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“Ready to start dinner?” I ask Hannah.
“Sure.”
Tess is giving Zane driving lessons in my Mustang and Cam is taking a well-deserved nap. The twins are in the backyard playing with Boni, which they never get tired of. The November cold doesn’t seem to bother them, and Boni loves the attention.
Since Tess and Cam make dinner pretty much every night, I told them Hannah and I would make fajitas tonight. I’ll grill steak and chicken and Hannah will chop toppings.
I’m seasoning the meat when the boys run into the kitchen, breathless.
“There was a guy,” Tate says. “You said to come in if we see anyone.”
“Where?”
I pick up the knife I’m using and hurry out the door that opens onto my deck. I’ve been keeping an eye on the twins while they play, and I told them if they saw anyone, they had to come inside and tell me.
If that guy Jake tries to come onto my property, I’ll make him regret it.
My breath clouds in the cold as Tate follows me down the deck stairs, pointing past the guesthouse.
“He was over there, looking at us. Boni growled at him.”
“Was he looking at you over the fence?”
“Yeah.”
“Go back in the house and lock the door, okay?”
Tate nods and runs back up the stairs. I make sure he’s back inside before walking out the gate to check the entire perimeter of my property. My neighbors will think I’m crazy, walking around with a big knife in hand, but this is all I could get to quickly.
My pistol is loaded and waiting in my bedside table drawer. If the security system sounds, Tess knows to lock herself, Cam, and all the kids in my closet, where she’s storing her handgun, just in case she needs it.
It’s scary shit, knowing some nutjob is messing with them but not knowing who he is or what he might do next. Tess, Cam and the kids have quickly come to feel like family to me.
I don’t find anyone around the property, so I key the code into the security system keypad and go back inside.
“Everybody good?” I call, locking the door behind me.
“We’re in the kitchen!” Hannah answers.
When I get to the kitchen, the boys are sitting on barstools at the kitchen island, their cheeks still rosy from the cold. Hannah is dicing onions and peppers.
“Did you see anyone?” Hannah asks.
“No.”
“Can we play video games?” Tate asks me.
“Sure.”
The boys love my PS5. I pretended like I hadn’t played it in a long time because I didn’t want Tess to think I was an overgrown kid, but I spent lots of time on it before they moved in.
Boni sniffs the air in front of the island, where I am prepping the meat for the grill.
“I’ll make some for you, too,” I tell him, going over to the sink to wash my hands. “You always get some steak, don’t you?”
“Boni!” one of the boys calls. “Come on, Boni!”
He runs to be with them. My dog has never been happier than he is now, having two little boys who want him around all the time. Sam and Tate take turns having him sleep in their beds at night.
