Page 36 of But For You

Rachel, Sam’s other sister, made a kissing noise as Regina told everyone to get to the table.

“You’re just jealous,” I hissed at her.

“Of what? You having to kiss my mother’s ass?” she whispered back, making her eyes huge for me. “You think?”

I laughed at her, and Jen did as well as she walked over and rubbed Hannah’s head.

“Your daughter is an angel.”

“Yeah, I know.” I smiled at her. “Where’s my boy?”

“In the playroom with Peter and Riley.” Rachel answered me with a yawn. “My kids love watching their cousins.”

“And even if they didn’t, you’d make them do it anyway.”

“Yeah. So?”

“You’re so bad. Do they want to go to the reunion at this point?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “No, but I guilted them into it. I told them if they didn’t go, then they obviously loved their stepmother more than their mother.”

“Rachel,” I scolded her.

“What? Dean decides to divorce me and marry a woman in her mid-twenties, and I’m supposed to be the grown-up? Did I tell you she’s pregnant?”

“Oh shit,” I said before I thought about it.

“Daddy! Pa said a bad word!”

“You’re such a narc,” I told my daughter, pinching her butt through her leggings and underwear.

It was nice that even at night now, she wore panties—her potty training was finally and completely done. We still had the occasional accident, but that was to be expected, especially if she was overtired.

“Daddy!”

I heard Kola before I saw him, and he was charging through the living room to reach Sam. He dived at him, and Sam caught him the same way he had Hannah. He didn’t lift him though because Kola was too old for that now. He had announced that since he would be six soon—at the end of the month—he had to get used to doing grown-up things. I loved it when his brows furrowed and he got serious.

Once we were all sitting down, after grace was spoken, Sam asked his son to tell Uncle Michael about the report he’d given last Friday.

“Oh.” Kola’s face lit up. “I did my report on the weapons that a deputy US marshal carries.”

Noah blanched.

I kicked Sam under the table. His smile in return was evil.

“Marshals carry a Glock 17 as their main gun and a backup one that they get to pick.”

“Why are we talking about guns at the dinner table?” Regina asked.

“Shh,” Thomas hushed his wife. “Kola’s talking about his report.”

“Oh, Kola’s talking about more than his report,” Jen assured everyone.

Michael’s eyes flicked to Sam. “Is that right?”

“Yes,” Kola told him, thinking that he needed to assure his uncle that he knew what he was talking about. “Do you want to know what Daddy has?”

“I can’t wait to hear.”