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“I don’t think that he’s crazy. He seemed pretty sane to me when he was here yesterday. I think he has another motive for showing up here, pretending to be Jack,” Slater admitted.
“Do you really think that he was pretending?” Rainey asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I think that he’s playing everyone. I can’t explain why—just a feeling, I guess.”
“Well, I think that you’re a good judge of character, Slater,” she whispered. “The question I still have is why he’d pretend to be my husband.”
“Maybe he feels that he has unfinished business. Or maybe, he was trying to get close to you and the kids for a reason. I’m just glad that you didn’t let him into the house while I was gone, Rain,” Slater said.
“I’d never do that,” she insisted. “He might have thought that telling me that he was Jack would have earned him my trust.”
Slater shrugged, “Probably,” he agreed. “But we’re not going to give him the chance to corner you again, honey. We’ll leave right after you talk to the kids’ principal tomorrow.”
“I’ll start packing now. When the kids get home, we’ll have to tell them something. I really don’t want to tell them that some guy was here pretending to be their dead father, you know?” she asked.
“How about we tell them that I got a new house and need some help fixing it up?” he asked. “It’s the partial truth. We can tell them that we thought a little family vacation would be fun.” He was beginning to think of them that way—as his little family, whether it was warranted or not.
“A family vacation?” she asked.
“Sure,” he said. “You guys are a family and we’re taking a trip.”
“Slater,” she whispered. “You do know that you’re a part of our family, right?”
“I’d like to think so,” Slater said. “I mean, you did tell me that you love me and all.”
“I do,” she said, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. “So, that has to make you family.”
“I love you too, honey,” Slater said. “Thank you.”
Rainey stood and kissed his cheek. “Well, I have a lot of packing to do. Will you keep an eye on Ella? She’s watching television, but I’m sure she’ll get antsy sooner than later.”
“No problem,” he agreed. “I’ll take her outside to play when she’s done watching TV.”
* * *
Slater was almost surprised at how easily everything seemed to work out. After Ella went down for a nap, he ran into the casino to tell Knox what was going on and that he’d be gone for a bit. He promised to oversee the security for both casinos while he was away since he could supervise everything remotely. Beck was there and of course, she insisted on getting daily updates from her sister. She was worried that she would give birth while Rainey was out of town, but Slater and Knox both knew that they couldn’t make promises that they might not be able to keep to either of the women. Rainey had insisted that she be brought back in time for her nephew to be born, and Slater hated having to nix her idea. He told Rainey that the only way he’d be able to bring her back home for the baby’s birth would be if they weren’t still in danger. She reluctantly agreed, but he could see the disappointment in her blue eyes.
Rainey made packing for four kids and two adults into an Olympic sport, and he was once again in awe of her capabilities of organizing their lives. She was taking everything changing so rapidly around them in stride, and he was damn proud of her. She had his truck and her car both packed, even though he insisted that they only needed to take one vehicle. Rainey told him that was ridiculous and this way, Jack could ride with him to the cabin, and they could talk about the renovations that they wanted to do. He knew that she was using this trip as a bonding opportunity for him and the kids, and he appreciated that.
The last hurdle, besides telling the kids, was for her to talk to the principal down at their school. Rainey decided that waiting until tomorrow was the best idea. She told Slater that she’d go in early in the morning when their principal was fresh and ready to greet a brand-new day. She said that by the end of the day, most of the teachers and staff down at the school had enough and were ready to go home as soon as the kids left. She didn’t want to try her luck by showing up at the end of the day.
Rainey made the kids a snack while she waited for them to come running home from the bus stop. He loved this time of day when the kids got home from school. It reminded him of when Derrick was just a kid. His son would come home from school and enthusiastically tell him about his day, and it always made him smile. He just wished that he had one-eighth the energy that the kids had, especially after a long day at school.
Slater looked out the window and smiled at the three of them walking down the sidewalk. “They’re home,” he said. He took the plate of cheese and fruit that he made for them and followed her to the family room. “I’ll grab the juice boxes and be right back,” he offered.
“Thanks, Slater,” she said. “I’ll get them settled and then we can sit down and tell them about the trip.” The kids came barreling through the front door, going on about their day, dropping their backpacks in the mudroom on their way to search for their mom.
“In the family room,” she shouted as they called for her.
Jack walked into the room and looked around. “Why are we having our snack in here?” he asked. “Did we do something wrong?”
“No,” Rainey said. Slater walked into the room and handed them each a juice box. “Why would you think that?”
“Because you never let us eat in here,” Jack said. “We usually have our snack in the kitchen.”
“Right, well, we have something to talk to you three about and I wanted us all to be comfortable,” Rainey said. Jack sat down and helped himself to some apple slices, waiting his mother out.
“You sure we’re not in trouble?” Sarah asked.
