Page 53 of Her Dragon Daddy Disaster
“He didn’t know any better, okay? He won’t do it again. Will you, baby?”
Jakub, for his part, shook his little head, looking confusedly between us.
“See! He’s not going to do it again.”
“Sarah,” Levi said sharply. “Listen to me, and listen to me clearly, okay? I. Am. Not. Mad.”
I blinked. “You aren’t?”
“No. And nobody is in trouble either, okay? So, can you just drop the protective mama-bear act? I’m not trying to take Jake away from you.”
“You aren’t?”
“No,” he said with a frown. “This isnormal. It’s one of the first signs they’re coming into their powers. That the dragon in them is slowly awakening. But like any new ability or power, a child has no ability to control it.”
“Oh.” I chewed on my lip. “Then why did you want to take him?”
“Because we’re going to go up on the roof, and we’re going to work on what he did and how he did it so he can do it again. And again. And learnhowhe did it so he can begin to not do it by accident. I’m going to teach him how to become a dragon. Dragon 101, if you like.”
I stared. “You promise you’re not mad?”
“I was never mad. I’m simply trying to help.” He looked down. “To be a good dad.”
Something sharp stabbed into my heart at the pain in his voice. PainIhad caused.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, stepping closer, Jakub on my hip, still silent, bless his heart. He was probably still half-asleep despite the excitement. Kid could sleep through anything.
Levi didn’t open his arms to welcome us in, however, keeping his distance instead.
“I really am sorry,” I told him. “I guess I just …”
“You assumed that because I’m a dragon, I meant harm. That I was the bogeyman in the night coming to punish your son for setting fire to my condo,” he said.
I opened my mouth to reply. To deny it and tell him he was wrong. That I was simply caught up in the moment. It was circular logic, however. Caught up in the moment meant I was reacting automatically. That my base thoughts and, in that case, fears were exposed. Including the ones about him being a dragon and secretly waiting to hurt us.
There was no avoiding it.
“You two can sleep in my bed tonight,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Then he was gone.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby?” I asked, surprising myself by blinking back tears.
Did I truly care that deeply?
“Why are you guys naked?”
I laughed. “I guess because we like to sleep naked.”
“Can I sleep naked?”
“Not tonight, little buddy,” I said. “Come on. Let’s get you back to bed. That’s enough excitement for one night, don’t you think?”
Jakub nodded and yawned, resting his head on my shoulder with his little hands clinging to me.
I wandered down the hallway to Levi’s room, pulling the blankets into place and tucking Jakub in.
