Page 19 of Keeping Penny

She’d apparently lived in abject poverty, was honoring a debt that wasn’t her own, yet had done everything in her power to make sure her daughter was as safe and comfortable as she could make her.

The sacrifices she’d made were admirable. Something every mother should do for her children. But he knew better than most, because of his experience in so many different countries—and his own childhood—that simply wasn’t reality.

“Kylo-Pyro, are you done eating? Because I want to share my chocolate bar with you.”

“It’s not polite to rush someone to finish their meal, sweetheart,” Penny lightly scolded.

“How else am I supposed to know if he’s done or not?” Bowie asked with an adorable tilt of her head. “I can’t see him, so I have to ask.”

She wasn’t wrong, and Pyro didn’t bother to hide his smirk. His friends chuckled around the table.

Penny’s own lips moved upward in a smile. “Fair point, Bowie, but just because you’re dying to eat that chocolate doesn’t mean the person you want to share it with is.”

“Actually, I am done,” Pyro said, taking pity on both Penny and Bowie. “I’ve been thinking about that candy bar ever since you mentioned it.”

Bowie beamed. “Yay! Mommy, can we have it now? Please?”

“Thank you for using your manners, and yes, you may have it.” She unzipped the cross-body purse Pyro hadn’t seen her without since they’d met and took out the chocolate bar. Then she took Bowie’s hand in hers and placed the candy in it.

Bowie eagerly tore open the package, carefully taking out half of the Twix bar and holding it out to Pyro, who was on her left.

“Oh man, I love Twix! It’s the perfect mixture of chocolate to cookie to caramel,” Chaos said.

As soon as his friend spoke, Pyro knew what was coming. He scowled at Chaos, even as Bowie spoke.

“Oh, you do? Here, you can have my half. I ate a whole one all by myself yesterday.”

Chaos looked shocked at the little girl’s offer. He didn’t move to take the candy Bowie was holding out to him from across the table.

Pyro made a mental note not to say anything in the future that could influence Bowie to give up something she loved so much.

“I…no, I didn’t mean I wanted yours.”

“It’s okay,” Bowie said with a smile.

Chaos looked stricken. As if someone had punched him. He still made no move to take the candy, instead looking to Penny for help in turning down Bowie’s incredibly unselfish and generous offer. Especially since the little girl had obviously been looking forward to having the treat so much.

“He wasn’t hinting that he wanted you to give up your half, honey,” Penny told her daughter. “He was just making an observation.”

“I know. But I could hear in his voice that he wanted it,” she insisted.

“You’re sweet,” Chaos told her gently. “But I’m not going to be satisfied with only half, so when we leave here, I’ll go to the commissary to get my own candy bar. That way, I can be selfish and eat the whole thing by myself.”

Bowie giggled.

“You go ahead and enjoy that Twix, sweet girl,” Chaos said.

To everyone’s relief, Bowie did just that, taking a big bite of the candy and humming in pleasure.

Pyro looked down at his own half of the chocolate bar and felt about as horrible as Chaos had looked. He wanted Bowie to have it. It was obvious she didn’t get to have such simple pleasures all that often.

He felt pressure on his knee and looked down to see Penny’s hand on him. He met her eyes, and she gave him a small smile and a nod. “It’s okay,” she said softly.

“What’s okay?” Bowie asked.

Penny shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Nothing, baby. How’s the Twix?”

“Amazing! Yummy. Delicious! Chaos is right, it’s the perfect blend of cookie, chocolate, and caramel.”