Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60309 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
My phone buzzes as I say, “I’m thankful no one needed a trip to the hospital."
Rose lets out a strained breath. “You’re both so fucking lucky. If one piece of glass punctured you or your cousin—”
“It didn’t,” Ben professes. “We’re both fine, Mom.” Sincerity bleeds through his eyes.
I check the text.
GARRISON
I hate your suspicions.
I send him a message.
Because they’re right?
Because she knows better. She’s grounded forever. Don’t worry.
I’m never worried.
I text, about to pocket my phone.
GARRISON
Whatever. Honestly, I had my suspicions about it too.
Sent you a work email btw. Not that important. Check at leisure.
I’ll check it soon, but not before I take care of Audrey. I glance over at our daughter. She’s slumped more against the table.
Rose follows my gaze. “Audrey?” She combs pieces of her damp hair out of her face. Likely, she showered after she puked earlier.
“Mmmh?”
“Time for bed," Rose says. "Can you stand?”
“Mmmhmm.” Audrey never opens her eyes or moves.
Ben puts away the Lysol. “She was just shouting.”
“Your sister used all her energy to combat us apparently,” Rose notes and spins to me. “She’s passing out.”
“I’ll take her upstairs, darling,” I tell my wife.
She nods. “I’ll check on her afterwards. I’m going to talk to Ben about his punishment.”
Ben lets out a groan. “I can clean the house.”
“We’ll start there, and you won’t be cleaning the yard alone. The girls and Xander will definitely be helping you tomorrow.”
“Okay, fine,” he breathes.
I lift Audrey effortlessly in my arms. Now a teenager, she’s no longer the baby I cradled at night and rocked to sleep. But I love her just the same.
While Rose speaks longer to Ben, I carry our daughter upstairs to her room. I gently rest her down on the queen-sized bed. She rolls over on her side, grabbing a frog-shaped pillow, an old gift from Winona. After I splay a throw blanket over her, I switch the lights off, about to leave.
“Father?” Her voice is faint, weak, as though she’s fighting to stay more cognizant.
I turn back. “Yes, little one.”
“I’m truly sorry…for any and all destruction I caused. I’ll carry whatever punishment”—she yawns—“you give me with great honor and respect…”
I haven’t heard those words in months. Maybe longer.
I have a hand on the doorknob, wondering when Eliot and Tom taught their sister their silly mantra. Or maybe she just memorized it after hearing it one too many times after they got in trouble. Of course, it was to try and make me crack a smile. Maybe even sway me to lessen their grounding if they made it sound dramatic enough.
“Your mom and I will discuss what kind of punishment you’ll have. But you will be grounded.”
“I honor and respect it,” she says in a sleepy voice.
She doesn’t see it. It’s too dark.
But I smile.
In the hallway, I meet Rose, and she lets out a long drawn-out breath. “She’s going to have a massive hangover tomorrow.”
“Likely.”
“And you have no idea what that feels like,” Rose says with a perfunctory smile, as though she’s experienced far more than I have.
I grin and slip an arm around her waist. “I don’t know why you’re reveling in the fact that you’ve been so drunk, you felt miserable the next morning.”
She glares but doesn’t step out of my embrace. “At least I know exactly how to cure her hangover.” She peeks over at Audrey’s room. “Are you certain—”
“She’ll be okay, darling.” I cup her cheek. “They all will be.”
Rose holds onto my truthful gaze, and I press a kiss to her forehead.
FIFTEEN
SIP-IN-SNOW CRASHERS AFTERMATH: PART FOUR
JANUARY 2040
AFTER CHAPTERS 56 IN FEARLESS LIKE US
We listened to "Every Night" by Josef Salvat while writing this scene.
Character List:
Loren Hale - 49
Lily Calloway - 48
Xander Hale - 17
Kinney Hale - 15
LILY CALLOWAY
“ARE YOU BLEEDING?” I ASK, looking Xander over with wide eyes. His hair is caked with flour, and he has a couple scrapes on his elbows. He bends down to scratch Erebor’s fur in front of the fireplace like everything is hunky dory. But he just confessed to getting into an argument with Ben, his cousin. Oh, and they’re back from a high school party at the Cobalt Estate that no one (not even the nerd stars) knew about. Everything is not hunky dory!
Lo left to go talk to security about the Royal Leaks, and I’m with my two youngest kids. While I’d love to wave some pompoms in celebration of having a lead on the source of the leaks, I can’t. I’ve been instructed to be the private investigator tonight, grilling Kinney and Xander on what went down at this high school party.
I barely had to grill.
There was not even a flame or a beam of light blasting down. Xander just spilled everything like I uncorked him with a single question: “What happened?”
I think someone should hire me as a PI.
“I’m not bleeding,” Xander assures me, not even looking at me as he pets his brown-furred Newfie.