Strike by Jennifer Ryder Page A

my back to Daddy, I hand him a coffee. Just act normal .
    “Thanks,” he says, giving me a weary smile. “Can we talk tonight?” he asks under his breath, his eyes and his tone both begging me.
    “I can’t. I’m having dinner with Aidan and Eevie,” I say softly.
    “Tomorrow then? After I finish work?”
    “You mean the job you told me about? Sure. Just as long as you’re prepared to do some talking.”
    He nods. “I am.”
    “You get me a coffee too, Peaches? Your old man’s dyin’ here.”
    The blood rushes to my cheeks as the thud of his heavy steps approach. I turn to him, and hand him a coffee from the cardboard tray.
    “Here you go,” I say, and fake a grin.
    “Come on. Let’s see some of these pics,” Daddy says, and gives me a proud smile. He puts his arm around my shoulders. As much as it hurts, I ignore Spencer, and walk away. He must know we can’t talk in front of Daddy. Not like I know him. It stings deep in my chest.
    It hurts.
    ****
    “Hey, April. Welcome to the zoo,” Aidan says, ushering me inside.
    I walk further into the apartment. Two little boys are running around in the nude, squealing, their blond hair wet and spiky. A tall slim girl with long wavy chocolate hair is chasing one of them with a towel. She’s giggling too. Doesn’t look too much like a zoo to me.
    “Come on, boys. Let’s get you dressed,” Aidan says with a hint of authority, but it’s closer to a teddy bear barking orders.
    “I’ll put dessert in the fridge, shall I?”
    “What’d ya bring?” Aidan asks, and then diverts his attention, crooking his finger at the remaining runaway child.
    “A chocolate brownie-cake thingy.” I’ve made it a couple of times before, so I know it tastes good.
    He smiles wickedly. “Eevie’s gonna love you.”
    Eevie wraps one of the boys tight in a white towel and lifts him up. She pushes her dark glasses back on her nose and walks over to me, smiling brightly.
    “Hi, Eevie, it’s good to meet you,” I say extending my hand, and she shakes it.
    “Hi, April. You too. Sorry about the nudie show.”
    “No worries.”
    “These boys take a little too much after their father.”
    Ah, a little too much information … Don’t need to be imagining your husband naked right now. Kinda already did that when I met him a few years back.
    “Which one are you, buddy?” I ask, ruffling my fingers through the small child’s wet hair. He gives me a cheeky grin before shyly burying his head into Eevie’s neck.
    “This is Joshua,” she says. “Grady is the one playing hard to get.”
    The sweet sound of high-pitched giggles comes from the next room, and Aidan walks through carrying Grady over his shoulder, tickling his ribs. What an adorable little family.
    After wrestling with the boys and setting each of them into a high chair, we start on a feast of spaghetti and Italian bread. Carb central. Just what I’ll need with this wine.
    “This is delicious, Eevie, but are we expecting anybody else? There’s loads of food here.” Surely someone else is coming. This is way too much for the three of us.
    Eevie quirks her lips to the side. “I’ve got three younger brothers,” Eevie says, “so I was used to cooking for an army. I’m still having trouble with the quantities.”
    Why was she cooking for her brothers? She smiles softly at Aidan, and he rubs her back in a comforting gesture. There must be more to that story.
    Little Josh and Grady eat more spaghetti than meat sauce, but it doesn’t stop the splashes of red from marking their little faces. At least they looked like they enjoyed it.
    “I don’t know why we bothered to shower them before dinner,” Eevie says and laughs.
    “I wish I’d brought my camera. Even looking like that, they’re beautiful,” I say, and I mean it. They’re cute boys. Their pale blue eyes and long lashes, so much like their father, have had me wanting to squeeze their little round cheeks from the moment I walked in. And it felt weird.