Page 59 of Grim

“My bag.”

“I’ll get it.” Stacie shuffled over to the sofa and grabbed Luna’s pink backpack, then carried it over to us. “Here ya go.”

“Thanks, Stacie. I really appreciate you letting her stay with you last night.”

“Any time. I loved having her.” Stacie gave Luna a wink. “I’ll see you next time, cutie patootie.”

“Bye, Stacie.”

Luna waved as we started our descent down the stairs. As soon as we were back outside, I got that weird feeling again that I was being watched. I looked behind us, and my heart started to race when I spotted a shadowy figure dart out of sight.

I tightened my grip on Luna and raced for the car. I got inside and locked the doors, then scanned the parking lot, looking for any signs of the person who’d been watching me. I had no idea if it was just some homeless guy looking for a handout or someone with bad intentions, but I wasn’t going to take any chances, especially with Luna there with me.

I got her in the car seat and buckled up before rushing back to the house. I was a nervous wreck when I pulled into the drive. I had every intention of telling Lawson all about my encounter, but the second I opened the front door, I was hit with the delicious scent of pancakes and freshly cooked bacon. Luna’s eyes widened with excitement. “What’s that?”

“I think someone cooked breakfast.”

We made our way into the kitchen, and my heart skipped a beat when I spotted Lawson standing by the stove with no shirt on and a pair of loose-fit jeans. He glanced over his shoulder with a smile. “Just in time.”

“What’s all this?”

“This is my sad attempt at building my resources.” He gave me a sexy smirk. “Apparently, something I need to do at my age.”

“I see.” I carried Luna over to the counter and sat her on one of the stools. “It smells so good. Can I help with anything?”

“Get us a drink and the syrup from the cabinet.”

“You got it.”

I took the juice from the fridge and poured us each a glass. As I placed it on the table, I couldn’t help but notice that Luna was staring at Lawson with a mystified expression on her face. I walked over and placed my hand on her back. “Is everything okay?”

“Grim’s got booboos.”

“Those are tattoos, not booboos, sweetheart.”

“Nuh-uh.” She pointed to his lower back. “Dat’s a booboo, and there’s another on his front.”

“Oh?”

I turned to take a look and was surprised to see that Luna was right. There was a gnarly scar on his back and another on his chest, both of which were hidden in the mix of all his tattoos. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed them before, especially last night. I stepped over to him and placed the tips of my fingers on the rough ridges of his scar.

“It’s nothing, babe.”

“It doesn’t feel like nothing.”

“It happened a long time ago. Nothing to worry about.” He gave Luna a wink. “Takes more than some little booboo to get me down.”

“That’s cause you got muscles.”

“That’s right,” Lawson chuckled. “Now, are you girls hungry or what?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Then, let’s fix you a plate.”

He took a couple of slices of cooled bacon and put them on a plate. My heart swelled as I watched Lawson interact with Luna. His tattoos and scars were all but forgotten as she watched him fill her plate with pancakes. As soon as he finished with hers, he got to work on ours.

Once everything was ready, we gathered around the table and started eating. I considered using the opportunity to tell him about what happened when I went to pick up Luna but decided against it. I wanted to enjoy the moment.

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