Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Shep
When I walked into the house, I smelled marinara and mozzarella cooking in the oven. I hoped it was lasagna. It was one of my favorite meals.
Kinsley rushed in from outside. "I just came in to check on the lasagna. How was work?"
I didn't see Maya anywhere, so I pulled her in for a quick kiss. "Better now that I'm home."
Kinsley wiggled away from me. "Let me check the food, and then we can talk." She opened the stove and pulled out the casserole dish. She lifted one side of the tinfoil. "All done."
My stomach rumbled. "Good because I'm starved."
She took something else out of the oven and opened the tinfoil packet, revealing homemade garlic bread. "How did your meeting go with your dad?"
"You knew about that?" I asked.
"I work in the office. There's not much I miss." She removed the tinfoil from the casserole, allowing the steam to escape, and she turned off the oven.
"He mentioned that the videos are getting views."
Kinsley turned around and leaned on the counter. "Isn't it amazing? People really seem to enjoy when you interact with Maya. You two are quite the little stars."
I chuckled without any humor. "I'm fairly sure that no one is watching me on those videos."
She raised a brow. "Have you seen the comments? Sure, some people enjoy how sweet you are with Maya, but the women are crushing on you."
My forehead creased. I didn't like the sound of that. I didn't want that kind of attention from the videos, especially if it made Kinsley uncomfortable.
"Are you thirsty?" Kinsley moved toward the fridge before I could respond. She pulled out one of my favorite beers, twisting off the top and handing it to me.
I lifted the bottle. "Thanks for this."
She ran a hand through her hair. "What were we talking about? Oh, yeah, there were a few requests that you go shirtless when you're working."
"That's ridiculous." Were Kinsley's shoulders tense, or was it just me?
"You could lift up your shirt and wipe the sweat from your brow. That will give them a nice little tease." Kinsley turned away from me, pulling plates down from the cupboard.
My voice lowered. "Do you like when I do that?"
She shot me a look "Everyone likes when you do that."
I moved toward her, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not interested in what anyone else thinks of what I do. I care what you think."
I kissed the bare skin of her neck, and she trembled at the touch, lowering the spoon to the casserole dish. I trailed my lips up her neck to her ear, where I tugged on the lobe with my teeth.
"Mommy!" Maya exclaimed as she ran into the house.
I stepped back, hoping she hadn't seen me with my hands and my mouth on her mother. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the counter.
"What's going on?" Kinsley asked Maya, sounding a little flustered.
"I found a crab in the sand." Her hands were cupped, and when she opened them, a little crab crawled around the sand in her hands.
Kinsley recoiled.
I pushed off the counter and put my hand on Maya's shoulder. "Let's take the critters outside. I don't think your mom wants them in the kitchen while she's cooking."
Maya looked up at me. "But he's so cute."
I laughed, looking at the little guy in her hands. "He sure is. But crabs belong outside. They live in the sand and the water. He wouldn't do well in the house."
Outside, she skipped over to the sand on the edge of the patio where she put him down. "But we could put sand and water in a container and feed him. He could be mine. I promise I'll take good care of him."
I sat next to her. "He doesn't want to be cooped up in a box."
Maya pouted, her lower lip protruding. "You want a friend, don't you?"
She was a hard one to say no to. "You're the only friend I need."
"What about Mommy? Is she your friend?" Maya asked.
Had she noticed me kissing her mom? "She sure is."
"I have lots of friends at school," Maya said matter-of-factly.
Of course she did. She was a happy, well-adjusted kid. "Does your class have a pet?"
She nodded. "We have a beta fish named Zap."
"That's a good name."
Her expression fell. "We didn't get to name him. Last year's class got to because he was just a baby then."
"You'll get a pet one day." When she had a new place to live and was more settled.
I tried not to think about all the cool things we could get in my house.
I'd love to have a lizard or a toad. I'd help her take care of it too.
Teach her everything there was to know. But Maya wasn't mine, and she wasn't going to stay here.
Her lip quivered. "Mom said that we're not home enough for one."
"Maybe for a cat or a dog. But you could get a fish or something that requires less work. Depending on the kind of tank you have, you only need to feed him once a day and change the water occasionally."
She turned around and headed toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To tell Mom you said we could get a fish," she called over her shoulder.
I groaned as I stood. and it had nothing to do with my joints. "You can't tell your mom that. You'll get me into trouble."
