Page 6 of Finding Redemption

She dropped to her knees before me, those brown eyes boring into me, melting my heart in places I didn’t even know were frozen.“You, Bella Foster, are a loyal and truthful Jedi.You will fight for justice and the stability of our galaxy.”I tapped her on each shoulder with the end of the purple lightsaber.“Rise and fight by my side.”

Her excitement filled the room, but she didn’t jump up to accept the blue lightsaber.Doubt clouded her eyes.“But Kayla said…”

“Pfft.Kayla doesn’t know everything.Who are you going to trust?Some mean-girl wannabe or me, an actual princess?Because let me tell you, Bella-Boo, I will take fighting the dark side over weak tea and cucumber sandwiches any day of the week.”

With a delight-filled squeal, Bella jumped up and took the blue lightsaber.“This is going to be so awesome!”She jumped up on her bed, trying out her Jedi skills as she bounced on the mattress.

“Young Padawan,” I called after giving her a minute to play.“I believe pajamas are not the best attire to fight the Sith.Shall we get dressed?”

Opening the second bag, I pulled out the cloak I’d gotten for myself to cover my Rapunzel outfit.Reaching back in, I slowly extracted the Rey costume I’d bought.As soon as she realized what I was holding, Bella’s mouth fell open.

“I get to be Rey?”she whispered.“But…Kayla said I have to be Tiana.Because that’s the only princess who fits…me.”

I was going to stomp Kayla’s face into the first pile of dog crap I saw.

“Who the heck is Kayla anyway?”I groused.

“My nanny,” Bella said with a heavy sigh, then groaned.Dropping her lightsaber on the bed, she wrapped her arms around her middle.That was when I heard her stomach growl.

Remembering she’d said Kayla had made her stay in bed, I realized she most likely hadn’t eaten breakfast, let alone lunch.

Dog poop was too good for Kayla the nanny.She deserved to be shoved into a mountain of horse shit.

Carefully placing the costume on a chair, I held out my hand.“I’m so hungry I could eat a Wookiee.Let’s sneak down to the kitchen for snacks.Princesses get very grumpy if we don’t eat when we’re hungry.We can munch on them to hold me over until the party.”

“Can I have a turkey and cheese sandwich?It’s my favorite.”

I took her hand.“What, no way?That’s my favorite too.”As we left the bedroom, I considered it.“Okay, maybe my second favorite.My ultimate favorite is grilled cheese.And sometimes I want peanut butter.But turkey is the far superior deli meat, in my opinion.”

Bella giggled as we skipped down the hall to the stairs.“I love both of those!Grape jelly or strawberry?”

“My list is marshmallow fluff with banana, grape jelly, strawberry jam, and then just plain peanut butter.”

“Marshmallow fluff?”she questioned skeptically.“With banana?No way that tastes good.”

“My dear Bella-Boo.”I glared down my nose at her, making her giggle with my haughty tone.“I assure you, it’s absolutely delicious.A royal delicacy of the highest degree.”

“Nope.Don’t believe you.”

Chaos was going on in the kitchen.A catering company was setting up but hadn’t started cooking yet.They were so busy, no one even paid us any attention.A few platters of prepared appetizers were already set up, though.

One was overfilled with chocolate chip cookies.Another one had what looked like fancy pizza bites.

Bella and I shared a look.

“Change of plans?”I suggested.

“Depends.Can I have two cookies?”

I twirled one of her silky curls around my finger.“It’s your birthday.Why are we putting limits on cookies?”

ChapterFour

Paxton

Ice clinkingin glass made me grimace as I sipped my forty-two-year-old whisky neat.My skin felt too tight, and I wanted nothing more than to be in my home gym, kicking the shit out of a sandbag.I couldn’t stand the thought of good scotch being watered down, and that was exactly what they were doing when they poured it over ice and sipped it.That they were doing it with my favorite, eight grand a bottle Glenrothes just irritated me that much more.

I hadn’t always had money.Way back then, breakfast was never an option, and I usually inhaled the free lunches at school, because it was more than likely dinner was going to be instant potatoes on the best of nights and watered-down powdered milk on the worst.My shoes were often too tight or had holes in them.Coats were never something we could afford, and I’d always been so big that the Christmas clothing drive the local churches hosted rarely had a sweatshirt that would fit me, let alone a coat.

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