Page 58 of Aidan

They both say “Okay.”

I kiss them both on the tops of their heads, and then run my hand over Aisling’s hair. “Come on, little nightmare. Let’s go downstairs and get cleaned up as well.”

Before I walk out the door, I turn to them. “If you need anything, just holler.”

They nod and then Aisling and I walk out of their room. Aidan waits out in the hallway. I move right past him, but he claps my arm to stop me. I go rigid, but he doesn’t loosen his light grip.

“Will you please talk to me?”

I shake my head. “I can’t right now.”

Whatever he sees on my face has him letting me go. Aisling and I move forward and down the stairs, not stopping until we get to her room.Should I be worried that she hasn’t spoken since we left the venue? I don’t want to push her to talk if she’s not feeling up to it.

“Lets get you out of this dress and all cleaned up.” Maybe if I keep busy I won’t have a breakdown. If only my headache would go away.

Aisling lets me tug it over her head. Her hair is dusty as is the rest of her body that hadn’t been covered. I turn on the water and adjust the temperature. When I’m satisfied, I guide her forward with a hand between her shoulder blades.

“In you go.”

Together we get her cleaned up including two washes of her hair and then I help her put on her pajamas. I comb out her hair and braid it to help it from tangling when she sleeps. Then I turn her to face me and kneel down in front of her. I brush the wisps of baby hair across her forehead.

“I know today was really scary, and if you want to talk about it, I’m here to listen.”

There’s a long enough pause that I worry Aisling won’t speak to me. But finally she answers. “Why did those bad men try to hurt us?” Her question is spoken in barely above a whisper.

She adores Aidan, and while I may be furious and disappointment in him at the moment, I don’t want her to be. She won’t understand. Maybe when she gets older. “Some bad people don’t need a reason. They just hurt people because they can, and no one knows why.”

Aisling’s eyes shimmer with tears. “Will the bad men try and hurt us again?”

She asks the one question to which the answer is my greatest fear.

“I’ll keep you safe, I promise.” Even as I say the words, they resonate through me. I swear I’ll keep her, Kellen, and Carson safe even if that means leaving here. No matter how much I love Aidan, the children have to come first. He should understand that.

“Hey, why don’t you lay down for a little bit while I get cleaned up too. Then, I’ll crawl into bed with you and we’ll go back to working on our fairy forest sketch. What do you say?” I give her an encouraging smile, hoping it eases some of her fears.

“Okay,” Aisling says quietly.

I take her hand and we walk out of the bathroom and I help her climb into her bed. Once she’s settled I kiss her forehead. “Will you be okay while I run to my room to get my own pajamas?”

She nods.

“I’ll be right back.” I hurry out of the room and pray I don’t run into Aidan. I’m not sure I can even look at him yet.

Thankfully both the common area and our bedroom are empty. I grab a clean pair of underwear, a pair of shorts, and shirt and hurry back to Aisling’s room. She’s still sitting upright in bed, but she jumps when I step into the room. I head for the bathroom and take the quickest shower I’ve probably ever taken. After I’m done, I hurriedly get dressed so I can get back into the bedroom.

Before I reach the bed, I snag the stack of drawings we’ve been working on off the desk, along with the charcoal pencils, and her lapdesk, and I settle in beside her.

“What do you think? Do we need more fairies this time?” I glance down at her.

Aisling lays her head against my shoulder. “I like fairies.”

“More fairies it is then.”

I pick up the pencil and one of the drawings and get to work.

CHAPTER29

Aidan

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