Page 35 of Reaper
“Coming,” I call as I scramble to my feet. “Kids, go change out of your pajamas while I see who this is.”
They whine but don’t argue as they trudge to their room. When I open the door, my heart skips a beat. Reaper is standing there with his arms full of bags.
“Morning,” he says with a grin.
“What are you doing here?” I blurt.
He lifts the bags and shakes them slightly. “I come bearing gifts. Can I come in?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” Following him to the couch, I ask, “Who’s covering the diner? I thought it was your day to work.”
“It was,” he admits. “But I switched with Inferno.”
“What’d that cost ya?” I ask, knowing that his VP doesn’t do many favors for free. I’ve gotten to know the guys pretty well. They’re all great, but they also each have their own quirks.
“A case of beer,” Reaper tells me.
“Wow. You got off cheap.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll think of something else. He always does.”
“Right.”
“Where are Heidi and Hunter?” he asks.
“They’re in thei?—”
“Reaper!” Heidi interrupts as she barrels through the living room and jumps on Reaper’s lap. “Mommy didn’t tell us you were coming.”
“Mommy didn’t know,” he says as he glances down the hallway. “Where’s your brother?”
“He had to go wee wee,” Heidi whispers, and Reaper chuckles.
“Ah, okay. Well, I have a surprise for all of you. But I’ll wait until he comes out to tell you what it is.”
“A surprise?” I ask.
“Yeah, I was thinking about something Hunter said last week while you were out running errands, and?—”
“Hi, Reaper,” Hunter says, joining us.
“Hey, buddy.”
“It seems Reaper has a surprise for us,” I tell my son.
“A surprise? Really?”
“Really.”
“What is it?”
“Sit down, and I’ll tell you,” Reaper instructs.
At first, it threw me off when Reaper would tell my kids what to do, but I quickly realized that he wasn’t being mean or demeaning, or even bossy. He’s simply being a man who acts like a father. And Lord knows, my kids need a positive male role model and father figure.
Not that I’m accepting applications for the job.
“Do you remember telling me that you want to be a zookeeper when you grow up?” Reaper asks Hunter when we’re all seated, and Hunter nods. “Well, since we all have a free day, I thought it’d be fun to go to the zoo.”
