Ever After Page 3

  “We don’t eat people,” he said lightly, trying valiantly to keep his thoughts clean.

  “Ken eat Barbie!” she yelled loudly.

  Zakk burst out laughing.

  “No laugh! Ken hungry.”

  “Sorry, honey.” He smoothed Barbie’s hair and set her in the dollhouse kitchen. “Come on, they have to eat in the kitchen.”

  “Jazzy eat?”

  He nodded. “I could eat. Do you want a snack too?”

  “Snack!” She clapped her hands happily.

  “Okay. Let’s go find something.” He left Barbie on the floor of the doll house and got to his feet.

  “Barbie eat Ken,” Raina yelled.

  Zakk turned and put his hands on his hips. “Listen, darlin’, Zakk doesn’t know what you want but if you yell at me, we’re not going to play anymore. Can you tell me what you want without yelling?”

  Raina frowned but then obediently dropped Ken next to Barbie and put up her arms. “Kitchy!”

  “You want to go to the kitchen with me?” he asked as he scooped her up.

  She nodded.

  “And get a snack?”

  She nodded again, so he carried her into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “What do you want? Juice?”

  “Cheeeee!”

  “Cheese?” he guessed.

  She nodded happily, pointing out apple juice, cubed cheddar cheese and some salami Tessa had cut up and put in a plastic bag. Zakk put it on a dish and started to put Raina in her high chair but she wriggled free and shook her head vehemently.

  “Dolly,” she cried.

  “You want me to get your doll?”

  She pointed to the dining room. “Ken eat Barbie!”

  Zakk sighed. “Okay, kiddo, we’ll go eat with Ken and Barbie.” He grabbed some napkins, the dish and her sippy cup and followed her back to the other room. Raina sat down with Ken in one hand, bites of food in the other. Zakk took a piece of salami and popped it in his mouth, wondering what he was going to eat for dinner and what was taking Toli so long. Was he still outside talking to the girls? He probably wasn’t thrilled Tessa was going out looking so sexy, but he would never tell her that or ask her not to go. Instead he was outside flirting with her and her friends, keeping them from heading out and leaving Zakk to play with Raina and naked Ken.

  “Yum!” Raina stuck a piece of salami in Zakk’s mouth and he chewed with a grin.

  “Thanks, honey. I’m starving.”

  “Salami,” she nodded.

  Zakk shook his head. She couldn’t say Zakk or Toli, but she could manage “salami” without an issue.

  Raina played for a while, eating all the cheese and occasionally feeding Zakk a piece of salami. He pulled out his phone, wondering again where Toli was and thinking he should text him, but Raina was quick to snatch it from his hands.

  “No, Jazzy. No phone! Play Raina.”

  Zakk chuckled, but obligingly put away his phone. He reached for a piece of salami and realized the bag was gone. “Where’s the salami?” he asked. “I know you didn’t eat it.”

  Raina giggled.

  He arched a brow. “Where is it, you little stinker?” He tickled her and she squealed, pointing to where she’d dropped the bag into the bathtub of the dollhouse. He shook his head and took another bite, putting the bag on the table. “I’m going to go see where Toli is—can you wait here a minute? I’ll be right back.”

  Raina nodded, busy with her dolls, and Zakk walked to the front of the house to peer out the window. Toli was leaning into Kate’s truck, laughing with the girls, and Zakk had to grin. Toli didn’t want Tessa to know he was jealous, but he definitely was and it was cute. Knowing he would give him shit about it later, he headed back to Raina, his mind now on dinner—a few pieces of cheese and salami didn’t cut it for a big guy like him—so he was going to have to get Toli’s attention sooner rather than later.

  He looked down, saw the bag of salami was gone again and he arched his brow questioningly. “Raina, where’s the salami?”

  She looked up with an impish smile. “Hiding.”

  He pretended to scowl, though his green eyes twinkled with mirth. “Why are you mean to me? I thought I was your best friend?”

  She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Oh, yeah?” Zakk grabbed her and started to tickle her in earnest this time. “Stop hiding the salami, you little monkey. Where is it? Tell me!” He laughed along with her as she wiggled and squirmed to get out of his grasp.

