Page 32 of Clean Slade
I already knew what I would find outside, and once we’d put our coats on, I was proven right. He’d made a bonfire. But that wasn’t all.
There were fairy lights hung up in random places around us and deck chairs with blankets in front of the fire. A small table laden with multiple jars was placed between two of the chairs.
“Wow! That’s so cool, Slade!” Mac jumped closer to the table and looked at all the contents of the jars.
There were sticks in one, marshmallows in the other. The rest were filled with chocolate, graham crackers, and strawberries.
“And drinks for everyone.” Slade passed us a big tub of soda each and spread his hands open, looking at me. “What do you think?”
Stop. Stop it, Slade. Why are you doing this?
This man had done so much for us, more than anyone else would have done in his place, and he still kept going.
He’d gotten us this place, made plans to get us here safely, and put his own life on hold to protect mine.
And as if that wasn’t enough, he’d spent even more money to make this New Year’s Eve in the woods more special for Mac and me.
I stared at him, fighting for control.
My head knew what I had to do—keep him at a distance—but my heart had other plans. And it wanted to kiss him.
I grabbed a fistful of his coat and pulled him toward me, knowing what was about to happen and how wrong it would be.
Don’t do this. Don’t do this. Don’t do this, King.
I stood on my tiptoes and hovered my lips in front of his. I took a deep breath, and he closed his eyes.
“It’s beautiful.” I didn’t know what it was about the simple act of closing his eyes, but it seemed to finally snap some sense into me, and I managed to pry myself off him.
He blinked in confusion, and I tried to offer him my smile as a poor consolation prize, and even though it shouldn’t, it seemed to put him at ease again.
“Wait ‘til you see this,” he added, rummaging through a bag.
“There’s more?”
When would this madness end? He was doing too much.
“Yeah. Sparklers.” He took a pack of party sparklers out and smiled. “You can’t have New Year’s Eve without fireworks.”
“Yay. I love fireworks. Don’t you, Daddy?”
Mac jumped on the spot before hugging Slade.
“And you know the best part about these fireworks?” Mac shook her head. “They won’t disturb the wildlife. And also, they look so pretty when you hold them.”
“That’s amazing. Isn’t that amazing, Daddy?”
That smile on Mac. It was worth everything to me. And he’d been the one to put it there.
He truly was an amazing man. He had thought of everything. And I felt guiltier than ever for uprooting his life the way I had.
I just hoped he’d think it was worth it when we eventually had to run away and leave him behind because that was the only way this ended, right?
NINE
SLADE
“Ican’t believe you forgot the bread,” King said the next morning when he tried to make breakfast for all of us but couldn’t, thanks to my oversight.
