Page 56 of Keepsake

I sliced him a look. “Do you need to be that cruel to your sister?”

Dash was the epitome of a teenager. He was childishly pressing Vienna’s buttons just for fun in one breath and claiming he wanted to raise her in the next. He thought he was all grown up when he couldn’t even spend a full dinner without antagonizing her.

“It’s not cruel to say the truth.”

“It is,” I cut him off.

“So we should lie?”

“Dash…” Alvaro growled.

My hand snapped up to stop him, and I raised my eyes to Dash, a smirk on his lips like he had just won the argument.

“You should always tell the truth when you’re asked. Being deliberately cruel and hiding behind the idea of honesty is not ok.” I breathed out, shaking my head and coming back to my dinner. “I know you’re trying to make me look bad. That’s ok. You’re not the first and you won’t be the last.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

When I looked back at him, it wasn’t the same sneering the teenager. He had a frown between his eyebrows, his eyes softening a little.

“I mean, I work in a male-dominated field. I’m used to people trying to antagonize me.”

He crossed his arms over her chest. “I don’t dislike you because you’re a woman.”

Vienna gasped. “We like Logan!”

I chuckled. “I know you don’t.” I ignored Vienna’s support. “But I’m used to having everything I say twisted to make me look bad. That’s why I learned to…” I swallowed, “be careful about what I say and how I say it.”

When Alvaro spoke, his voice was nothing like I was used to.

“You don’t need to be afraid, Logan.” His tone was kind and while I was trying to avoid his general direction until now, I faced him when he said, “We don’t do that kind of shit here.”

“You shouldn’t curse in front of the kids,” I said, but my mouth was curving into a smile.

Before I could stop myself I glanced down his arms, and my brain threw the memory back right in front of my eyes. I choked on my tongue and spun away.

Not a cold shower, not time and space, nothing was ever going to take that image of Alvaro and his cock out of my mind.

“Comeon,Lachlan.Comeon…”

He looked at me like I was a stranger trying to snatch him from his bed. Lachlan’s face was red from his wailing, his pajama covered legs thrashing on the bed like he was in pain.

But he wasn’t. I put him to sleep at the time he should sleep, but because of his long afternoon nap, I was being punished.

He was a good kid, though. Even as he wailed, even as he seemed to hate my guts, he stayed on the bed that I put him in.

I reached for his belly, settling my hand there and rubbing slowly as I used calming tones.

He cried, he thrashed, he wasn’t happy. I even offered his pacifier that I knew I should have been more active in taking from him, but one trauma at a time. He was doing well during the days, using it only when we got in the car. I wasn’t ready to tackle the fight for him to give it up at nighttime.

He moved so much and so brusquely, his little sock shot away from his foot, landing by the door. I followed the movement and caught Alvaro as he walked in and bent over to grab the sock.

“I see you have the night routine down.” He smirked.

I brushed my hair out of my face, blowing a raspberry. “It’s my fault. I let him sleep in the afternoon.”

“Kids take naps, Logan.”

“But the book said…”

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