Page 98 of Roses Are Dead
“You owe a quarter for every swear word,” I explained.
“To each of them?”
That only made their insistent hands waggle harder.
“Yep.”
He dug out his chained wallet. “I only have?—”
Gwen snatched a dollar from the stack and ran it to a bright blue mason jar aptly titled in bold black letters.
He held the wallet a little closer to his chest. June ran a finger across the skull design embossed on the outside.
“Not yours.” He tucked it away while June rewrapped herself around his neck.
Finally, he sighed. “You had to, huh?”
I nodded. “I’ll get them ready for bed if you can watch June for a bit?”
“Seeing as she’s stuck to me like glue, I suppose.”
“Thank you.” I leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He could have gotten angry. Could have demanded and blustered, but instead, he adapted. For that, he deserved a bit of honesty. “We will talk about all of this and the stuff before. I promise.”
He sighed. “Yeah. First things first.”
At least an hour later I had all four children clean and if not sleeping, tucked in bed. Gwen was last to go down. She demanded I read her a bedtime story. Bear leaned against the door as I pulled out the worn copy of fairy tales I’d bought for them.
“Read the one about the bear.” She snuck a sly look at the man in her doorframe.
I thumbed through until I landed on it.
When it ended, I kissed Gwen on the forehead and tucked the covers around her. “I’ll be downstairs until your dad or grandparents get here, okay?”
“Rose?”
“Yeah?”
“He married the wrong one.”
“Who?”
Gwen pointed at the book I’d placed on her nightstand. “The bear. He should have married Rose Red. Not her sister.”
“Okay. Why?”
“Because Rose Red is you.”
“And I suppose there’s a prince over there?” I slid a mischievous look at Bear.
“He’s in disguise,” Gwen whispered loudly.
“Sorry, but that’s his normal look,” I told her.
She didn’t believe me but let me finish tucking her in.
In the hallway, Bear put a hand against the other wall to block my path. “I’m not a prince.”
“I know that.”
