Page 113 of Hawk
Chapter 36
Stella
2 weeks later
We’d been at the compoundfor ten days, and while it was nice, I wished we had more privacy and family time than we did. When I mentioned it to Colton, he immediately packed our stuff, and we left the safety of the Death Hounds and moved back to his house. Matthew and Anna were happy to be home, and on our first night there, I cooked dinner and we sat down to eat as a family.
Waking up on our first Saturday at the house and not having to leave for anything was a dream come true.
“What do you think about adding a garden to the side of the backyard?” I asked Colton while we were enjoying our coffee on the covered back porch.
He took my hand and kissed the back before replying, “Anything you want, darlin’.”
“Hailey and Jacob will be here around three for our cookout. Is there anything special you or the kids want?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“They’ll eat just about anything placed in front of them, so whatever you want is fine with me. I can grill if you don’t want to cook,” Colton offered.
“I was thinking of a simple dinner. Spaghetti with garlic bread, maybe a small salad, and something sweet.”
“That sounds delicious,” he remarked.
Matthew was inside with Zeus, working on his science fair project that was due next week. I offered to help, but he said he needed to do it or it wasn’t fair to the other kids in his class, so I held up my hands in mock surrender as he got back to work. They were both such wonderful kids, and every time I heard one of them say ‘momma’, my heart melted a little bit more.
The sliding glass door opened, and Anna walked outside, carrying the little stuffed lamb her Uncle Devlin gave her. He and the kids got along fantastically, and when DJ was around them, Matthew acted like the protective older brother that he was.
“Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” I asked as she crawled onto the couch next to me and snuggled close.
I loved it when they did that, and I hoped it’d never end.
“Yes, Momma. When is Hailey going to be here?” Anna asked, and I shook my head with a smile.
She and Hailey spent time together doing ‘sister things’ and I could see how happy it made both of them. I was afraid there would be animosity from Hailey, even though she said there wouldn’t be, over how much time I was spending with the kids. She seemed happy to be a big sister, and every day when the kids left for school, she and I spent the day getting to know each other.
So far, her questions about our time apart were surface level, meaning she wasn’t asking the painful questions, and I prayed it stayed that way. She took my word that her father was unknown, so as long as she didn’t dig any deeper, I wouldn’t have to lie to her. One time, she asked about the man who kept me away from her for so long, and I explained he was crazy but no longer a threat to me.
Looking down at Anna, I told her, “Hailey will be here at three o’clock. Do you remember what that is on the clock?”
She tapped her painted nail to her chin before answering, “The little hand is on three and the big hand is on twelve.”
I kissed the top of her head and said, “You’re so smart. That’s correct. Are you going to help me make dinner?”
“Do I have to?” she asked, and I chuckled.
“Hailey was going to help me, so you can spend that time with the boys.”
“Yuck. No, thank you. I’ll help,” she remarked as she stood from the couch.
Without another word, she walked back inside, and I turned to look at Colton. He was snickering, and I smiled, wiggling my eyebrows. I knew how to get her help with things, but usually, she offered without me having to ask.
“You’ve got her figured out,” he said, and I shrugged.
