Page 6 of Beautiful Chaos

Later that evening, I follow Cat into her parents’ house. The door is barely closed before little patters of feet come running across the hardwood floor, and Cat’s bombarded by two dark-haired boys.

“Aunt Cat!” they both screech before they launch themselves at her legs.

Laughing, Cat squats to give them both a hug. Their embraces are so forceful, she’s pushed back until she lands on her ass.

“Wow!” Her eyes sparkle as she grins at her nephews. “You act like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“But it feels like forever,” Aiden, the more outspoken of the two, replies.

“Well, we’ll have to make sure we see each other more often then, huh?”

Josh, who’s always been quieter than his twin, nods his head with a shy smile.

After Cat kisses both boys on their cheeks, I chuckle and help her to her feet. Ginger stands just inside the living room doorway, smiling softly. Cat walks to her and they hug.

“What have you been feeding those boys? I swear they’ve grown half a foot since we last saw them,” Cat remarks.

Ginger replies with an easy laugh. “They take after their father too much. They’re already towering over all the other kids in kindergarten. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re taller than me before they hit their teens.”

“What am I being accused of now?” a deep voice asks seconds before Mason appears. He walks to Ginger and stops behind her with a hand on her waist.

She looks over her shoulder at him, her eyes glinting with laughter. “Just that our boys are going to be giants like you.”

Considering Ginger’s short stature, the giant comment is accurate. Mason towers over his petite wife by well over a foot.

“You know what they say about tall men, right?” He wiggles his brows.

Ginger gives him a disgruntled look while jabbing her elbow in his ribs. “Behave.”

We all laugh and follow Ginger and Mason to the large open kitchen. Peggy and Emily are looking into one of the steaming pots on the stove. Jacob, Peggy’s husband, and Max are sitting at the table playing what looks like Go Fish with Skylar.

Max spots us first and gets up from his seat, moving to Cat with a tender expression.

“Hey, sis.” He pulls her into his arms for a tight hug.

Cat and her family have always been close. Max moved to Montana several years ago, so we don’t see him as often as we used to. The last time was almost a year ago. His first wife died during childbirth. Skylar was a year old when Max hired Emily as a nanny. They danced around each other for two years, pretending they didn’t care about each other. Emily became her stepmother four years ago. Emily and Skylar adore each other, and Max fiercely loves them both.

Cat moves to Skylar next and the little girl gets up from the table, already expecting the hug and cheek kiss she gets from her aunt.

Cat cups Skylar’s cheeks and stares down at her. “Oh my, you are simply gorgeous.”

Skylar blushes as her cheeks puff out with her grin. “Thanks, Aunt Cat.”

After dropping a kiss on her forehead, she steps up to Emily next. I hold my hand out to Jacob, then do the same with Max.

“How long are you guys here for?” I ask Max.

“A week. Pretty sure anything less than that and Mom would have my hide.”

“I heard that,” Peggy calls over her shoulder.

“Wasn’t trying to hide it,” he retorts, his lips twitching.

As Cat helps Peggy, Emily, and Ginger finish dinner, I join the kids at the large table for a game of Go Fish. Aiden sits in the chair beside me, and I help him with his cards. Josh is by Jacob and he does the same.

With the exception of Max, Cat’s family is clueless to the more sinister side of my life, which is the way I prefer it. Max only knows because he caught me beating the shit out of a guy when I was trying to get answers from him. Max knew who the guy was, what he did, and the answers I was looking for. He didn’t say a word, and even watched with a blank expression, as the guy begged and pleaded for his life. A plea that was ignored.

My attention is drawn back to the room by peals of laughter and giggles. When I’ve lost all my cards, to the kids’ delight, I glance over at Cat. She’s leaning against the counter, facing the table, her gaze unfocused. Her furrowed brows and the lost look fill me with dread. This is because I know her thoughts are moving to places that lead to bad things.

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