Page 91 of Fractured Empire

Leo looks up at me, his innocent blue eyes shining. “He died like my mama?”

“Yes, sweet boy,” I reply, throat going thick with emotion. “He wasn’t sick, there was an accident, but he died just the same.”

Calling what happened an accident doesn’t churn my stomach as bad as it might have before. If I’m being honest with myself, I think it would be obvious to know why. I would never blame Leo or Bastian for doing what I did that night, even if it led to tragedy. The guilt I carry has always been misplaced if you ask my mother, but digesting your father’s death and the role you may have played in it isn’t something that children are capable of. And once you’ve decided you’re at fault, the blame doesn’t wash away easily.

“And your mama marry Line-us like you marry Daddy?”

“That’s right,” I agree with what I hope is a reassuring smile. “Our families are very similar, isn’t that nice? We can understand each other better this way, I think.”

“Nice,” Leo echoes, hugging my leg gently. “Breakfast time?”

Looking down at the stove, I realize that the oatmeal is ready to be taken off the heat and breathe out a sigh, glad that I continued to absentmindedly stir it while talking to Leo.

“Yeah, buddy,” I agree, shutting the burner off and lifting up the pot to move it away. “It’s going to be warm but I’ll plate it up and get you both some apple slices to eat while it cools, okay?”

“Good idea,” he approves, spinning on his feet to go back to sitting with Bastian.

I have to chuckle to myself, seeing how quickly he switches from a somber sympathy for me and my loss to a boy who’s ready to eat in good spirits. And thankfully for all of us, breakfast goes over perfectly smoothly with no more mentions of death or difficult topics.

When I send them upstairs to wash up and get changed, I clean up the kitchen quickly before pulling out my phone to call Leon and ask him how long he’ll be without the kids present to listen in. If he has to stay late, I’d rather be able to frame it in a way that doesn’t immediately disappoint them.

Before I can get my phone out and pull up his contact, the sound of the front door catches my ears. A sound that pulls Bastian and Leo to the scene before I can even leave the kitchen, judging by the sound of two excited squeals. The volume of their voices and the abnormal length of their shrieks has me rushing to the front room just in case someone else has come into the house.

I quickly realize that it’s not someone else who’s come along with Leon, but something else.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Daddy!” Leo chants, bouncing up and down as he looks up at his father. Beside him, Bastian is buzzing with excitement like I’ve never seen before, and it’s easy to see why.

My husband, dashing and handsome as always, is standing in our entryway holding a bundle of golden fur. A tiny golden retriever puppy is squirming in his arms, the tiny tale attached to its body wagging at lightning speed. He or she is feeding off the excitement of our boys, clearly thrilled to be in the same vicinity as little humans who are dying to meet it.

“He’s ours?” Bastian asks, voice dripping in wonder as he steps closer. He cranes his neck trying to get a better look at the puppy, lifting up on his tippy toes for added height.

“She is,” Leon replies, correcting Bastian’s assumption as he does. Crouching down, he keeps the puppy steady while allowing the boys to come closer and pet her little head. “She’s still very young, only three months old, so we’re going to have to be very gentle and patient with her, okay? We have to take very good care of her since she’s a member of the family now.”

Looking up at me, my husband catches my gaze and searches like he’s crossing his fingers not to find me upset with him. All he receives is a blinding smile and teary eyes. We talked about a puppy before, and how we might need to wait until things have settled down before considering a pet, but ultimately I left the decision up to him. He knows his kids better than I do as of right now, and he’d know if having an animal in the house would help or hinder them. It seems he decided it would help after all. He’d never come home with one otherwise.

“Yes, yes,” Leo agrees, bobbing his head and reaching out to touch her ear with the gentlest caress. “We take such good care of you, puppy.”

“Does she have a name?” Bastian asks, giggling as the golden retriever pup licks and nibbles at his hand.

“Not yet,” his father replies, looking between his sons. “You two will have to come up with one together and agree without fighting, hmm? If you bicker about it, Katya is going to pick.”

“We no fight!” Leo declares with a determined look drawing his pale eyebrows in. “What we name her, Bastian?”

Contemplating how to answer, he shrugs his little shoulders. “She looks like a princess.”

“I think Spaghetti,” Leo suggests with a goofy grin.

To their credit, neither Bastian nor Leon laugh at his silly suggestion.

I, for one, think it’s adorable.

“Princess Spaghetti sounds like a lovely name,” I chime in, alerting the boys to the fact that I’m in the room.

Leo spins around and claps when he sees me. “Kat, you see what Daddy bringed us?”

“Did you know?” Bastian asks quickly, sneaking his question in before I can answer his brother.

“I didn’t know,” I reply honestly, joining them in getting a closer look at the precious puppy. “Your daddy is surprising all of us today. He’s sneaky like that, isn’t he?”