“Uncle Keke, what are you doing?” Kennedy inquired, surprising me. Lake’s crying instantly stopped, and I knew she heard and would also know I had been listening. Shit.

I turned and found Kennedy standing at the top of the steps, smiling up at me with spaghetti sauce all over her face.

“What are you doing up here?”

“I asked you first.” She giggled.

“Does your mother know you’re up here?” She shook her head with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Can you read a story goodnight?” I hesitated, torn between my hurt girlfriend and hurting my niece, but I found myself taking her hand and leading her to her room. She made me read her the same story twice before she let Sheldon clean her up for bed. The uneasy feeling that settled in my stomach when I stepped into the hall and found our bedroom door cracked had me moving quickly across the hall in vain.

Lake was gone.

Chapter Twenty-Five

LAKE

ONE MONTH LATER

I left that night as soon as Wendy and Daniel left for the night and Keiran’s guard was down. Kennedy had chosen him to read her a bedtime story before he disappeared. I had to find out through Willow that Wendy and Daniel had stuck around, getting to know their grandsons and great granddaughter. They also confessed to giving Mitch the money, not knowing he would use it to hire men to kidnap Kennedy. Learning that almost made me go back.

Almost.

I should have been there in case Keiran didn’t take the news well but then I remembered that I couldn’t be his conscious

A few days after I left, I received a phone call from Cassie. She wanted to talk to me about her new friends at school now that Ryan was no longer bullying her. I couldn’t tell but it seemed as if she made have developed a crush on him. I spoke with Laurie who told me she moved the girls back home since Robert was dead. She’d gotten a new job with the local hospital and had even joined the PTO at school to keep a better eye on Cassie’s progress at school. She also told me Keiran had visited the day before and told her about what I did for them. I expected anger—if not or Robert then for Greg but she only said thank you before hanging up.

I hadn’t heard from then since and prepared myself to never again after Greg’s trial.

“Thank you for coming with me. Dash is swamped with catching up since he went back to work, and he doesn’t want me alone since I’m close.” Willow managed to convince me to leave my woes behind in their apartment for a day of baby shopping.

“Are you excited?”

“I like to think what I’m feeling is like an exciting terror, but I am ready to gain back control of my own body again. I think whatever future pain promised will be worth it.” Her pale skin whitened more if possible, and I figured she was thinking about the birth..

I picked up a onesie that read, ‘Mama’s Baby, Daddy’s Hatin’. “What about this?” I showed it to her as a distraction. She turned wide eyes on the tiny blue garment and squealed. After snatching it from my hand to check the size, she then threw it in her cart.

“These clothes don’t have enough color or personality,” she grumbled. “I’m thinking about making all of his clothes myself, but my fingers have gotten so fat, I can’t even stand to look at them.”

I looked down at her fingers, which were a little swollen but not enough to cause her dramatics. I knew telling her at this point that she was still a beautiful curvy delight was a waste of time, so I changed the subject.

“You said Dash is back working. How is he otherwise?” I knew getting shot must have been traumatic for him even though he’d never admit it. Guys liked to bottle their feelings until the emotional overload obliterated who they once were.

“He’s had his days, but he’s still Dasher.” She sighed and got a faraway look in her eyes.

“Dasher, huh?” I teased and bumped her shoulder.

“He insisted I use his name when we…”

“Got it.” I didn’t need any more detail about their sex life. I’ve already had the front seat showing. “Doesn’t it get weird since his mother also calls him Dasher?”

“Not like me.” She winked, and I had a full on laugh—snort and all. “Besides, since he only lets his mother or me call him Dasher, I figured why not.”

“And Santa Claus. How does he feel about being named after a reindeer?”

“Oh, God. Don’t let him hear you say that. You’ll never hear the end of it. Although…” She looked thoughtful as she chewed on her lip, “you did save his life so you might get a free pass.”