“Is that him?” I growl.
“Probably.”
I start to move toward the bastard, but Farrah’s hand grips my arm, stopping me in my tracks. “Don’t leave me. Please?”
My anger deflates like a fucking balloon in the face of her terror. I grip the back of her neck, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry, Princess.”
“Can I—” She swallows. “I don’t want to go home by myself.”
“You’re staying with me tonight. And every other night until we can get that fucking bastard back into custody. I’m going to call that useless detective too, and give him a piece of my mind.”
She softly smiles up at me before popping onto her toes to kiss me. It’s a balm to my overwrought nerves. I help her into my truck before doing another scan of the area. Movement catches my eye at the tree line as the shadowy figure disappears into the trees until I can’t see them anymore.
If he so much as touches a hair on Farrah’s head, I’ll kill him.
* * *
“Knox!” Farrah squeals, her outraged laughter ringing through my house. I’m obsessed with that sound. Then Finn’s giggles add to the music filling the air, and I’m not sure I’ve ever beenthis happy.
I grin at Farrah’s whipped cream-covered nose. “Sorry, Princess. I missed your mouth.”
She narrows her eyes as she wipes it off. “You did that on purpose.”
“Me? I would never do such a thing.”
Finn points at me. “Yes, you would, Daddy.”
Now it’s my turn to narrow my eyes. “Traitor.”
He grins, his eyes sparkling with my favorite kind of mischief. He pulls Farrah down to whisper something in her ear. Her face lights up at whatever plan he’s cooked up. I’m prepared for anything except for what actually happens.
“Daddy, can you put some on my hand? I want to try that trick of tossing it in the air.”
I cautiously spray a little bit on the back of Finn’s hand. As I’m moving away, Farrah pops the bottom of the can out of my hand and catches it in midair.
I stare at the two of them, in shock. How the heck did she do that so fast? I raise my eyebrows at her. “Now, what are you going to do?”
Farrah fakes innocence. “I just wanted the can to spray it myself.” She sprays some in her mouth, and Finn grabs my attention with his trick shot. He misses his mouth by a mile. The plop of cream on the floor makes me wince.
And before I know what’s happened, Farrah’s wiping a hand of whipped cream across my cheek.
I stand there stunned for half a second while Farrah and Finn giggle their fool heads off. But then I lunge for Farrah, making her squeal. She barely escapes my reach, running for the living room. I chase after her, catching up with ease. She tries to trick me around the coffee table, but I lunge across it, tackling her onto the couch and wiping my cream-covered cheek across her face.
She screams through her laughter. “Okay, okay. I surrender!”
I look down at the mess I’ve made of her and realize I have the biggest smile on my face. I’ve never been so fucking happy in my life.
Finn jumps onto my back with a battle cry. “I got him, Farrah! Run!”
I gasp at the little traitor. I sit up, keeping Farrah pinned under me while I yank him off my back so he’s sandwiched between the two of us. His face is red with how hard he’s laughing while I tickle his rib cage.
“Okay, Daddy. I’m all done,” he says breathlessly. He snuggles into Farrah’s chest while she hugs him closer. The three of us are a mess of grins and sticky sugar.
I wedge myself between the back of the couch and Farrah’s side. There really isn’t space for all of us, but none of us wants to move.
We cuddle there for a minute, basking in the quiet of the evening together. If I’d known this is what it would feel like to have a full heart, I would’ve tried to find it sooner. At the same time, I don’t think anyone could make me feel whole the way Farrah does.
She’s healed something in Finn and me that I never knew needed to be healed. We were doing fine before she came into our lives, but with her here, we’re a whole lot better.
