Page 120 of Fractured Empire

“We forgot our suitcases,” I realize, pointing it out while we ascend the small staircase to the entrance. I was so excited to come inside and look around that I didn’t even think about getting our bags out of the trunk.

“No, we didn’t.” Leon chuckles. “I’m going to get you three settled in and then I’m going to bring everything inside.”

Of course he is, I swoon.

“Daddy is so sweet to us, isn’t he?” I sigh happily.

“Yep,” Leo agrees, tucking his head and laying it against Leon’s shoulder. “Best Daddy.”

Bastian nods, and I smile when Leon sees it.

True to his word, Leon gets us settled in quickly. He helps the boys kick off their boots and coats while I do the same for myself. He keeps Princess Spaghetti’s leash on, informing me that he’ll take her to the bathroom when he goes back outside, but first, the tour.

It becomes quickly evident that Leo has very little memory of the cabin, and since he only came here once when he was three years old, I’m not surprised. It’s kind of sweet though, seeing him gasp and look around the space with such wonder as Bastian and Leon show us around.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom “cabin” is immaculately laid out. It’s not an overly open-concept modern kind of build, but one with cozy rooms that blend into one another when their pocket doors are pulled open. The living room is the largest space with a massive leather couch parallel to a large wood-burning fireplace. The brick is well maintained and so are the wood floors beneath it.

The kitchen is smaller than ours back home, but not cramped, with plenty of space to cook. Dark finish cabinets balance with the floors and the lighter countertops. Nothing is too cheesy cabin aesthetic, but I don’t even think I would mind if it was. There’s something so incredibly welcoming about this space, and the boys seem to feel it too.

They opt to share one of the bigger bedrooms, insisting that Princess Spaghetti’s travel bed is placed in between the queen-sized beds they’ll be sleeping in. Leon and I will take the main suite of course, where the second fireplace lives. I briefly wonder how it would feel to lie on the floor next to it while Leon fucks me into the floorboards before remembering that I need to be in Mommy mode right now, not horny pregnant woman mode.

Once the tour is over, I take both of my boys’ hands and lead them back into the kitchen while Leon heads outside with our dog. “Why don’t we make some hot cocoa? I bet we can make it before Daddy comes back inside, and then we can all drink it together?”

“With marshmallows?” Bastian asks shyly.

“Of course with marshmallows,” I confirm, opening up the small pantry door. “Daddy made sure to order groceries for us so everything would be ready when we came. We have everything we need for the best hot chocolate. Do you two want to pick out a mug for everyone?”

“Even Princess Spaghetti?” Leo asks sweetly, eyes widening with delight.

“Not for this,” I reply, letting him down easy. He only wants everyone to be included, to bring them in on something he finds joy in. “Chocolate isn’t good for doggies, remember? We can give her little bits of steak from dinner later tonight, though. I bet she’ll love that.”

Satisfied by the compromise, he dips his head, blonde curls bouncing in agreement. “Steak her favorite.“

It sure is. I think that’s half the reason she’s grown so fast. Bastian and Leo always insist that when we’re cooking steak or chicken, we make a little seasoning-free piece to give to Princess. She’s so adored by them, and honestly, I’ve come to really enjoy having a pet. I worried the extra responsibility might be a little too much to handle, but with the guards pitching in at night, and Leon helping the boys with most of her bathroom trips and feedings, cuddling has been my main source of caretaking where our pup is concerned.

Using a pot to heat milk up on the stove, I melt more chocolate than necessary into it, blending up the perfect warm drink. And although I don’t beat Leon by finishing before he comes inside with the luggage, that turns out to be a good thing. My husband takes over the responsibility of filling our mugs, scooping up the sweet-smelling drink with a metal ladle and plopping in as many marshmallows as he can fit into each cup.

“Does the baby like hot choc-co-late, Mommy?” Leo asks, tilting his head up at me while he waits to be given his drink. He picked a snowman wearing a blue scarf ceramic mug and Bastian chose a brown gingerbread man one. Leon and I were assigned matching mugs, both of ours covered in snowflakes and pine trees.

“The baby loves chocolate.” I grin, wiggling my eyebrows to make a silly face that gets a giggle out of him. “I think the baby is going to be very happy with our creation. You boys helped me pour the milk, didn’t you? That means you made it just as much as I did. My sweet little helpers.”

Leo puffs up with pride while Bastian wears a soft smile.

Soon enough, our drinks have cooled enough not to burn their little mouths, and we’re all wearing matching marshmallow mustaches. The kids find it especially funny on me, so I make sure not to lick it away too quickly. They’re so easily pleased by the little things in life, and I have to remind myself to savor moments like this.

My mom always complained that I grew up too quickly, and I’m afraid I’m going to wake up one day and it’ll be ten years in the future. Bastian will be an almost sixteen-year-old piano pro, and Leo will be getting into all sorts of mischief, figuring out who he wants to be.

And they’ll be closer to being made men, my treacherous brain reminds me.

The idea of them handling a gun or even a knife makes me feel like I’m going to fall out of my chair. Which is why I refuse not to live in the moment. I’m going to make the most of their childhoods for as long as I can. I can only hope that when they eventually do grow up, they look back on days like today fondly.

Once the hot cocoa has disappeared, I give my husband a wicked look, nodding to the snowy view through the kitchen window. He raises his eyebrows in question, and I answer by asking a question to the whole room.

“Who wants to go play in the snow?”

“Me, me, me!”

Leo, of course.