dinosaurs ruled the earth?” Ten snorted. “I’ll never forget that time I dodged a Stegosaurus on the way home from school.” Ten thought the assignment sounded fun, but then the reality of the situation hit him. Aurora and Wolf were both adopted. Her mother was dead and no one knew who her father was. Poor, sweet Aurora.

“She’s upset that she doesn’t have real family to interview. I mean, she loves Fitz and Jace, but it’s not the same thing as having a parent or grandparent you’re related to.”

Ten sighed heavily. He needed to figure out how to help Aurora. With Fitz on the sidelines and Jace on a business trip in Florida, he and Ronan were all the little girl had at the moment. “Who are you going to interview?”

Everly frowned. “Daddy, cause he’s my bio Dad.”

“Bio Dad? Where did you hear that term?” Hearing Everly say that broke his heart a little. She was right, but no one had ever said it like that to Tennyson before.

“Lucy Jones’s Mom got pregnant with a sperm donor. Then her Mom got married, so she has a father and a Bio Dad.”

It sounded simple the way Everly described it, but it still stung.

“Don’t be sad, Dad. I promise I love you both the same.” Everly hugged Ten.

“You love us the same even when I won’t let you have ice cream before bed?” Ten giggled.

“Well, that balances out when Daddy does something stupid in front of my friends at school.” Everly gave Ten one last squeeze. “There are a lot of upset kids at school. Miss Weatherfield said the assignment used to be making a family tree, but parents were upset by that too. Aurora doesn’t know much more than a branch or two.”

“I can see where that could be a problem. Cope and I were talking about what to do with Fitz while we were waiting for you kids to get off the bus.”

“What did you decide?” Everly asked, sounding curious.

“We’re going to stop in and see Fitz tomorrow after we get you kids on the bus.”

“It won’t help Uncle Ten.” Aurora walked into the kitchen, her cheeks wet with tears. “Nothing anyone says to him helps. I think he’s gonna be sad forever and I’ll have to live here with you until I graduate from high school.”

Ten’s heart broke harder for Aurora. “First of all, we’d love to have you. Second of all, we’re going to figure out how to get your Daddy back to his usual self.”

“I don’t understand because Daddy wasn’t even the one who got hurt. Uncle Jude was. Why is he so sad?”

The hits just kept on coming. “Have you ever hurt Everly’s feelings before?”