  “Hiding the salami! Hiding the salami!” Raina slipped free and began running around the room with Ken and Barbie, shrieking at the top of her lungs. “Ken and Barbie hiding salami! Hiding the salami!”

  3

  “Wow.” Toli stood in the entrance to the dining room with his arms folded over his chest. “Really? This is what happens when we leave you alone with her?”

  “Toto—hide salami!”

  Toli snorted. “It’s time for you to start getting ready for bed and Toli and Zakk to get some dinner. How about some TV while Zakk puts away his salami?” Toli met his friend’s eyes with a cheeky grin.

  Zakk scowled. “Yeah, how about we order some dinner since Tessa went out and left us high and dry?”

  Toli laughed as he scooped up Raina. “Order something from that Italian place we like—you know what I always get—and I’ll put her in front of the TV for thirty minutes, then one story and bed.”

  “Fine.” Zakk pulled out his phone and looked up the number for the Italian place that delivered.

  “Come on, Raina.” Toli headed for the living room.

  “Hiding the salami, hiding the salami…” Raina sing-songed as they went.

  Zakk closed his eyes and groaned; he was never going to live this down.

  Tessa got home late, close to two in the morning, and she slipped off her shoes as she walked down the hall. Pausing to go into Raina’s room, she leaned over the crib and ran a gentle hand over her daughter’s forehead.

  “Mama.” Raina’s eyes fluttered open sleepily.

  “Mommy’s here,” Tessa whispered softly. “Go back to sleep, angel. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Sa-ami,” she murmured.

  “What?” Tessa cocked her head.

  “Hide…the…salami,” Raina whispered, enunciating perfectly as she nestled deeper into the sheets.

  Tessa’s mouth dropped open but since Raina was now snoring softly, she let it go. She tiptoed into her and Toli’s room and slipped out of her dress and underclothes, leaving them on the floor. Crawling under the covers beside Toli, she snuggled her naked body against his as his arms snaked out to pull her closer.

  “Have fun?” he whispered in the dark, a hand reaching out to cup one of her full, round breasts and squeezing lightly.

  “Yes. And apparently so did Raina.”

  “What?” Toli froze.

  “She told me to hide the salami.” Tessa turned her head so she could stare at him in the dark. “What in the world did you guys do tonight?”

  Toli snorted, biting his lip. “It was Zakk.”

  “Zakk taught her to say hide the salami? She can’t even say Zakk.”

  “I know!” He started to laugh. “I’m sorry…it was funny.” He told her everything.

  She rolled her eyes. “You guys are bad influences!” She tried to be annoyed but was laughing too hard to stay mad.

  “It’s a good idea, though, don’t you think?”

  “What?”

  “Playing hide the salami.” He moved in for a kiss. “Like right now.”

  “Mmm, that does sound like a good idea.”

  Daddy’s Girl

  Las Vegas Sidewinders Book 5.4

  1

  The building looked pleasant. With beautifully groomed and expansive grounds, the main house stood majestically in the center, as if it were some sort of palace instead of a place people were sent to die. The staff and facilities were top notch and Erin Riser paid a fortune for her father to be ther
e, but it wasn’t a fun place and he wasn’t getting any better. She’d wanted to move him closer to where she lived in Las Vegas, but the doctors had warned against it, saying he was too weak to move across the country. So she’d made the trip to the east coast four times since she’d moved to Las Vegas a year ago.

  Getting out of the SUV she and her husband had rented, Erin felt a pang of guilt that she didn’t come more often. Her father hadn’t recognized her in years and visiting him was always depressing, so she dreaded it, but she’d gotten a call from his doctor the day before yesterday. He’d told her that her father’s time was limited and that she should come sooner rather than later. So Erin booked a flight for all three of them—her husband and eight-month-old son Shay were here too—and driven out to the nursing home as soon as they landed.

