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Glaring at him, I cross my arms over my chest and huff. “That’s dirty pool, Richard.”
A sly grin tugs at his firm mouth and those gorgeous eyes of his sparkle, the lines around his eyes crinkling up. “But effective, right?”
“Right.”
I guess we have no place else to go anyway. I can’t drag the kids into a motel.
“But as soon as we find someplace, we’re out of there.”
“Absolutely. You’ll see. This is for the best.”
Dragging in a shaky breath at the thought of being surrounded by all of Richard’s things, I growl and lie back down, closing my eyes. Maybe if I go to sleep again I’ll find out that this whole mess is a dream.
Or nightmare. Ugh!
CHAPTER6
Richard
Jessica’s mouth drops open and her eyes drift here and there, completely shocked.
“You think you’ll be able to stay here? Is there anything you might need?”
Her wide blue eyes turn to me and she groans. “What else could we possibly need? This place is huge.”
I shrug. “It’s not huge. It’s a good-sized house for a family.”
“Most of the houses I stayed at when I was a kid weren’t even half this size,” I mutter under my breath.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but sometimes the foster system isn’t really doing the best work for the kids that it can. I think that you might have fallen through some of those cracks in the system.”
I lead her out of the foyer and into the big open space that serves as living, dining and kitchen. “This is the great room. Off to your right is the kitchen and then the left has your living room. There’s a small dining room in between the two spaces.”
“Yes, thank you. I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to be entertaining but it’s nice to know that I could if I wanted to,” she wryly answers me.
“That’s not what I’m doing and you know it. I’m just giving you a tour of the house.”
“It’s a big house. We don’t need anything this big. I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not.”
“Too late. No take backsies.”
Her head cocks to the side and the blond curls slide over her shoulder, glowing in the soft light of the day. “What are you, two?” she asks me, but the smirk on her face tells me she’s just teasing me.
“Nope!” I pop the p and smile when she laughs at me. “But seriously. If you can think of anything else you need…just let me know.”
“Not right now. But I do need to call the school and tell them I won’t be back to work today. I ran home to pick up a roll of packing tape that we’re going to use for a project with the kids and I forgot it. That’s why I was at the apartment when the fire started.”
“After I make that call, I need to go to the store and pick up some new stuff for the kids because all of their stuff is covered with soot and water.”
“Oh no. Well, I tell you what. I’ll take you and we’ll pick out some things together for Miracle and Gavin.”
Her mouth opens to protest and I lean over and kiss her lips lightly, softly. Just enough to stop the words that I know are coming. I tap a finger on her nose and smile at her when her eyes lift slowly and she stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Don’t argue. Just make your calls and then we’ll go. You’re not changing my mind.”
“Really, Richard,” she mutters under her breath.
“Really, Jess,” I smirk back at her. I’m going to run back to the firehouse and then I’ll be back in half an hour. Think you can be ready?”
She nods her head, arms crossed, puffed up like an angry little kitten.
