Page 29 of Fierce- Royce

“I remember a few tears now and again. You don’t like to get your shots either,” Dane said.

“But you kiss it and make it better,” Tyler said. “They only hurt for a minute. And I don’t cry. I’m strong.”

Chloe laughed and grabbed Tyler and threw him in the air. “Oh my God,” she said. “How much spinach are you eating? You weigh a ton.”

“Yuck,” Tyler said. “Spinach is gross.”

“Yes, it is,” she said, putting him down. He ran to the toys he’d opened earlier. She knew Dane was going to have to leave in a few hours to bring the kids to Melanie’s house.

“It seems as if work is all that my kids do,” her mother said.

“It’s how you pay the bills,” she said.

Her father rolled his eyes like he always did when she made that comment.

“You’re never going to find someone if you don’t make time for it. Look at your brother,” her mother said.

No way she was letting Dane get shit on today. “That wasn’t his fault,” she said. “Melanie knew what she was getting into.”

“Don’t defend me,” Dane said. “And I’d rather not talk about my children’s mother when they are in the other room. So drop it. All of you.”

“Agreed,” she said. “For both of us. I’m happy.”

“One of these days you’re going to have to compromise,” her mother said. “You know that, Chloe. Otherwise...”

“Is the roast burning?” she asked. “What is that smell?”

Her mother stood up and walked to the kitchen, her father following.

“That was smooth,” Dane said to her.

“They left, didn’t they?”

“For now,” Dane said. “So, are you really happy?”

She looked at her brother and wasn’t sure where this was coming from. “I’m not unhappy. Isn’t that good enough?”

Dane snorted. “I thought the same thing, so you tell me.”

She looked at her brother. They were nothing alike in looks and never would be. They didn’t even look like their parents because they were adopted.

It wasn’t a secret but not something she ever really broadcasted to people either.

Why? Her parents raised her from when she was two days old. Dane when he was three months old.

“Are we damaged? I mean really? There are times I think Mom and Dad think that and it’s why they always ask us what is going on in life or want us to make time for other people.”

“I don’t think I’m damaged,” Dane said. “I fell in love with the wrong person, but that doesn’t make me damaged. I’ve got two wonderful children out of it.”

She smiled. Her brother was always like that. He tried to find the best in things. She wasn’t so sure she did, though she did like to make people laugh.

“You did. They are great kids and seem to be well adjusted. I just wonder if Mom and Dad think there is something wrong with us since we don’t share the same genetics as them. They were married and trying to have kids in their early twenties.”

“Times are different,” he said. “Women are having kids later in life.”

“And they don’t even need to be married,” she said.

He lifted one eyebrow at her. “Are you thinking of having a kid without a man? Oh good Lord, to be a fly on the wall when Mom finds that one out.”

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