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“Yeah, maybe next time.”
Alexa watched him go, on the cusp of eighteen, and still stuck in the prejudices their old clan leader had instilled into their brains before they had broken out of it. Maybe she could have a talk with the boy’s mother later, but for now….
Charlie stayed where he was, but the look he gave her was positively thunderous.
“Just because you’re my sister doesn’t mean you can fight my battles for me.”
She scoffed. “That wasn’t a battle. That was a petty argument between two boys whose tempers run loose. You shouldn’t have said anything.”
“What? And put up with his arrogance and ignorant comments?”
“There will always be arrogance in a clan like ours,” she pointed out. “And ignorant comments will be rampant. Remember when I had my fair share of them?”
Their eyes met, a quiet understanding passing between them. It got through to Charlie as his shoulders slumped, the fight leaving his body. She inwardly sighed in relief but refrained from soothing his shoulders, knowledge snapping that her younger brother would just act tough.
“Those were stupid, too, and shouldn’t have been tolerated,” he mumbled.
“Yes, well, those years have passed.” A pause. “We can talk about this incident in the mansion instead.”
“I’m on guard duty. I’m not going to bail just because he did.”
And there was the tough act. Pride sparked that he would stick to his duty. At the same time, she wished he would show her his vulnerable side and just talk to her. But that was Charlie for you: always pretending to be the bigger man so he could protect his older sister from harm, assuming he had to take on the fatherly role in their little family now that their parents were gone. In the year since he had turned nineteen, it had intensified.
“Archie will be waiting for that bedtime story.”
The mention of his nephew had him softening instantly.
“I will read him one in an hour,” he promised. “Add travel time if you are returning to the apartment.”
She smiled, nodded, and left him to his devices, confident that Vito wouldn’t return and the rest of the night would remain peaceful. A glance at the forest mansion’s clock showed that it was too late to return to the apartment, not when her brain was starting to feel fuzzy. It had been a long day. It had been an uneventful one, sure—minus the incident earlier—but between the multiple jobs and guard duties for the night, there hadn’t been much time to get off her feet.
“Mama.”
The small, sweet voice had a grin breaking out as she watched a tiny bear lumber its way towards her. Halfway through, the bear transformed into a boy, jumping into her outstretched arms and giggling when she nuzzled his belly. Archie Bennett’s eyes twinkled happily as his fingers grabbed her cheeks.
“Mama, you are late. I ate.”
“I know you did, honey, and I’m sorry for being late. But I will spend the rest of the night with you. How does that sound?”
Delight seeped in his expression. “I can tell you what I ate.”
“Oh, yes. Tell me all about what you ate.”
She placed him down with a kiss on the cheek, then went about having a quick shower and a change of clothes as Archie trailed after her the whole time. He climbed up a chair and wiped the steam from the cabinet mirror while she brushed her teeth. She stifled a laugh when he only managed to add more streaks to the mirror.
“And Uncle Angelo took me for a stroll in the area and introduced me to all the animals in the forest. I also spent some time with Grandma Lena.”
“And what did she teach you?”
“She taught me about boys and girls and how I should always pull-out chairs for them and bring them flowers. There’s no chair, mama.”
She blinked and looked down when he held a purple wildflower for her, face earnest. Alexa melted then and there, then picked him up again as she plucked the flower.
“You are going to be a heartbreaker, aren’t you?”
“What’s a heartbreaker?”
“Nothing. Come on. Tell me more in bed.”
