Page 67 of Redeem Me

Bear rolls his eyes at her taunting while my friend hugs me again.

“You smell like the biker,” Siobhan says and flashes Bear a dirty look. “Stop stinking up my bestie.”

Petra leans over and sniffs Bear. “Is that cedarwood?”

“I don’t know. Carys bought the cologne for me last Christmas.”

Siobhan shakes her head dismissively. “Carys has terrible taste. My moronic sister makes Pork Chop wear a sage-smelling cologne, when he has such a lovely white meat scent. Just a shame.”

Siobhan looks at the kids’ room and smiles at me. “It’s just precious.”

“I always wanted to paint their room back with that person,” I say, editing myself to keep from bothering the kids in the next room. “That person said no and claimed I spoiled the kids. He even said if they were spoiled as babies, they’d be monsters as teenagers. I tried to explain how all teenagers are monsters, but he wasn’t hearing it.”

“Well, you’re with a quality man now,” Siobhan says and then adds, “Even if he smells like cedarwood.”

“Thank you,” Bear replies and narrows his eyes. “Just for that I won’t tell the guys about your date with the dumbass from school.”

Siobhan is in his face immediately, challenging her much taller brother. “You better keep your trap closed, Bear O’Malley. I can’t have any barriers between Natasha and me. I need to share everything with her. If I tell her and she tells you and you ruin shit for me, I’ll have to hurt someone and it won’t be Natasha or me.”

“What can you do?” Bear says, standing over Siobhan.

“Why would I share my plan? No, I’ll sneak up and hit you when you’re unprepared.”

“How about we stop being so, um, gruff with each other?” I suggest when they seem ready to start shoving each other like two siblings in need of a nap. “Today is a good day, right? We’re all together. Plus, the kids are so happy. Let’s just settle down and enjoy each other’s company.”

Siobhan shakes her head. “Nerd.”

Bear chuckles at his sister’s taunting. He also reaches out and runs his hand down my hair as if to reassure me to how I’m a hot nerd.

I smile at them, feeling my future coming into focus. I can see myself living in this house. I imagine my soon-to-be-free sister visiting often. There’ll be plenty of playdates with Siobhan and the twins. My babies will grow up safe and loved here.

Over time, Bear will learn to trust me, and I’ll forgive him for what happened to Ollie. We’ll stop being strangers and become real.

BEAR

After lunch, the five kids explore the expansive playset. Natasha, Petra, and Siobhan ditch me on the patio and supervise the little ones. I sit my ass down and wish I had a dog to play with out here.

The cats watch me from inside the house. They’d love to explore, but my neighbors have big dogs, and I’m not looking to watch my boys get eaten. I suspect if that happened, I’d burn down my neighbor’s house and ruin my view.

Leaving Lobster Mac and King Crab inside, I focus on Natasha playing mommy. Since I learned the kids weren’t hers, I assumed they were distractions from her broken heart over Ollie. Like, she was caring for them because they were tiny sob stories in need of a replacement mom.

Maybe that’s a wrong way to see shit, but I’m naturally cynical. I’ve got zero idea how she ended up with Andrew. I don’t dare ask, either. The dirty details are bound to drive me crazy. I’ll be more willing to deal with such ugly feelings when I have Natasha back in my bed.

Natasha is sweet to Laszlo and the twins, but there’s a definite difference with how she is with Jacinda and Hector. I feel like the three of them are on the same wavelength.

As she plays for the next hour, Natasha’s heart is on display. I have no doubt she loves those kids like she would if she carried them for nine months.

As I imagine Hector and Jacinda growing attached to me, Natasha heads in my direction.

“The house looks beautiful,” she says, eyes bright and happy. “Thank you.”

“Are you leaving?” I ask, instantly irritated.

“No, Bear, I just figured I’d use my trip to the bathroom as an excuse to feel you up.”

Grinning at her flirty gaze, I reach for her body only to have her step out of reach.

“I’m too bloated to rub up against you.”

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