Kes, the older of the two, cackled and pulled her hair gently. “Nowhere is safe. Cheater!”
Jethro scooped him round the middle, hauling him onto his own lap. “Say hello to friends of ours. Sullivan and Eleanor.”
Kes blushed as he caught my stare then Jinx’s. He calmed eerily quickly in his dad’s embrace, almost as if he could sense the crimes I’d done in the past and the type of man I’d been before Eleanor changed me for the better.
Slowly, he nodded. “Hello.”
The way he watched with such dedication and knowing hinted he had inherited Jethro’s gift, after all. Only time would tell to what degree.
“Hello,” I said. “Having fun playing tag?”
“Not tag.” He shook his head importantly. “Hunting. She’s the hare. I’m the hound.”
“Hares are faster than hounds.” I smiled.
Emma clapped her hands. “Yay!”
“Yeah, but hounds can sniff stuff,” Kes retorted.
“Hares can box and kick.” I grinned as Jethro’s son chewed his bottom lip, digesting such things.
“Em won’t kick me hard. She won’t dare.”
Emma wriggled free of Nila’s hug and bolted out of the drawing room. “Byeeeeee!”
“Hey!” Kes leaped out of Jethro’s lap and galloped after her, leaving a wake of silence as their heavy footfalls faded down the endless corridors.
“They’re adorable.” Eleanor smiled. “Do you only have the two?”
Nila nodded. “Yes. Two is all we can handle. I’m sorry they’re little heathens. I’d hoped the ball last night would’ve tired them out, but they’re bundles of energy. They won’t calm down until we take them for a ride.”
“You can join us if you want,” Jethro said softly. “I have horses you can borrow.”
I glanced at Eleanor. Riding a horse to me was not enticing; however, if she wanted to, I would do whatever she requested. Catching my raised eyebrow, she shook her head.
“I’m happy just watching.” Eleanor nodded. “Thanks, though.”
“And besides, you have a plane to catch.” Jethro chuckled under his breath. “I’ve been trying to guess where you’re going, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint. Tropical, no doubt. You both detest the cold.”
“How did you—” Eleanor frowned. “How do you know? How does it work?”
Nila rolled her eyes again as she stabbed a blood-red strawberry with her fork, waiting for Jethro to enlighten Jinx. “Go on, you might as well spill, now that you’ve made a spectacle of yourself.”
Jethro chuckled. “You pretend to be pissed at me but you can’t lie that you’re enjoying the openness of this conversation, Needle. That you’re wary of sharing too much but grateful that Sully has been there from the beginning and isn’t going to judge.”
Nila nodded, leaning over to squeeze Jethro’s hand. “Right as always.”
Sharing an intimate moment with his wife, Jethro dropped his gaze before sitting back and locking eyes with Eleanor. “In answer to your question, it’s not really something I can explain. I just...know. I look at you, and I feel cold. That isn’t because I’m cold but because I’m guessing you are. I’m sitting in my own home where I’m happy and content, yet, I suddenly have a hankering for travel and turquoise seas. Two things that have never interested me in the slightest. When I was younger, I confused those feelings for my own. I fed on the emotions of cruelty because that was what I was raised in and what I believed came from my own heart. But I can keep the two separate now. I no longer need to numb the feeling of say needing to travel, or to grab another jumper to ward off the chill because that isn’t me. It’s you.” He laughed quietly. “I also feel a thread of exhaustion from whatever indulgences you got up to last night.” Holding up his hand, he added, “Oh, and there’s a vein of embarrassment too, so whatever you got up to, it was frisky enough to make you blush in my company.”
Eleanor’s cheeks burned. “Your wife is right. You sound like a gypsy fortune teller.”
“I suppose if my enterprise of diamonds fails, I could earn my keep that way.” Jethro laughed.
I chuckled, squeezing Eleanor’s knee under the table. “I believe I won our bet, Jinx.”
Eleanor narrowed her eyes. “In the words of Kes Hawk...cheater.”
“I didn’t cheat. I just had insider knowledge.” I chuckled. “But I’m still going to make you pay.”
Eleanor blushed harder. “I’m not discussing orgasm payments at the breakfast table.”
Jethro burst into laughter.
Nila giggled and kindly changed the subject. “Do you have children of your own?”
Eleanor rubbed at her flaming cheek, grateful for the topic switch. “No. We don’t. And please don’t say the politically correct ‘Oh, I’m sorry’. Don’t be. It’s a personal choice.”
“A joint decision.” I squeezed Eleanor’s knee again. “We currently have over four hundred rescues under our protection with more arriving every week. That is where our heart lies. With the abused, unwanted, and homeless.”
“I love that.” Nila smiled. “You get to nurture something that desperately needs it.”