Page 81 of Pucking Strong

Right on cue, Henrik appears in the doorway. He’s cleaned himself up and put on some shorts and a T-shirt. “Karro?”

She takes him in, looking for any sign of injury. Then she breaks down crying. “Morbror.”

He hurries over to the bed, dropping down next to me. Folding himself over her, he hugs her, talking in fast Swedish, offering soothing words and touches that calm them both. I scoot down to the end of the bed, giving them room. Henrik says something that involves my name. That part, at least, I understand.

Karolina peeks under the crook of his arm at me and I see her smile. Then she starts to giggle.

Henrik sits up. “Vad är fel?”

“You have to say it,” she says in English.

“Say what?”

She peeks around him at me. “He has to say it, ja?”

I can’t help but smile, warmth blooming in my chest to know she’s okay. This didn’t scar her for life. “Thatisthe rule, yes.”

Henrik glances between us. “What rule?”

“If you talk about me in Swedish, you have to say, ‘I’m a Swedish meatball’ in English,” I explain.

This causes Karro to squeak with laughter, hiding her face behind her unicorn.

Henrik feigns a glare. “Absolutely not.”

“No, you do,” she cries. “It’s the rule.”

Henrik raises a brow. “The rule, you say?”

She nods.

He considers for a moment. “Well, I suppose in that case …”

We both wait. I flash her a wink and she stifles her giggles as Henrik sighs dramatically. “Very well, then. I’m a Swedish meatball.”

Karro laughs, falling back against her pillows.

Heavy moment over, we both tuck her in, giving her and Teddy the Bear kisses.

“God natt, mitt lilla lamm,” he says. “Sov så gott.”

“God natt,” she murmurs, relaxing in the comfort of knowing she’s loved and protected. “God natt, Teddy.”

I glance to Henrik. “What do I say? Teach me something.”

He smiles. “Say, ‘Dröm underbara drömmar.’”

“What does it mean?”

“Dream wonderful dreams.”

Leaning over Karro, I give her one last kiss. “Dröm underbara drömmar, honey bun.”

She nods, her eyes already closed as she holds tight to her bear.

Henrik and I sit there and wait, watching her under the glow of her twinkle lights. Then he turns, and he’s looking at me. What is he trying to see? Feeling awkward, I break first, rising from her bed. Henrik follows me from her room. I wonder if he’ll go right back to his room, but he doesn’t. He follows me through the living room and into the kitchen.

Desperate to put distance between us, I slink around the island and reach for my forgotten potatoes.

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