Page 153 of Dust Storm

She worked her lip with her teeth for a moment. “If Daddy ever gets married again and we get an evil stepmother, I hope it’s you.”

Well, shit.“I promise to limit poisoning attempts with apples to twice a day,” I said as I hustled back to my room, blinking back tears.

Becks was sitting on my bed, nursing the baby again. “Well, that was the cutest thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.”

“Say nothing,” I clipped as I shirked off the chore clothes and wiggled into a pair of flowing trousers and a tailored blouse.

Becks rolled her lips between her teeth. “Come on. You can admit that you like kids.”

“I don’t like kids,” I said as I ran a brush over my hair and twisted it into a low bun. “I likethosekids. There’s a difference.”

We made it out the door and into Becks’s SUV in record time. She had offered it to me since it was easier to drive than Christian’s truck.

Bree and Gracie talked the entire way to school and didn’t stop as the doors flung open in the drop-off line.

“Bye Miss Cass. Love you,” Bree said as she shouldered her bag.

“Thanks, Miss Cass,” Gracie chirped, grabbing her lunch box. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Have a good day,” I called after them, then froze.

The minivan behind me honked and I didn’t even feel the urge to flip them the bird.

Gracie and Bree stared back at me, blinking.

Slowly, smiles grew until they were ear to ear, first aimed at me, then each other.

Christian called as soon as I pulled out of the school parking lot.

“Hey,” I said as I took a left and headed to the grocery store. “How was your night?”

“Doctors and nurses coming in every hour,” he said with a sigh. “But I don’t want to talk about me. You doing okay?”

My throat was still tight from saying ‘I love you’ to Bree and Gracie. Why was it easier to say it to Christian than to the girls?

I didn’t regret it in the slightest, but it left me reeling.

I could expect things from Christian. As much as people liked to say that relationships were unconditional, that was the furthest thing from the truth. I expected his love and support, and he expected the same of me.

But kids were one-sided. They had expectations of the caregivers and protectors in their lives, but that love didn’t have to be reciprocated.

They didn’t owe me anything.

But they said they loved me anyway.

“I told you not to worry. I’ve got it handled.”

“Cass…” He sounded more tired than I had ever heard.

“I don’t want you to worry.” I pulled into the grocery store lot and threw the car into park. “Focus on Ray. Things are fine.”

“Did the girls get to school okay? How’d it go this morning?”

I yawned, feeling the coffee wearing off already. “Got up at the ass crack of evil and fed the animals. Becks was over by the time I got back up to the house. Got the girls fed and I just dropped them off. I’m gonna run into the store and get a few things for us and Becks, and head back to start work. Your mom’s picking them up from school and taking care of dinner tonight.”

It sounded like he let out a sigh of relief. “You have the company credit card, right? I don’t want you paying out of pocket for my groceries. Use that one and I’ll sort it out.”

“Christian, it’s fine. I’m not charging it to the ranch.”

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