Page 31 of Derick

He sighed, looked over at me, and I looked away. Ever since the other day when he’d said Hope didn’t have to tidy her room, he referred everything to me. He knew I wasn’t happy that he said that to her. I wanted Hope to learn to clean up after herself. We had to make sure everything was clean and tidy before we moved in here, no one had done any of it before for us. I didn’t want her to become spoiled either. It was the right thing to do too, and I wanted her to learn that. Derick had been brought up differently, and with things like that, it really showed how spoiled he was. It wasn’t his fault, I knew, but I wanted Hope to learn. I needed to have a talk with Derick.

On a sigh, I caught his gaze and nodded. It looked like we were inviting the teachers too.

Derick

I had debatedyesterday whether I should ask Ruby about the rest of my family coming to the party at the Fun Palace. We’d originally planned for her to meet them on Saturday for an early dinner as a family party for Hope, and a way for her to meet the rest of the family and it not be so overwhelming.

I knew though if Jasmine came, so would Jaxson. He’d found her, and ironically, she worked for the daycare center we owned and was one of Hope’s favorite teachers. Jasmine wasn’t givinghim the time of day though. Andrew had asked to come too, and if he did, so would Oakley. I then had a feeling the rest of the family would be offended if I didn’t invite them. It was one more thing I needed to talk to Ruby about.

Ruby and I really needed to talk. I understood why we hadn’t had the chance. She’d been upset by what Hope had said the other day, so when she wasn’t at TAFE, she spent all her time with Hope. I knew she was feeling guilty. My mum had told me to tread lightly as a mother’s guilt was a hard issue to discuss and for men to have input into. Ruby and Hope had been through a lot of big changes, so I knew it would take time for things to settle. It wasn’t easy to have an adult talk with a toddler around all the time.

With Hope excited for daycare today, and it being a strike day for teachers, Ruby and I didn’t have TAFE or university. I was going to spend as much time as I could with just Ruby and I and get the much-needed talk we needed to have in.

I had a surprise date for her organized. It would mean we had all our security with us, except for Hope’s guys. I prayed the day would go off without needing them. Brand wasn’t too happy. He thought it was too dangerous, especially after last week. Last week a couple of the Devil’s Queens made bail, and on top of that, we’d found out that some men from other chapters were arriving. It was why I wasn’t letting my family out of my sight. When Brand told me they’d seen them when Ruby and Hope had been at the park the other day but the men had fled when Sloane and Dan went over to them, I freaked. I made sure we had extra people for their security, and I wasn’t leaving their side if I could help it. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to them ever again.

Hope had been up since the crack of dawn, and Ruby had slipped out of bed at six to sort her out. She had daycare today, but it didn’t open until seven. Usually, Hope didn’t arrive thereuntil after eight, closer to nine. Today though she was excited to give the invitations to the teachers at school, or so I thought.

I found my woman and daughter in the dining room eating a full breakfast of toast, eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and avocado. My parents were there too, and surprisingly, so was Tyson. He wasn’t one to socialize and kept to himself. He wasn’t one of the cousins I was close to. He was all about his restaurants and keeping his reputation pristine. You wouldn’t find any pictures of him drunk with models or dating a lot of different women. He was a celebrity chef. His image was all about being the good guy. He was closer to Dustan’s age too.

“Morning.” I went by Hope and kissed her forehead before I made my way to sit beside Ruby. “Why is Hope sitting next to Tyson and not you or Mum?” I asked as I sit down.

“Daddy, hes makes my cakes.” Hope rolled her eyes, and even though she was being cheeky, it was adorable.

Raising my brow at Tyson, I waited for him to answer. He didn’t bake often, but when he did, we all fought for whatever cake, pie, or sweet treat he’d made. Tyson wasn’t just a talented chef, he was the best baker too. He didn’t do it very often though, so for him to make a cake for Hope, I really appreciated it.

He shrugged. “There is no way I can resist her.” He smiled at Hope, who beamed back at him.

Hope held up two pictures. “This one fors party.” She held up a drawing of a rainbow unicorn cake. Not just a cake with a unicorn on it, but a unicorn with legs, tail, and horn. The other drawing she held up was of a rainbow, held by a puppy that looked like her Sunny. I had no idea how Tyson was going to make these, but I looked forward to seeing what he came up with. “This one for allz us.” I assumed the rainbow dog one was for Saturday.

“That’s really cool, princess,” I said.

Ruby nodded her head in agreement and sent another beaming smile to Tyson. Hope blew him a kiss and I could see him melting, already under her control.

“Are you going to be okay to get those done by Friday and another for Saturday?” I asked. They looked like a lot of work, and Tyson was a perfectionist.

“You don’t have to do what’s on the pictures,” Ruby said. “Trust me, she will be happy with anything. She’s only had cakes from Coles and Woolworths before, so I’m sure anything you do will be amazing. If you can’t, I’ll just get her a cake from there again.”

The horrified look that came over Tyson’s face was priceless. His green gaze went wide, his eyebrow rose up, and his mouth was open as he shook his head. “These will be no problem. Piece of cake.” He winked at Ruby, and she giggled at his bad line. I shot him a glare as a warning to stop flirting with my woman.

“Daddy,” Hope said, causing Ruby to turn her attention to her daughter, “isa wanna goes on specials days withs Mummy and yous too.”

I was surprised as yesterday she couldn’t wait for daycare today. I didn’t mind her going, but I had been looking forward to some time alone with Ruby.

“I thought you wanted to give your teachers at daycare their invitations?” I reached over to the breakfast trays and helped myself.

“I does. Butts I wants to goes on specials days toos.” She pouted and pushed her plate away and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Baby girl, there is no need for you to pout and cross your arms like that,” Ruby reprimanded. “You have a special day coming up on Friday, and you’re having a big birthday party and then having another celebration with all of the family. School is important too. I thought you like learning?”

My heart soared when she said family and not Derick’s family or even daddy’s. Did this mean she realized she was a part of our family? I really hoped so.

Hope sighed and uncrossed her arms. “Sorry,” she mumbled. She grabbed the plate and picked at the food on it while she drew on some paper.

“What am I supposed to wear on this surprise day out?” Ruby had me turning my focus back on her.

“Comfortable. It’s going to be a big day.”

Brand wasn’thappy that we were at Dreamworld. He thought we were too vulnerable here. Too exposed to an attack, especially since the Devil’s Queens have been seen following us. They had tried to get Ruby twice now—once at the park when we first noticed them around again, and the other time they’d apparently tried coming to the house. That had been a big mistake. The house security was extreme, and my parents had turned the new house into a fortress. It had everything from panic rooms, hidden passages known only to a select few, underground escapes, motion sensors, and hidden cameras.

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