Page 47 of Her Dragon Daddy Disaster
More giggles.
I crept slowly toward the hallway in silence, moving as stealthily as I could. An open door to Levi’s bedroom beckoned like a beacon in the night. Grinning, I entered, eyes sweeping left to right, analyzing it for extra Jakub-sized lumps.
“Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be anyone in here. I guess I’ll check the next room,” I said, stomping up and down on the floor as if I were leaving.
A giggle from near the closet gave away the ultra-super-duper secret hiding spot. Of course, so did the shifting bundle of clothes, but I was better than that. I could play it cool.
“Yep, definitely nobody inhere,” I said, shutting the door behind me and staying perfectly silent and still.
More shuffling and moving about. My heart swelled, seeing the excitement of my son, as it did every time he was having fun. Something about your child’s laughter … it was a medicine I hadn’t known I’d needed or wanted until the first time he’d giggled in my arms.
I let a minute pass, watching him squirm with impatience.
Then I opened the door. “He’s not anywhere else. Hemustbe in here. He just must,” I said, clomping noisily to the other side of the room, opening drawers and closing them randomly. “Not in the dresser. Maybe he’s under the bed!”
I bent down to check under the bed—
And scrambled back with a yelp as Levi’s leering face peered out at me from underneath it.
My shoulders hit the dresser as I came to a stop, clutching at my heart.
“Holy moly, you creeper!” I said, swatting at him as he came out from under the bed.
“Creeper? We’re playing a game! You had to find me or Jake. And I see Jake is still in hiding,” Levi said as he carefully extricated himself, speaking loud enough to be heard under a pile of clothes.
“He’s a very good hider,” I said. “One of the best. I might never find him, but I’ll try.”
Levi smiled.
“Once my heart slows down,” I added, thudding my head back against the dresser as I did, still jumpy from the unexpected discovery.
As I did, something fell from it, landing in my lap.
I caught it before it could bounce off onto the floor, but the lid popped open as I did.
Levi scrambled toward me, arm out. “Let me have—”
But it was too late. I stared at the contents on top.
“Levi?” I asked, reaching in to pull out one plasticky card, small enough to fit into my palm.
“Shit,” he muttered, hanging his head. “You weren’t supposed to find that.”
I stared at the image on the Polaroid, shocked.
“Sarah, listen, I can explain. I …”
“Youkeptthese?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Yes.”
I shook my head, stunned. “I thought I lost these, that they got tossed out in some cleaning rampage or another after Jake was born. But I never did. You took them with you.”
He nodded.
“Why?”
Levi shrugged. “I told you. I didn’t want to leave. I had to. I was ordered back. I … I didn’t want to forget you, I guess.”
