Blaire Montbelliard is a beautiful woman, but she’s tired like everyone is right now; worn down, worried, and anxious.He reads every inch of it.
‘I’m fine,’ she tells him, the standard answer, but Lachlan reaches across the table, gently puts his hand on hers and she allows it.
‘I couldn’t do any of this without you.’
Blaire gives a tiny smile.‘Sap.’
‘You got me.When’s the last time you took a day off?’
‘I can’t remember.’
‘Tomorrow then.Go into the city, do something nice.’Lachlan can’t think of what might benicefor someone like her, someone who works here under Alistair Penhalyx, but he tries anyway.‘Bring me back a fairground cheeseburger or something.’
She laughs at that.‘Nothing like a fairground cheeseburger.’
‘Damned right.I want the grease.’
‘The undercooked onions.’
‘Oh, fuck yeah.Make sure it’s stone cold too.Perfect.’
And when she does in fact bring him one, Lachlan keeps the wrapper.He folds it neatly, flattens the paper and puts it with the dried flower and that one photograph of a happy day that seems now so very far away.
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It’s a wet, humid summer.
The rain comes like Penhalyx ordered it to further punish everyone, but it doesn’t stop Mimi from going out to herWendy housewhere she has a radio stashed to communicate secretly with Mari.Penhalyx’s attention is mostly on Jules, so Lachlan feels safe enough letting her go outside.He wouldn’t deprive her of the nature she loves for anything less than an emergency.
‘Does Jewel not like me anymore?’Mimi asks Lachlan one day, building a bird nest out of twigs, focused on her task.
Lachlan is helping.‘He loves you, sweetheart.’
‘I tried to hug him, and he told me go away.’
‘It’s really hard for him right now,’ Lachlan explains carefully.‘Jewel is very busy with his schoolwork.Once summer is over, it’ll be better.’
‘Is Farfar gonna be here for my birthday?’
‘I think so, yeah.’
Mimi sighs.‘What aboutBad Man?’
That’s Mason Fenwick.She never lost that first bad impression of him.
‘Yeah, he’ll be here, babygirl.’
She makes a gun with her fingers and points it at Lachlan before dropping her thumb with a questioning look.Bang bang.It’s the first time he seriously considers teaching her sign language, sensing instinctively that she’d take to it well.
‘No, babygirl,’ he tells her, kissing her hand in apology for not being able to kill the people she doesn’t like.
She accepts it and goes back to making her bird’s nest.
His little girl is learning how to brook disappointment.
And Lachlan fuckinghatesit.
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