Page 45 of Loco

“I talked to Heidi earlier,” she said, unzipping it. “Asked her what you might need, and she listed these as essentials.”

She pulled out kid themed toothbrushes, a tube of sparkly toothpaste with cartoon dinosaurs on it, some children’s Tylenol and Benadryl, a pack of wipes, little bandaids with smiling sharks, and a bottle of chewable vitamins.

“She said this was the must have list, so I figured they must be important,” she added with a small shrug, eyes searching mine.

I stared at the bag, then back at her, something warm and grateful tugging at my chest. I leaned in and kissed her—slow, deliberate. “Thank you,” I murmured against her lips.

She smiled softly, then leaned back a little, her fingers lacing with mine. “How was your day?”

I huffed a laugh. “You mean besides having my heart pulled in fifteen directions?”

“Yeah,” she said, teasing gently. “That part, I can guess.”

I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Tell me about yours.”

She sighed and shifted her weight. “I ended up standing in for Evie at the shop today. They're working on the drywall and all the crap in my house, and I didn’t want to be there while that was going on. It’d be too noisy and dusty.”

“How’s that going?” I asked, my voice low.

“They’re saying another two weeks, maybe a little less. Things were moving fast at first, but they slowed everything down while the survey was done. I’m just hoping they don’t find more problems.” She paused, rubbing her arms absently. “The insurance company’s assessing the new claim, but my case manager warned me they might not cover all of it.”

I frowned, jaw tightening. “Let me know if they come back with a hard no. I’ve got a couple of guys who owe me favors.”

Sayla went quiet for a beat, then stepped into me and burrowed her face into my chest, her voice muffled against my shirt. “I miss you.”

I wrapped my arms around her again, holding her tighter. “I miss you, too.”

She pulled back just enough to look up at me, eyes glossy but steady. “The kids come first, though. So, if you need anything,feel overwhelmed or unsure, or just need someone to talk to—call me. I mean it.”

I nodded, brushing my thumb along her cheek. “They come first, yeah, but so do you.”

Her eyes flicked away for a second, like maybe it was too much to hold in that moment. I caught her chin gently and tilted her face back to mine. “I mean it. Don’t disappear on me, Sayla. Not when we’re finally in this.”

She nodded slightly, then glanced around the dark yard beyond the porch. “You got security yet?”

“Yeah,” I said, resting my chin lightly on her blonde head. “Just had it installed. It feeds straight to my phone, and I’ve got motion lights now too.”

She looked up at me again, lips twitching. “You sound like a dad already.”

“Guess I am in a sense, but it’s important they don’t forget Kemble,” I sighed, exhaling through my nose. “But what about you? You got a system?”

“There was one in the house when I moved in,” she admitted. “I just… haven’t really used it.”

“Start using it,” I ordered, not even pretending to keep the edge out of my voice. “Seriously, Sayla, things are different now. Watch what’s going on around you. Lock your doors and set your alarm. Don’t take chances.”

Her mouth curved into a soft smile, but there was something serious behind her eyes, too. “Okay,” she said quietly. “I will.”

And even though the night was still, and the porch was warm, I held her just a little tighter—because nothing felt more important than ensuring she was safe.

Chapter 15

Roque

It had been two weeks since I brought Kairo and Kaida home, and I still wasn’t sure if any of it felt real. The days blurred—early mornings, late nights, bedtime stories, tearful outbursts over the wrong socks. But we were settling. Slowly.

The funeral had been brutal.

Seeing Kemble’s dad in his wheelchair, looking smaller and grayer than I’d ever seen him, had nearly broken me. The man barely spoke—just stared at the caskets like he was trying to will them open. Kemble’s brother hadn’t made it, we still hadn’t been able to track him down. And no one had any clue how to reach Aislinn’s parents. No one had a phone number or an address, nothing. She hadn’t spoken to them since she married Kemble, and I didn’t know the whole story, just that it was enough to make her disappear from their lives.

---