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“Disgusting! Girl cooties!”
It made her heart happy to see him laughing, joking and having fun after the blow of losing his father so suddenly.
She put him down to give the others equal attention before she finally got to Nick, who gave her a quick kiss. “Where’s Scotty?”
“He got invited out for pizza with a friend after hockey practice.”
“Do we know this friend?”
“It’s Kyle from the team. Debra assures me the parents checked out. He’ll be home by eight.”
“I don’t like him having a life away from us.”
“I think we should prepare ourselves for more of that going forward.”
“Don’t wanna.”
Nick smiled and hooked an arm around her as he watched the kids run the length of the hallway and then back again, screaming their heads off as they chased after Ethan, who led the pack.
“What’s for dinner?” she asked.
“We’re doing make-your-own-pizza night,” Nick said. “Reginald set us up with all the fixings. An ice cream sundae bar is on tap for dessert.”
“I’m starting to really love it here.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.”
Avery and Shelby came down from the third floor to join them for dinner.
Sam hugged her friend. “You’re looking much better, Tinker Bell.”
“I feel better. It’s nice to be in this fortress where no one can get near us unless we want them to.”
“Whatever it takes to make you feel safe.”
“Feeling safe will be a work in progress.”
Avery put his arm around her. “We’ll get you there, darlin’.”
“Mama,” Noah said as he toddled over to Shelby. “Fun. Run.”
Shelby smiled as she bent to kiss her little boy. “So much fun, buddy.”
Noah ran off to see what Jack, Ethan and Alden were doing. He followed the other boys around like a little puppy, and they were so good with him.
“You guys should stay with us for as long as you want,” Nick said. “We’re very happy to have you here.”’
“We’re so glad to be here,” Shelby said as she leaned into Avery’s embrace.
Each of thekids made mini-pizzas, while the adults crafted larger ones to share along with a tossed salad. After dinner, they went up to the third-floor conservatory, where the ice cream bar had been set up.
“Oh my God,” Abby said, her eyes wide as she took it in. “This place is awesome.”
“It’s so much fun here,” Jack said with a note of authority that amused Sam. He’d recently stayed with them after his father died. “Wait until you see the bowling alley and the pool. Flot-SAM, can we swim?”
Sam giggled at the name. “Someone’s been hitting the Google.”
Jack’s grin touched her heart. “Duh.”
