Page 128 of Deceived Wrath

“The point of favorites is that you only have one.”

Scout scowls. “That’s stupid.”

“We don’t use that word, Scout,” Cormac scolds.

“We should.”

Cormac turns to me. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

“We’re going to befine,” Scout whines.

“I didn’t realize my son turned into a teenager overnight.” Cormac laughs, ruffling Scout’s hair. “Have a good day, bud.”

He hovers for a moment longer, and I can sense his unease.

I nod at him. “We’ll be fine.”

His dark eyes flick to mine, and he visibly exhales. He gives Scout one last kiss on the head before heading out.

I watch him go, desperately fighting the urge to run after him and give him a kiss goodbye.

Scout groans. “I think these blueberries are multiplying.”

I blink, not realizing that I had been staring at the closed elevator doors.

I turn to the little guy. “Hey, Scout, how do you feel about going down to the park?”

“Really?” Scout’s eyes light up.

“Sure. There’s a fresh layer of snow on the ground, so we could go and build a snowman.”

“Can we have a snowball fight?”

“We could… But I’m warning you, I always win.”

The promise of a snowball fight is enough to get Scout to finish his breakfast and brush his teeth in record time. By the time I’ve finished cleaning the kitchen, Scout comes running down the stairs dressed in what looks like every item of clothing he owns.

“I’m ready!”

I laugh. “I can see that. I’m just going to let your dad know where we are.”

I pull out my phone and send Cormac a quick text.

“Come on, Fiona, let’sgo.”

“Hang on a second.” I wait for the message to be delivered, but the confirmation never comes. “Hmm… I think he’s turned his phone off.”

“Does that mean we can’t go?” Scout asks, visibly disappointed.

The poor kid has barely been out of the apartment in days and is in desperate need of letting out some energy.

While Cormac left strict instructions not to go anywhere without telling him, I’m sure if I take the right precautions, he will be fine with us going across the street to the park for an hour. After all, I’ve let him know where we are. It’s not my fault he turned his phone off.

I shut off my phone. “No, we can go. But you need to put your coat on.”

“But I’m warm now.”

“Trust me, you won’t be when we get outside.”