Page 64 of Surviving in Everton

“Sorry, Dad.” He grimaces.

“It’s okay, I know you’re excited, but let’s walk to the door, calmly.”

The walk to the restaurant is short, but Violet is bouncing the whole way. Just wait until you see inside, kid.She’s gonna freak. I open the door and usher the girls in. We have to walk further inside before they see what Logan is so excited about.

“What’s that?!” Violet squeals, pointing to the side with wide eyes.

“That... is The Hive,” I tell her with a chuckle.

“There’s so much stuff!” she exclaims looking around at the multitude of games and activities.

“Come, little one, let’s get you a game card so you and Logan can have some fun.” I guide her to the counter, the others following close behind. “How many cards am I gettin’? Is everyone playin’ tonight?”

“Uh, hell yes, I’m playing!” Ayden hollers, like this isn’t a family establishment and there aren’t children around.

He has the decency to look chagrined when I glare at him in response. I turn to Rowen and my expression softens. “What about you,A Stor? You up for some playtime?” I can’t help but smirk at her when she sucks in a breath and her pupils dilate. I didn’tmeanto get her thinking about a different kind of playtime, but I’m completely up for that as well.

She’s quick to recover and offer a sassy comeback. “Only if you boys don’t mind losing to a woman and a couple kids.”

“Aww, man. I wanted to be on your team,” Ayden whines.

“Too bad.” Rowe sticks her tongue out at him and giggles when he attempts to grab it.

I get us all game cards while Ayden continues teasing Rowe, then we make our way over to the games. Everyone’s minds are as far from food as possible right now, so I figure we’ll get something to eat later.

“Alright, what’s this I hear about teams? What are you plannin’,A Stor?”

Just like every time I use her new pet name, her eyes light up and she looks at me with such adoration, my heart skips a beat. “Oh, I don’t know… Anyone wanna make a wager?” She bites her bottom lip and cocks her brow at us guys.

“What kind of wager, Lovely?” Kayden has the good sense to ask before just jumping on the bet like his brother would have.

“What do you think, kids? What should we make them do when we win?”

I gotta admit, I kinda love it when she gets sassy like this.

“If we win, they have to buy us ice cream,” Violet suggests.

“No, think bigger… Oh! I know! If we win, they have to make us a pool!” Logan cheers. “Not just any pool though. It’s gotta be the best inground poolever,” he clarifies.

“Fine, what do we get if we win?” I easily agree. We all wanted to make Rowe a pool anyway, and of course it would be the best ever.

“Hmmm, I don’t know. What do you want?” He crosses his arms and squints at me, trying to think about what I could possibly want.

“If we win, you two spend the whole weekend with one of your grandparents. Don’t even care which ones. The first to accept you. From Friday after school to Sunday after dinner,” I declare.

“Deal!” They exclaim together. It’s clearly a win-win for them, but then again, it’s really a win-win for everyone.

“How’s the winner going to be determined?” Kayden asks.

“The team with the most tickets at the end of the night wins,” Rowen announces.

With the wager set, we get to work exploring the various games, looking for the ones that will give us the most tickets. Ayden heads straight for Zombie Snatcher and Kayden finds the basketball game. Meanwhile, Logan leads the girls over to the Skee Ball tables. I stay close to Rowe and the kids at the Cyclone. The surge of joy I feel while attempting to stop the light at just the right time, distracts me enough to press the button a second too late and I only get five tickets. Doesn’t matter though, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if I tried.

I spin around to see Rowe cheering on the kids as they toss their balls up the aisle. She must feel eyes on her, because she turns and her face lights up when she sees me watching her. She waves me over and I nearly forget to grab my tickets in my rush to get to her.

“Hey, beautiful. You having fun?”

She nods, eyes sparkling. “Logan showed Violet how to play. They’re so great together. He’s always so helpful and thoughtful.” She wraps her arms around my waist and looks up at me with bright eyes. “Just like his father.”

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