“I come over any more, I’ll be living there.”

This was met with silence.

I figured this was partly because Mike was harking back to the fact that since we got home from Texas, this was true. Unless Rees was at the farm and I had to chaperone, I was at his house (with Fin). In fact, the schedule normally was that Rees came over to study with Fin after school then when Mike came home, we all went to his place to eat dinner and hang.

I also figured the silence was due to the fact that I was currently scoping out apartments. I shared liberally my apartment hunting in The ‘Burg stories with Mike, a pastime I had no idea would be so fruitless and annoying. These stories never failed to put him in a bad mood not because they were fruitless and annoying to me. No, it was because he loved me and I loved him. It was because he loved to spend time with me and he knew I loved spending time with him. It was because he knew I was having a time of it with all the crap swirling around me and he liked to be close to make sure I was okay and if I wasn’t, to make me okay. It was because he loved to have sex with me and knew I loved ha**ng s*x with him. And it was because we liked sleeping in each other’s arms.

If he had no kids, I had no doubt the offer to move in would have been extended.

Since he did, and Mike was the kind of Dad Mike was, this was not going to happen for a while.

Which he clearly found a tad bit more than annoying.

Mike ended the silence with, “You want me to come over?”

“I’m good, honey,” I said softly.

This was again met with silence and this silence surprised me.

When it stretched, I called into it, “Mike?”

“Jesus, f**k you’re right next f**kin’ door.”

Right. Mike didn’t shy away from cussing but he sprinkled his curse words abundantly when he was seriously pissed. And he was pissed because I told him I’d been crying and he was too far away to do anything about it even though he was right next door.

“Honey, I’m good. Promise,” I whispered.

“Like to see that for myself, Dusty,” Mike replied.

Seriously, no kidding, I loved this man.

“Okay, then, give it half an hour. Fin gets back, I’ll head out,” I gave in.

“Why half an hour?”

“Um…” Shit! “Just wanna see if Kirb has got his homework done and is settling in for the night.”

Silence then, “Bullshit.”

I pressed my lips together.

More silence then, “Half an hour, Angel.”

He was such a good Dad.

“Half an hour, babe.”

There was even more silence then, “Wanna be face-to-face for this but can’t wait ‘cause, you cryin’, I gotta know. If you say yes, I’m not waitin’ half an hour. Fin can have the back gate, I’ll drive over.”

There it was. Mike knew the back gate ploy. Though, he was a guy. I wasn’t surprised.

Mike kept talking. “Today, did Denny come up for you?”

I drew in breath.

Then I said carefully, “Maybe a little.”

“Shit, I’m comin’ over.”

“Mike,” I said hurriedly. “Only a little. I’m okay.”

“You went somewhere today, sweetheart. I saw it. I’ve given you time. Time’s up.”

“I’ll be over in a half an hour.”

“Dusty –”

“Mike, honey, I’ll be fine and you can make it all okay in half an hour.”

Again I got silence.

Then he announced strangely, “Givin’ it two more weeks.”

“Giving what two more weeks?” I asked.

“Until I have a talk with the kids about them understanding Dad having Dusty for sleepovers.”

My stomach curled and it felt nice.

“You in?” he prompted.

“If they are,” I answered.

“They will be,” he muttered.

I grinned.

“Is now a time I’m allowed to go shopping for bribes for your kids?” I asked.

“No,” he answered and I chuckled.

“Right,” I murmured through my soft laughter.

“Half an hour, Dusty,” he ordered and my smile stayed in place.

“Half an hour, gorgeous.”

“Later.”

“’Bye.”

I touched the screen on my phone. Then smiled at the ceiling.

Then I heard my mother shout, “Kirby, honey, do you have your homework done?”

To which came an exasperated, “Yeah, Gram!”

Now Kirby had Fin, me and his grandmother asking every night if his homework done.

Obviously, from his tone, he was over it.

And I thought that was funny.

So I burst out laughing.

Chapter Seventeen

Stealth Kisses

Mike stood leaning against the kitchen counter with his mug of coffee in his hand staring at his kids at the table, No eating breakfast, Rees’s hands moving on her phone and he was wondering how the f**k to say what he had to say.

Shit.

It had been two weeks since Fin’s fight. Two very long weeks.

He had to say it.

Shit.

“Kids, gotta have a word before you get to school,” he announced and No kept shoveling cereal in his face though he did spare Mike a glance before his eyes went back to his cereal.

Reesee had her head bent to her cell, texting Fin no doubt, and she muttered, “Yeah Dad?”

He opened his mouth.

Then he closed it.

Shit.

Fuck it.

“Tomorrow night, you’re goin’ to your Mom’s house. As you know, Dusty and I are adults. What you don’t know is that when you’re at your Mom’s, Dusty stays here with me. But this time, when you get back, Sunday night she’ll be spending the night. And from here on in, we’ll see, but a couple of nights a week she’ll be sleeping over.”

No shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth and to his bowl garbled, “She should just move in.”

Mike blinked and he did it slow.

Reesee’s phone binged in her hand and she mumbled, “Yeah, totally.”

No gave Mike his eyes and he informed him of something Mike already knew. “There’s like, a trillion people livin’ in that house and one bathroom.”

Rees looked at her brother. “They have a half bath downstairs,” she corrected.

No looked at his sister. “Yeah, but you can’t shower in a half bath. It would suck huge havin’ to share a shower with, like, a trillion people.”

“Totally,” Rees muttered, her eyes dropping back to her phone, her thumbs flying over the keypad, her ability to multitask coming apparent when she kept talking. “Fin’s like, totally over sharing his room with Kirby. Totally. He hates it.”