Page 23 of Clean Slade
“I don’t know how to thank you,” King told her.
“I can think of a few things. I’m a big fan of earrings and sunglasses. And, of course, no girl could say no to diamonds, right, Mac?” Autumn smirked, and Mac agreed with her.
“Honey, I’ll buy you a house if this works,” King said.
“It’s fine. Honestly.” Her tone turned serious. “Just make sure to stay safe, and we’ll do everything on our end to ensure you can come back.”
I saw the question forming on Mac’s lips before she even spoke.
“We forgot the most important thing, you guys!” I shouted.
Mac looked at me.
“We haven’t packed friends for the trip. Mac, what do you think? Want to pack a couple to take with us?”
“Just a couple?” Mac pouted.
I laughed and told her the others needed to stay behind and keep guard of Luna’s Lodge and Mr. Rogers and let her pick her favorite one before I returned to the living room.
“Are you ready?” I asked King.
He looked from me to Autumn and back to me. Now that Mac wasn’t here, he let his full worried self show.
“Tell me this is gonna work,” he whispered.
“It’s gonna work,” Autumn and I said in unison.
“Wyatt knows what he’s doing. And there’s a kid involved. He won’t let anything happen to her,” Autumn added.
“Promise?” he asked, sneaking a glance at me.
“I promise,” Autumn told him.
I mouthed it at him, and it seemed to motivate him to breathe and stand.
“Then let’s go.”
Autumn stood too and hugged King before she turned to me and did the same. When she let go, she put her car keys in my hand.
“Good luck, guys.”
I picked up our coats from the coat rack and called Mac, who’d picked out four stuffed animals to take with us.
She was already going through so much I didn’t have the heart to tell her we couldn’t take them all.
“Thank you, Slade. Daddy, can I take them?”
King glanced at me and sighed, a hint of a smile appearing.
“Fine,” he said.
I rubbed his back, and Mac jumped for joy, dropping the crocodile plushie.
“And this is how it starts,” Autumn whispered.
Both King and I turned to her.
“This is how what starts?” King asked.
