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“What’re you doing here, Silas?” Morgan stopped cold, halfway to the kitchen. Her eyes went wide. “Are those yourunderwear? And, Mom, why are you wearing your robe?”
Behind the girls, Kyra and Aiden shared a panicked look. “We’re so, so sorry,” Kyra called. “I know we weren’t supposed to be home until this afternoon but Willow got a bad stomachache before dawn and nothing worked to calm her down. She wanted you, Tess.”
“We left you messages,” Aiden added, avoiding Silas’s gaze altogether.
Yeah, his friend was surely going to try to kick his ass later.
Morgan posted her hands on her hips and glared at Silas. “Did you spend the night here with my mom? Is that why we had to go away to Jackson? So you could be alone?”
He didn’t know what to do. What to say. He couldn’t do or say anything in his underwear. So, he bolted, down the hallway and into the bedroom where he found the rest of his clothes.
“Calm down,” Tess was saying when he made it back to the kitchen. “This is good, actually. I’m glad you’re here. I was going to talk to you anyway. Silas and I have been spending some extra time together lately and—”
“You’re dating him?” the girl shrieked. “You can’t date! He was my dad’s best friend!”
Silas flinched at the hostility in her tone. He quickly turned back to the stovetop, bracing both hands against the counter.
“How could you do this to me?” Morgan wailed.
He didn’t have an answer for her. Yes, how could he have done this to any of them? To Tess, to Morgan, to Willow? They shouldn’t have found out like this. He shouldn’t have put them in this position. Jace never would’ve done something like this. His friend had been wise and careful and self-controlled.
“I hate you!” Morgan yelled. “You’ll never be my dad, do you hear me? Never!” Judging from the sound of pounding footsteps, she took off running down the hall.
“Wait.” Tess must’ve gone after her, but he couldn’t turn around. He couldn’t look. He couldn’t face Morgan and Willow.
“We should probably get going,” Kyra said awkwardly from the other side of the room.
That got him to turn around. “Don’t go. Please don’t go,” Silas begged. He had no idea what to say to these girls right now. Aiden knew. He was their uncle. And Kyra… she was their favorite aunt. They would know what to say, how to help.
Kyra looked at Aiden and they both sat gingerly on the couch.
Willow walked into the kitchen, dragging along a scraggly teddy bear, and looked up at him with those big blue eyes. “Did you have a sleepover with my mommy and now you’re gonna be my daddy?”
“Uh. Um. We. Well…” He swallowed the rest of the fumbling explanation and changed the subject. “Do you want some pancakes?”
“Sure.” The girl grinned and went to sit down at the kitchen table. “I’m hungry now that my tummy feels better.”
“Good.”Whew.“Great!” He scraped the burnt batch that he’d forgotten all about off the griddle and quickly poured more batter, watching the circles rise and bubble before flipping them. When they were perfectly browned, he plated two. “Want some syrup?” he asked, bringing them to the table.
Willow scrunched up her nose. “I don’t like syrup.”
“Right.” He probably should’ve known that. “You two want pancakes?” he called to Aiden and Kyra, who were having a quiet discussion on the couch.
“No thanks,” they said in unison.
“Why is Morgan so mad?” Willow asked, cutting the pancakes with the edge of her fork.
“I guess she doesn’t like that I’m here.” He looked to Kyra for some backup.
“I think Morgan is feeling extra tired from our late night.” The woman stood and joined them at the table, calming Silas with her warm smile. “She didn’t fall asleep during the ballet like someone else did.” Kyra winked at Willow.
“It was kind of boring,” the girl whispered to him. She took a bite of the pancakes and made a face. “Ew.These aregross.”
Gross? Silas inspected the pancake on her plate. They looked good to him. In fact, they seemed extra fluffy.
Kyra knelt next to the girl. “Willow, that’s not very nice.”
“Well, they are. They’re too chewy.” She pushed the plate away. “I don’t like them. My daddy mademuchbetter pancakes.”
