“Are you crying?”
She wrapped her arms around my neck so tight I started to choke. “You are so getting laid tonight,” she whispered just as Ben came downstairs and demanded eggs.
“Well, that’s a way to train me,” I said back.
She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “Atta boy.”
I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back. “Oh, I’m sorry, did you think we were done here?”
She shrieked as I took her mouth, then noticed Ben roll his eyes again and mutter, “Gross” as he ran to the fridge and attempted to grab some eggs for her to fry. “Oh!” Eggs forgotten momentarily, Ben raised his hand like he was in class. “I got a hundred on my spelling test. Can I get ice cream this afternoon?”
“A hundred!” we both said at once. Even though he was great at spelling, he’d been struggling a bit with the double-vowel words, and we’d been practicing with him each night.
“Yup!” He ran for his Avengers backpack and pulled out a white sheet that had six spelling words on it and showed it to us. It had a “Good Job” sticker on it and the number one hundred written in bright-blue marker.
I held up my hand. “High five, buddy!”
He hit my hand, then Colby’s.
“Tell you what.” Colby bent down to his eye level. “Why don’t I let Viera stay with Mrs. Harris for an hour, and I’ll pick you up from school and we can go to Scream!”
His eyes grew as big as saucers. “But that’s like super-giant ice cream cones ice cream!”
“And that’s a big giant one hundred,” Colby said. “So what do you think?”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, I’m amazing!” He danced around us for a bit and then announced that he had to pee.
“Well, that was short lived,” I said. “You sure you don’t mind taking him?”
“Hey, I get ice cream too.” Colby laughed. “I’ve got this, just go to work, change the world one tax deduction at a time.”
“I really should wear a cape,” I teased.
“Pretty sure the kids already think you have one, Uncle Rip,” she said softly, bringing tears to my eyes, making it so I had to look away.
“Be safe, Rip.” Her smile was full of joy, trust. I wanted nothing more than to come home to this every day. Damn it, I needed to figure out a way to take a sabbatical so we could finally heal, take the time and do it together.
As a family.
“You too,” I choked out, and then I left, hating every step that took me further away from my future.
“I’m sorry,” I said for what felt like the eleventh time. “I’m just not interested, Sam. I know you do amazing work, but I’m happy. I have a family that needs me, and if I started working for you and sold my firm, I’d be so busy I wouldn’t get to see them.”
Heather’s smile was so fake I had to turn away so her father couldn’t read the look on my face. The fact that she’d set this up behind my back pissed me the hell off. It put me in a rough spot with one of the most influential men in our city, one who wouldn’t be beyond warning his friends away from giving me business in the future. And since Heather had never shared with him that she’d been the one to set up the meeting, not me, I looked like a flake for turning down his offer.
“I guess I just don’t understand.” He leaned back in the leather chair. “Heather said you were genuinely excited. What changed your mind?”
Heather gave me a blank look, because of course she did.
“Sir, with all due respect, I think we both had a miscommunication. I’m extremely thankful for the offer. And would love to take it if I had more time, but right now I have things that are more important. I have a family to care for, kids who need attention, and while I’m sure Heather had the best of intentions setting up this meeting, I’m happy where I’m at. This isn’t temporary.” I paused to let Sam speak, but he was just looking at me in stony silence. “This lifestyle I have now, it’s forever. My family needs me. And I need them.” At that he nodded. “I am sorry that Heather is stepping away, she’s been great.” And she had been, but I wasn’t sad to see her go.
Sam shot Heather a look that was less than pleased, and she looked down in her lap. “Son, I respect your decision, thanks for shooting straight, that’s good business. If you ever change your mind, know I’ll always have a spot for you, even if it means firing whatever idiot I need to hire next…”
Banks poked his head in. “Did someone say my name?”
Awesome. Perfect timing as usual.
To make matters worse, Banks was holding the mug that said, “I always swallow.”