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“Yeah, wonder who I got that from,” Gray retorted.
“Anyway.” Mom shot him a dirty look. “Just…don’t make these rescue operations a habit, okay? Please? Or I will worry myself to death.”
“Did my mother turn you into a Catholic too?” Darius asked her.
Gray coughed to hide his laughter.
Meanwhile, Mom just looked proud. “She may have shared some pro-tips, and I will not hesitate to use them.”
Gray shook his head. “It’ll never be a habit, Mom. I swear. We have too much to come home to.”
“Good,” she replied firmly.
Part of him couldn’t believe how well that went. On the other hand, she’d probably find ways to bug him about the trip later. In private. Over several years to come.
Thirty-six hours later, Gray’s batteries were charging.
All was well in the world.
The sun was setting between the trees, the kids were wrestling into their pajamas in the tent, Darius was helping Cass into a new diaper, and Gray was preparing dinner by the fire.
They’d pitched their tent some twenty feet away from the hot springs on the mountainside, just off the beaten path, and they hadn’t seen a soul all day. In short, it’d been perfect.
Gray adjusted the grid atop the fire and turned the hot dogs over.
He grinned to himself, listening to the boys as they volleyed questions to Darius at a rapid pace.
“…so that’s why you can’t start a fire on a boulder,” he answered. “One runt comin’ your way, knucklehead.”
Gray glanced over his shoulder as Cassidy stumbled out of the tent and promptly knocked herself over. Christ, that little darling. This was why he’d placed a thick blanket right there. In fact, their entire camping ground was covered in blankets.
“Look at you, sweetie. You gonna help Daddy with the hot dogs?” He extended a hand to her but didn’t leave his spot by the fire.
It was so easy to just go pick her up, but it didn’t do her any favors to take those steps for her.
She grunted and pushed herself up. “I’m hungwy.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna eat soon as the boys are ready.” Gray patted the spot next to him. “Come here.” He abandoned the tongs and opened the summer sleeping bag they’d brought for her—and Justin. Justin liked to sneak in too.
Cass grinned and clutched Gray’s shoulder, and she stepped into the soft sleeping bag. The kids had quickly learned that wearing a jacket wasn’t as fun as sitting in a sleeping bag around the fire, so that had become their thing. Flannel pajamas and blankets and sleeping bags before the weather was warm enough. Sweats and hoodies for Gray and Dare.
“You’re cuter than words, you know that?” He smiled down at her.
She beamed and held out her arms wide. “Dis cute!”
“Exactly like that.” Gray chuckled and smoothed down her ever-present, light brown bed head. With a button nose and a set of beautiful pale blue eyes, she was on a course to be trouble for every protective family member.
She even had Gabriel and Gideon completely wrapped around her finger.
Who could blame them, though? Any of them. Cassidy was their miracle. A preemie miracle that the doctors hadn’t given good odds.
Gray would never forget the day she was brought to Adeline’s shelter.
The pandemic had revealed just how much abuse existed in society, so Adeline had called in all her volunteers to be able to handle the influx of residents. Lockdowns had forced children to stay at home with parents who had no business being near kids. Husbands had worked from home and taken out their frustrations on everyone around them. Addiction had spiked. Cases of domestic abuse had gone through the roof.
The first six months of Cassidy’s life had been chaos, starting with a premature birth and a heroin-addicted mother. An abusive son of a bitch for a sperm donor, who was thankfully going to spend the rest of his life behind bars now.
The mother was gone with the wind, having given up all her rights when her addiction had won. CPS had been involved from the very beginning since Cass had to spend her first month on this earth weaning off drugs.
It’d all culminated one night when Cass had been around six months old. The sperm donor had set their house on fire, killing two friends of the mother, and a firefighter had rescued Cass.
Their little girl may have been weakened. She may be small for her age. She may have the worst coordination skills on this planet. She may be developing a tad slower. But damn, she was a fighter.
She was a Quinn.
“Nooo, I wanna hear the thermos story!”
Gray threw a glance over his shoulder at the sound of Justin’s whine.
“We heard it last time,” Jayden argued. “I want the somewhere-else story.”
Well, hell. That was a heavy one.
“How about I tell you both stories?” Darius suggested the obvious.
“Yay!” Justin cheered.
