Page 26 of Penalty Kill

“Oh that’s a scary one isn’t it.”

He nodded. “They’re carnivores.”

“Brontosaurus are nice though. That can be your favorite.” Finn offered.

“That’s perfect.” She made a noise between a meow and growl and they all broke out laughing.

This was what the boys deserved. This was what they should’ve always had.

How had I let myself think that Olivia’s behavior was okay? She put herself first one hundred percent of the time. She didn’t pause to listen to her sons. She pushed them off on someone else whenever she could. She never cooked for them, not unless she was filming a video to show off how amazing she was at being the perfect mom. She would never be caught without her hair, make up, and outfit perfectly coordinated. She was fake. I should have seen it years ago. I was too busy justifying everything. I was a master of talking myself into things, cutting her slack, and ignoring everything that was wrong with our relationship.

“Daddy!” Finn waved at me, and I moved to them so they didn’t try to jump off the counters.

“There are my boys. I thought you ran away.” I hugged them both tight and soaked in the sound of their giggles. It was the perfect balm to my sore body. I didn’t recover as quickly as I did when I was a rookie, but having them around to distract me and keep me moving was more than I could ask for.

“No Daddy! Sydney came and got us so we could make pancakes. We were going to bring you breakfast in bed but you woke up,” Milo explained.

Sydney waved her spatula in the air. “You ruined the surprise.”

She turned to look at me for the first time and fell against the stove. The way her jaw dropped just a bit gave me way too much satisfaction. I stood still, allowing her to get her eyeful. She seemed stuck on my abs, so I twisted just a bit away from the boys so she had a better view.

I couldn’t help it. I was a man who hadn’t had this kind of attention in a very long time. In the back of my mind a voice was screaming, She’s the nanny! But I didn’t care.

“Sorry guys. I’ll try to sleep longer next time.”

My voice seemed to break the spell she was under. Her face went bright pink and she spun to face the stove. I smirked and looked at the boys.

“We’ll be faster next time,” Finn said with determination.

“Sounds good. Did you guys have fun last night?”

I watched as they nodded before I peeked at Sydney. Her back was still to me so I couldn’t see her expression.

“Yeah, we saw your goal and we cheered real loud for you.” Milo waved his hands around.

“Thanks, boys. That means so much to me. I loved knowing you guys were there watching.”

“Can we go again, Daddy?”

I looked at Sydney, taking in her legs while I had a chance. “Hopefully soon. It’s up to Sydney.”

She turned and smiled, still looking a bit flustered. “When’s the next home game?”

“We’re leaving in a few days for a three-game trip, so it will be next week.”

“Oh yeah. Right.” She spun and hurried to flip a pancake.

“We can go next week!” Finn told Milo as if he hadn’t been listening.

“Yay!”

I waited for Sydney to correct them or tell them they would have to wait and see. She didn’t. She smiled at them and joined in the little happy dance the boys were doing. “We should try the pretzels next time. Remember how big they were?”

Milo lifted his hands to frame his face. “As big as my head.”

Sydney nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to see if we can finish it.”

This woman was amazing. She was incredible with the boys. It had been less than a week and I was already dreading the thought of her leaving next year.