  Her husband, Drake, had never come with her before since he was on the road most of the year and she’d really wanted him to come this time. It would most likely be their only chance to take a family picture. Even though Drake and Shay wouldn’t get to meet the man her father had been before Alzheimer’s took over his brain, at least there would be some remnant of them together for posterity.

  “You okay, babe?” Drake Riser looked at his wife with concern etched into his features as he got Shay out of the car seat in the back. She was so pale and quiet today, totally out of character for her.

  Erin forced a smile. “I’m okay. I just hate seeing him this way and knowing it might be the last time is hard.”

  Drake leaned over and kissed her. “Don’t think about who he is today—remember who he was.”

  “I’ll try.” She gripped his hand gratefully and they walked up to the entrance together.

  “Mrs. Riser.” The nurse at the desk grinned at her. “You picked a fine day to come visit your dad—he’s lucid!”

  “He is?” Erin blinked, completely startled.

  “Go on back—he’s in the sun room telling everyone about his daughter, the Marine.”

  Erin flushed. She’d considered herself a Marine from the time she’d joined the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp in high school until last June, when she’d left active duty and joined the Marine Corp. Reserves. With a husband who played professional hockey and could be traded at any time, it wasn’t practical for her to stay in the military full-time. Besides, after getting blown up in an IED in Afghanistan four years ago, she was happy to spend the bulk of her time taking care of her husband and son. One weekend a month satisfied her love for the military without disrupting family life too much.

  They walked back into the bright room that, like the name, was filled with sunshine today. The residents were milling about, some in wheelchairs, some with walkers, and some reclining on different pieces of furniture. And there in the middle of it was her father, Duncan Ross. He was laughing at something the nurse said, and for a moment, Erin momentarily drifted back in time. Her mother had still been alive then, and they were sitting around the dinner table, talking about everything that had happened that week. Erin had qualified for the National Honor Society, her mother had won first place at the county fair for her blueberry pie and her father had just gotten a promotion at work. They’d been laughing and happy, just like he was now.

  Swallowing, Erin approached her father slowly, wondering if he would recognize her. It had been a long time since there had been anything but vacancy in his eyes, and even though she understood it wasn’t his fault, it still hurt every single time. “Hi, Dad.” She spoke in a normal voice, grateful it didn’t crack.

  “Erin! There’s my girl.” Her father turned and smiled, holding out his arms.

  Erin was so startled, she didn’t move for a few seconds, but Drake gently nudged her from behind and she leaned down to hug her father.

  “Where have you been?” Duncan demanded. “I’ve been waiting for you all day.”

  “Sorry.” She smiled. “The flight was delayed and there was traffic leaving the airport. We got here as soon as we could.”

  Duncan turned to Drake and sized him up, slowly narrowing his eyes. “You’re not Shay,” he said in confusion. “Who are you?”

  “Drake Riser.” Drake handed the baby to Erin and shook his father-in-law’s hand. “Erin’s husband.”

  “You finally divorced that sniveling little wimp Clay and you didn’t marry Shay?” Duncan turned back to his daughter. “I guess I’ve missed even more than they told me.”

  “It’s okay,” Erin sat on the chair beside him. “It’s the disease—it makes you forget things.”

  “Who is this?” Duncan’s eyes softened as he looked at the baby, who sat on Erin’s lap with his thumb in his mouth.

  “This is our son, Shay.”

  “Shay.” His eyes were focused on her intently. “Why didn’t you marry him, Erin?”

  “He died, Dad,” she said sadly. “In Afghanistan.”

  His eyes clouded and he frowned. “How the hell could I forget things like this? Do I really have Alzheimer’s, Erin?”

  “You do. You haven’t recognized me in…a long time.”

  “Damn.” He made a face. “Well, this sucks.”

  Erin bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Yeah, it does. But not today—look at you!”

  “Can I hold him?” he asked suddenly, looking at the baby.

  “Sure.” Erin put the baby in his lap and Shay looked up, sticking his fingers in Duncan’s mouth.