She paused, then came back. "I don't want to get you into trouble."
I held up my hands as if attempting to calm a wild animal. "We have to be smart about this. We have to wait for the right moment to ask her."
Her forehead creased. "When will that be?"
"When you and your mom are settled in your new place," I said, even though it pained me to admit this truth out loud. I was crazy to think they could stay with me forever.
Her lip quivered. "We live here now."
I rested a hand on her shoulder, marveling at how tiny she was. "You do. But I don't think your mom wants to get a pet now."
"Are you her boyfriend? My friend Cassie at school said if we live together, you must be my stepdad."
I blanched. "What do you know about boyfriends?"
She rolled her eyes. "Everyone has crushes."
My mind was racing with questions. Since when did kindergartners have crushes? "School sure has changed from when I was a kid. I'm fairly sure I was still playing in the dirt at your age."
She gave me a look. "That's why you're not married."
A loud guffaw erupted from my throat, and I tried to cover it with a cough because she was so serious about this. "I guess so."
Kinsley stepped out, her eyes narrowed. "What are you two up to out here?"
"Nothing," we both said at once, looking guilty as hell.
Kinsley placed her hands on her hips, looking from Maya to me. "No critters in the house."
I was fairly certain the clarification was for me.
To her credit, Maya rolled her eyes and pulled off a disgusted, "Duh."
Kinsley lowered her gaze to Maya, relaxing her stance. "And don't say duh. It's rude."
"We put the crab back in the sand where he belongs," I said confidently.
Whether Maya would sneak him back into the house was another matter entirely.
My brothers and I had entire ecosystems under our beds.
We'd create habitats in shoeboxes, then promptly forget we were supposed to be keeping the creatures alive.
"I should hope so." Then she lowered her shoulders. "Dinner's ready. I had time to toss a salad too."
"Yay! Salad." Maya ran inside, leaving us alone.
Maya loved eating salads topped with croutons and gobs of ranch dressing. I couldn't blame her for loving that combination.
"You're not corrupting her, are you?" Kinsley asked, her voice amused.
I covered my chest with one palm with an aw-shucks expression. "Why would I do that?"
Her lips quirked. "You had four brothers. I'm sure you got into all kinds of trouble. But Maya can't hide behind any siblings. I'll know if she sneaks a bug into her bedroom."
"First of all, he wasn't a bug."
Now Kinsley rolled her eyes at me.
"And we didn't sneak him anywhere. We placed him in the sand over there."
Kinsley didn't bother to follow my finger where I pointed to the location.
"See that you don't sneak any critters into the house.”
I grabbed her hand before she turned to leave. "I've got your back. You don't have to worry."
She raised a brow. "So you weren't coming up with a plan to convince me to get a pet?"
Guilt slid down my throat. "Not exactly. I told her that some pets require less work than others, and that maybe when you were more settled, you'd be inclined to get a fish."
She winced when I said the word settled.
A line formed between her brows. "I have no idea what it would entail to keep a fish."
I shrugged easily. "I can help you."
Kinsley sighed and turned toward the slider. "The lasagna's getting cold."
I was starving, and I didn't want to eat cold food, so I followed her inside. I should have asked her about her intentions to move, but I wasn't sure I wanted to hear her answer. And I didn't trust myself not to beg her to stay.
I didn't want to believe that she could walk away so easily from what we'd shared. But I didn't have any evidence to the contrary.
Maybe if I stepped up my game, if I was more romantic or more loving, she'd see what we had and how hard it would be to live apart.
"Are you ready to go to your dad's?" Kinsley asked Maya when we walked inside.
I forgot it was her weekend to be with him. I hated when she left.
"Can you help me pack?" Maya asked.
"After dinner. Now eat." Kinsley set the small table in the kitchen, and we dug in.
When I finally took a break, I leaned back and said, "That was delicious."
Kinsley shrugged. "It's just lasagna."
"What do you think, Maya?"
"It's good," she said simply, which was high praise from her.
We finished eating and started to clean up when the doorbell rang.
"That's Derek, and we haven't packed. Can you get the door?" Kinsley asked as she ushered Maya upstairs.
I didn't want to open the door for her ex, but I didn't have a choice. I didn't think she'd like it if I left him outside to fend for himself.
I smiled, thinking about whether he'd go away if no one answered the door.