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Standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand the next morning, I watch Winter as she waits impatiently by the door for Kingston to get here. Five minutes ago, Tucker went downstairs to get him from Patty, and two minutes after he left, Winter knocked on the door like she knew he was about to be home.
It’s sweet how close the two of them have gotten over the last few months, but the closer they’ve gotten, the more fights we’ve had to break up between them.
“Aunt Miranda?”
“Yeah, honey?” I prompt as she walks toward me.
“Are you and Kingston going to live here, or are you going to live somewhere else, like Uncle Tucker did before?” she asks, and I place my cup of coffee down on the counter.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about that,” I say quietly.
The truth is, even though I know Tucker and I are real and that eventually we will have to have that conversation, it just hasn’t ever come up. Really, I haven’t even thought about it until right at this moment.
“I want you to live here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I smile.
“I’ll let Uncle Tucker know too,” she decides as the door opens.
“Let me know what?” Tucker asks, but Winter is so caught up in hugging Kingston that she doesn’t even pay any mind to her uncle. “What is she going to let me know?” he asks me, walking toward me, but right at that moment, Kingston runs past him and crashes into my legs.
“Hey, lovie.” I pick him up and squeeze him against my chest. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” He wraps his arms around my neck.
“Did you have fun with Grandma and Daddy?”
“Yes.” He smiles.
“Uncle Tucker,” Winter calls, and I look over at her. “I think you guys should live here.”
“What Bug?” he asks, and she rolls her eyes.
“I don’t want you to get another house. I want you to live here.”
“Oh.” He glances over at me, and I shrug, because honestly, I don’t know what to say in this moment.
“I want to wive here.” Kingston’s eyes widen like he just realized that’s an option. “Please! Can we wive here wif you?” He holds his hands together.
“Oh goodness,” I whisper as both kids start to beg.
“We’ll have to talk about it,” Tucker tells them softly.
“Why do you have to talk about it?” Winter questions, and Tucker looks at me.
“Because adults have to make those kinds of decisions together, and I don’t know if we are all ready to live together yet.”
“But you’re always together.” Winter looks between Tucker and me like we’re idiots.
“Well, yes. But… moving in together is a big deal.”
“Adults are so weird,” she mutters, and I press my lips together to keep from laughing. “Can Kingston come to my house? I want to show him a new game I got.”
“Sure, but only for an hour, okay?” That’s about the max they have before the bickering and fighting usually starts. Then they take a break and are all good again for another hour.
“Okay.” She smiles, and the two of them rush out the door.
“So where do you want to live?” Tucker asks, crowding me against the counter when the door closes behind them.
“I love this place,” I admit, and his face softens.
“So, you’d move in here?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, now, what’s the appropriate amount of time to be together before that happens?”
“I don’t know. A year?”
“That’s too long.”
“Eight months?”
“Too long.”
“When would you want us to move in?” I ask because it’s obvious this could keep going.
“When is your lease up?”
“In about six months or so.”
“Perfect,” he mutters, wrapping his hand around my throat. His head dips, and my lashes flutter closed, anticipating his kiss.
“We gotta go,” Miles voice cuts into the quiet moment, and my eyes spring open. Looking around Tucker’s shoulder, I see Miles in the doorway with his eyes on his brother. “We finally got the results. They’re a match.”
My stomach drops at this news, and Tucker’s body deflates, like all the pent-up frustration and anger he’s bottled up for weeks and weeks has poured right out of him. “Can you keep the kids?” Miles asks, looking at me.
“Of course,” I whisper, and he jerks up his chin.
“Meet you downstairs in ten,” he tells Tucker before disappearing.
“I gotta go.” Tucker turns back to me, and I lean up on my tiptoes, grabbing his face.
“Go get your guy.” I touch my mouth to his, then let him go. When he comes out of the bedroom a few minutes later, he’s dressed with his gun on his hip.
“Love you,” he says, stopping to kiss me. Then in the next instant, he’s gone, and the kids are walking through the door while I say a silent prayer that everything goes as planned.
CHAPTER FORTY
tucker
“Steven Green, you’re under arrest for the murder of Kristen Stable and the rape of Livy Peterson,” Miles states loudly, walking up to where Steven is sitting on stage as his uncle gives Sunday service.
