Page 69 of Jay Bird

Dinner was even better than it smelled. Jay Bird cut Lily’s chicken into small pieces while Willow added mashed potatoes and a few green beans to her plate.

Lily immediately attacked the potatoes. “Mmm!”

Jay Bird laughed. “Good?”

“More.”

“You’ve still got half the plate, peanut.”

Lily pointed accusingly at the green beans. “No.”

Willow hid a smile. “She isn’t a fan.”

“I can see that.”

Jay Bird picked up one green bean and held it out for Lily. “Try it.”

Lily shook her head violently. “No green.”

“It’s food.”

“No.”

“One bite.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and Jay Bird narrowed his eyes at her.

Willow watched the standoff with amusement.

Finally, Lily opened her mouth, and Jay Bird carefully gave her the smallest piece.

She chewed, though she looked like she was ready to spit it out any second. Then finally she swallowed.

Jay Bird grinned. “See? Good.”

Lily immediately shoved mashed potatoes into her mouth as if she needed to erase the experience.

Willow laughed. “I can’t believe you got her to eat that.”

“SEAL training.”

“I’m pretty sure toddler negotiations aren’t part of BUD/S training.”

Once everyone settled into eating, Jay Bird looked toward Willow.

“That envelope on the counter is from Tink. It has your ID and some documents for Lily.”

“Really? That was fast.”

Jay Bird smirked. “What can I say. That’s Tink for you.”

He then shifted to another topic. “So what did you and Mia figure out today?”

Her expression sobered, and she told him about the conversation with Mia, explaining what she had discovered about Dr. Walters and Demetri.

Jay Bird remembered that whole mess with Mia. But when Willow mentioned hearing Chen say Demetri had sent her to him, Jay Bird’s appetite disappeared almost entirely.

“So this Dr. Walters knew you were onto him,” he said.