Page 25 of Royal

Royal catches him at the last second and returns him down the stairs. He turns Donovan upside down, and he squeals with laughter. The second his feet hit the ground, he is off bouncing again.

“Are you okay, baby girl?” Royal asks, peeking behind my shoulder so he can see her face.

“I think it scared her most of all, she jammed her thumb a bit,” I tell him. When she doesn’t answer, I see her eyes are closed.

Royal gives me a soft look. “Thank you for caring for my girl,” he says, and I smile at him. He bends down, kissing me sweetly.

“Rural!” Donovan calls loudly, and I laugh at him getting his name wrong, but Royal is thrilled by the look on his face. He runs to Donovan, and they spend half an hour jumping and playing.

Penny is out cold. She is napping against my chest and not moving. It seems she needed this nap because Donovan runs by, screaming at the top of his lungs, and she doesn’t even stir.

I feel her forehead and check to see if she is warm, but her temperature is okay. I snuggle her deeper into my chest when our time is up for playing. Royal brings an unhappy Donovan, who is not ready to give up playtime. “You can ride the bikes!” Royal reminds him, and the trampolines are long forgotten.

I stand up with Penny, and she snuggles into my shoulder. I smile, loving that she feels so comfortable with me.

“Are you okay holding her?” Royal asks me as he tries to wrangle Donovan, who is determined to break free and run straight for the bikes.

I laugh at Donovan. “Yes, but I think Donovan isn’t okay.”

He drags off with Royal, who looks over his shoulder at me, amused. I feel Penny waking up. Though she is getting heavy for me to hold for much longer, I wouldn’t break up this moment.

Royal sets Donovan on one of the bikes, and he is grinning like he is having the time of his life as the ride starts.

Penny’s head lifts, and she looks to see who is holding her. “Did you have a good little nap?” I ask her, sitting on the bench, where our belongings are in the locker below the seat.

She nods, and her face is slightly flushed from lying against me for so long. “Your hair is all over the place.” I laugh, and she lifts her hand to touch the side of her head, where she can feel her hair sticking up. “Want me to fix it?”

She nods and hurries out of my lap, turning to face me. I take her hair out of her ponytail and smooth everything into a quick French braid.

She runs her hand down the back. “I’m like Elsa!” Jumping off the seat, she runs straight to Royal, who lifts her. “Look at my hair.”

I watch them interact, and it makes me wonder how different my life would have turned out if I had a father figure in my life. Hell, just even a mother who cared if I lived or died.

I open the locker and put on my shoes, taking off these god-awful socks. I put on my boots and join Donovan to take pictures of his excitement.

Once the ride's excitement wears off, he lifts his arms for me to take him. “Ready to go?” Royal asks us.

Penny runs to me and grabs my other hand. I smile, loving that she is so comfortable with me already. “Are we going to take you home?” she asks in a voice like she is sad at the thought.

We get in the truck, and I buckle in Donovan while Royal helps Penny. “They’re coming home with us tonight. Is that okay?” I hear him ask her softly, and my respect grows for him even more as he ensures she is happy with us living with them.

I close the door and let them have a moment of privacy, so she doesn’t feel pressured into agreeing to us staying in her home.

I open the passenger door and step into the car when I hear him shut her door. “Can you French braid my hair again tonight after my bath?” she asks, and I let out a deep breath, knowing she is okay with me going home with her and Royal.

On the way to Royal’s house, he stops at a restaurant and comes out with two bags filled with food for dinner.

He pulls up to a gated community and pushes a button for it to open, then he passes massive houses along the way to his home. “Everyone in the community here is my brothers in the MC. We all wanted to have somewhere where our kids could play in the streets without worrying about some fucker trying to snatch the kids.”

“I love that idea. Donovan couldn’t play outside at my place, as you could tell.” I had to take him across town to a clean and safe park because anywhere nearby was awful.

I have all this money now. What can I do? I couldn’t spend that much money in my lifetime, and Donovan will be set for life, from what it seems.

We slow down and pull up into a beautiful home. It’s a darker, almost a dark brown, and the shutters are black around the tall windows. Above the door is a window, and you can see the soft glow of a chandelier shining beautifully.

“Wow, your home is beautiful,” I tell him. At the side of the house is a huge white truck filled with… my belongings. “You were serious about me moving in, huh?”

He chuckles. “Darlin’, it isn’t my fault you didn’t take me seriously. I meant it.”

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