Page 115 of Hawk
“Grab your chair and you can help peel the garlic.”
“Yes, ma’am,” she replied and dragged her standing chair up to the cabinet.
I passed her a bulb of garlic and watched as she slowly pulled the paper skin from it while I slipped the skins off the tomatoes and began to chop them and removed the seeds. She was so focused on her task, and I smiled down at her as she stuck her little tongue out of her mouth.
A few minutes later, I heard the telltale sound of Zeus’s nails on the hardwood floor in the dining room. Turning, I saw him and Matthew walk into the room.
“How’s the project going?” I asked.
“I need some more glue to put the pages on the board.” He swung his head around and asked, “Where’s Dad? I was going to ask him to take me to the store.”
“He had some business to attend to. I can get the prospect outside to run and grab some for you, if that’s okay. I can’t leave with dinner on the stove, or I’d go real quick.”
“That’ll work.” He approached as Zeus got a drink of water. “Can I help?”
“Do you know how to pick basil?” I asked, and he rolled his little eyes at me.
“Of course, Momma. You just take the leaves off the stalk, right?”
“How did you two get so smart?” I asked, and he smiled up at me. I washed my hands and explained, “I’m going to get Falcon to grab your glue, so you can get finished before going to Hailey and Jacob’s tonight.”
He nodded and walked to the small herb garden in the corner that I’d picked up from the hardware store the other day. Carefully, he began to pick the basil off the stalk while I walked to the front door. I hoped I wasn’t overstepping my bounds by asking him to do this, but Colton had said the brothers were around to help.
Falcon was sitting on the front porch, sipping on a bottle of water and playing on his phone when I opened the door. He swung his head when he heard me and asked, “Hey, Stella. What’s going on?”
“I hate to ask, but can you run to the store and grab a bottle of glue for Matthew? He needs it for his project, and I can’t leave with dinner on the stove.”
He stood and stretched his back before approaching me. I pulled out a five-dollar bill and handed it to him, not wanting him to have to spend his own money. He took it and stepped off the porch. “Is there anything else?”
“That should do it. If you can ring the bell when you get back, I’ll come grab it from you.”
He saluted me before climbing onto his bike and cranking the loud machine. I watched him walk the bike backward until he got to the street, and then he kicked it into gear and took off down the block. Locking the door behind me, I walked back into the kitchen to find Matthew and Anna working on their assignments.
The garlic was peeled and Anna was sniffing her fingers and wrinkling her nose, and Matthew had rinsed the basil and was trying to get Anna to wash her hands.
I turned on the music and both their faces lit up as I walked to them and started moving my hips. I wanted life to be fun for them, and this was one of the things my mom used to do to entertain me and Devlin. Lucian was always in Papa’s office, ‘learning the ropes’, so he never got much fun time.
I kept thinking about Lucian and what I’d witnessed all those years ago. Part of me wanted to speak with Devlin about it, but the other part of me felt it was best to leave it in the past. No one spoke of him, so I assumed he was still a ghost, doing whatever it was he did.
The house was getting warm, so I opened the sliding glass door leading to the backyard, allowing a nice breeze to blow in. Matthew and Anna were dancing around the kitchen, and Zeus was laying on his pillow in the corner, observing the craziness with his eyes half open.
The sauce was making the house smell amazing as I took a seat at the dining room table to watch the kids having fun. Some days, they wore me out, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. To have such carefree joy surrounding me felt like a dream, but I knew this was my future.
A life with Colton, Matthew, Anna, and, of course, Hailey and Jacob. Together, along with Devlin, Elise, DJ, and the new baby that was due anytime now, and all the Death Hounds, made my life fuller than I’d ever thought possible. I was enjoying watching Matthew try to teach Anna rhythm when a knock sounded.
I stood and stretched my back before walking into the kitchen and turning the music off. Looking down at the kids, I remarked, “I’ll grab your supplies from Falcon, then you need to get your project finished before Hailey and Jacob get here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Matthew replied as I turned and walked to the front door.
“That didn’t take too long,” I said as I unlocked and opened the door, expecting to see Falcon.
The person in front of me wasn’t who I expected, but I immediately knew who she was. Colton had shown me a picture of his ex the day Matthew first saw her, telling me to keep an eye out for her. She was the last person I thought would knock on the door, so I stepped outside.
“Can I help you?” I asked, and the bitch smirked at me.
“I’m guessing you’re his latest dick-warmer,” she replied, and I clenched my jaw, trying to not lose my shit on her.
“You must be the cunt who walked away from her family. What do you want?”
