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Michael nodded. “But you didn’t… because we’re here.”
“That’s part of it, but I didn’t need to hurt Joe to make my point. He’s a coward at heart. I could see that.”
“He kinda scared me,” Chris said, wrapping an arm around his sister who for once didn’t cry. Charlotte stood beside her brother, her sweet blue eyes full of fear.
“But not me.” Lucas moved around and sat on the sofa. “As long as I’m here, I’ll protect you. That’s why your mother asked me to come.”
“So why did she send DeeAnn then?” Michael asked, still crouched by the fireplace.
“I needed to go home so your mother tried to come up with a replacement.”
“You don’t need to go home anymore?” Michael asked.
Lucas didn’t want to lie to them. Hell, their mother was already keeping secrets from them. “Not more than I need to take care of you. I miss my horse Cisco, and I miss the miles and miles of pasture, but I’m coping in the clutter.”
“So how long you staying with us?” Chris narrowed his eyes, the normal confused look back again.
“Until your mother and father come home.”
“And when is that?” Michael asked.
“I don’t know.” Lucas spread his hands toward Charlotte. “You okay, Miss Charlotte?”
The little girl didn’t say anything. Just moved toward him, arms raised. He scooped her up, and she laid her head on his shoulder, clutching him tightly. This time there wasn’t a ping around his heart so much as it was a swelling with something he’d rarely felt. He rubbed the child’s back and looked at the two boys. “I’m tired of eating take-out pizza, and I’m not in the mood for leftovers. Wanna go out for dinner?”
They both nodded.
Charlotte lifted her head. “Can we go to Chuck E. Cheese?”
Michael and Chris glanced at one another, some unspoken message transmitted between them.
“What’s Chucky Cheese, guys?” Lucas asked.
“It’s a pizza place,” Chris said.
“I’m kind of tired of pizza,” Lucas said, setting Charlotte down between his knees and inspecting her face again. Who knew lipstick soaked in the skin like that? “How about tacos?”
“I wanna go to Chuck E. Cheese. I wanna ride the horsie.”
Lucas sighed. “Okay. Fine. We’ll do homework when we get back.”
“Yay!” Chris yelled, pumping his fist into the air.
Michael gave Lucas an indecipherable look. “You might want to see if Addy wants to go with us… or maybe grab a flask of whiskey or something.”
Lucas stood, warming at the thought of inviting Addy. He almost liked the kid for suggesting it. Okay, he liked the kid anyway in spite of his bad attitude. “Whiskey? Why would I need whiskey?”
Michael grinned. “Dude, have you ever been to Chuck E. Cheese?”
Lucas slowly shook his head.
Michael’s response was laughter… evil laughter.
And Lucas knew he’d been had.
Addy stepped onto the porch, glad for the night air cooling her heated cheeks. She hadn’t seen Lucas since the night before and still felt weird about what had gone down in the kitchen. But here he was on her back porch… much earlier than midnight. In fact, it was barely eight o’clock. Post Chuck E Cheese. Poor man, maybe she should have shrugged off her Survivors of Violence meeting. No, she needed them after the threats last week. Talking through her fears always centered her.
“Jeez, why didn’t you tell me?” Lucas said before she could even say good evening.
