Page 11 of Omega Dragon Manny
Out of all the animals we saw, the only ones that caught the kids’ attention were the geese at the pond. I was glad they were happy about them now, because the day would come when they’d discover just how mean those cuties could be. Geese were not sweet and gentle in my experience.
“I’d thought about offering to go out to eat on the way home, but I don’t know how we’d manage that,” Clark said as he helped me get the kids into their car seats.
“Yeah, not until they can sit on their own, I don’t think,” I said. “And not just for a few minutes here or there, but enough to dine in and really enjoy it.”
“How exciting would that even be for them if we went now?” he asked. “They still haven’t started solid foods yet. At least at home we can eat during their naps or when they’re playing. I just thought it would be nice to treat you for all your hard work.”
“One day soon.” It wasn’t going to be a treat, more like work, but I was looking forward to it.
Instead, he decided to order food, and we got the kids ready, went home, and did the evening routine…bathing them, getting them snug in their jammies, singing them songs, reading them books. It was nice, like this with the two working together, taking care of the kids.
And the words of the people who told us what an adorable family we were kept coming back to me. Because, while no, we weren’t family. At least, I wasn’t. It was getting impossible not to think of him and them as such.
10
CLARK
The kids were in their cribs, sound asleep, looking so peaceful. I found myself standing by their cribs, just watching them, enjoying the quiet time with them. How different my life had been before I got the horrific news. I would do anything to have my cousin alive so they could grow up with their father. But not once had I regretted taking them in, not even before Beau, when the days felt impossible.
I loved them in a way I didn’t know one could love another.
Beau came in behind me.
“What do you think they’re dreaming about?” I asked. “Do you think it’s colors? Or sounds? Or memories?”
“I don’t know.” He was close beside me now, nearly touching me. I wanted to lean into him and not because he was hot and I wanted him, though both of which were true. But more because we were in this together and it felt right for us to be that close.
“I hope it’s not memories,” he said softly. “At least not the bad ones.”
“Today, they’re probably dreaming of those geese.” I chuckled, wanting to divert the conversation from where my mind had just been and Beau’s now was.
“They did like them.”
“Baby giggles are officially the best.” I had video of them laughing away at the park, and I’d already watched it numerous times.
“There’ll come a time when they know better,” he said.
“Know better?”
“Clark, do you really not know?” Beau asked, and I shook my head. “Geese are so mean.”
“I don’t understand.” They were so cute, especially when the babies followed them around the pond. How could they be mean?
Beau grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room, whispering that he was going to show me how wrong I was or something to that effect. I wasn’t really paying enough attention to the details. All of my focus was on the warmth of his hand holding mine.
But as quickly as he grabbed it, he dropped it when we reached the hallway, looking up at me and mouthing,Sorry.
He had nothing to be sorry about. If he weren’t my employee, I’d have already asked him out. I’d already have reached up and brushed my thumb along his cheekbone countless times. I’d already have brushed my lips against his and more.
Just thinking it had me getting hard. I needed to learn to control myself better. A whole lot better.
He led me the rest of the way to the kitchen, where he grabbed his phone from the charger, opened it up, tapped away, and pulled up some reels.
“Here. This is what I mean.”
One after another, videos played of geese attacking people at the park. Children, adults, dogs… they didn’t care. They were ruthless, and they wereliarsthe way they looked so cute.
“That’s really disturbing,” I said, half laughing, half horrified.