  “Hey, now,” Duncan laughed, gently biting down with his lips and making the baby giggle. “Did I know I had a grandson?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve only brought him with me once, and you have a hard time remembering things anyway, but that’s okay.” She took out her phone and snapped a handful of pictures as her father played with him. Shay was completely at ease, which was unlike him since he’d started going through some separation anxiety of late.

  Duncan seemed to be deep in thought after a little while and Erin wondered if he’d begun to slip back into oblivion when he fixed his gaze on his son-in-law. “Did you ask my permission to marry my daughter, son?”

  Drake slowly shook his head, sitting on Duncan’s other side. “I’m sorry, sir. You wouldn’t have been able to give me an answer,” he said quietly. “I would have if things had been different.”

  “You know how Erin got those scars on her legs?”

  Erin’s eyes widened; she’d had no idea he’d even noticed.

  “Of course.” Drake frowned.

  “My girl came back from the Middle East broken,” he said in a somber voice. “Did you fix her?”

  “I’m doing the best I can, every single day.” Drake looked over at his wife and smiled.

  Duncan nodded. “That punk ex-husband of hers didn’t know what he had. I hope you appreciate her.”

  “She and our son are everything to me,” Drake answered solemnly.

  “He’s a real cutie,” Duncan grinned down at the baby. “I sure wish I could remember meeting him.”

  “His memory is in here,” Erin said, touching her father’s chest.

  He reached out and touched Erin’s arm, running calloused fingers over the scars of her burns.

  “Can you take me up to my room?” the older man asked abruptly. “There are a few things I want you to have.”

  “Dad?” Erin looked confused, but obediently got up and reached for Shay.

  “I’ll push the wheelchair,” Drake told her.

  Erin led the way and they entered a small but bright and cheerful room. There were pictures of Erin and her mother on the dresser and night table, as well as one of Drake and Erin taken on their wedding day and one of Shay’s newborn pictures.

  “I thought that was Shay you married,” Duncan murmured, shaking his head as he glanced at the pictures. “Get me the box in the closet, will you, Erin?”

  “Of course.” She opened the closet, wondering what box was in there. She’d brought him here more than six years ago and moved him in; she couldn’t remember putting a box of any kind up in the closet. Th
ey’d sold the house and most of his belongings and Erin had taken the things she’d wanted.

  Sure enough, in the far corner was an old hat box with faded red roses on it. She pulled it down and handed it to him. “Where did this come from, Dad? I don’t remember seeing it before.”

  Still in his wheelchair, he put it in his lap and took the top off with slightly trembling fingers. “This was your mother’s.”

  “What?” Erin sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward to see what was inside.

  “Your mother-in-law brought this to me,” he murmured. “I can’t quite remember when. I think you were in Afghanistan.”

  “How did she get it? We sold the house so I would have the money to have you taken care of while I was gone. I took everything I wanted then—and I don’t remember ever seeing this.”

  His brows furrowed as he tried to think. “When you and Clay got married, I’d already gotten the diagnosis. I think I asked her to hold on to it for me in case I went downhill while you were deployed.”

  “So this was mom’s?” Erin asked softly.

  “I think so, yes. I seem to remember a letter…”

  Erin immediately spied the envelope and pulled it out slowly. “It’s Mom’s handwriting,” she said, running gentle fingers over the paper where her mother had written her name. She slowly ripped the seal and pulled out several pieces of paper. Seeing a full sheet of her mother’s handwriting brought tears to her eyes and she realized how much she missed her. Seeing the letter was addressed to her made her even sadder, but she laid the papers in her lap as she began to read:

  Hello Sweetheart.

  When the doctors told us there was nothing else they could do, my first thought was that I wouldn’t live to see you become a woman. See you get married. Watch you become a mother. So many things ran through my mind that day, but I have to be strong for you because you’re still so young.

  I’m writing this and plan to give it to your father to hold on to until the time is right. I feel a little foolish right now, thinking about what your wedding dress might look like and how many children you might have—you do want them, don’t you? You’ve been talking about joining the Marines and it worries me, but you’ve wanted to do that for years and you’re only 15. I probably won’t ever get to see you in your uniform, which really bothers me, but I know you’ll do well no matter which direction you go…