“Sorry,” Slater whispered into her ear when she started to help him make the pancakes. “I was on my way out when Penny found me.”
“I don’t think it’s a problem. Where there any questions?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said.
“Well, then, no questions, no problems,” Rainey said. “Don’t borrow trouble.” She turned to face the kids, plastering a big smile on her beautiful face. “Wasn’t it nice of Slater to come over to make us pancakes this morning?” she asked. He had to hand it to her, it was a good cover.
“Well, your place was on my way to the office, so I thought, why not,” he said. The kids looked like they didn’t care what their cover story was, as long as pancakes were coming, they’d buy just about anything they were selling.
“When will the pancakes be ready?” Sarah asked. “I’m hungry.”
“How about you take your sisters into the other room, Jack. That way, I can help Slater make breakfast. And spoiler alert—there will be fruit served with your pancakes,” she said. The kids all groaned and went into the family room.
“I’m so sorry” he whispered. “I was guzzling down my coffee to get out of here when Penny found me. I guess I’ll have to get up a bit earlier to sneak on before they catch me again.”
“It’s not a problem. I think that we covered well,” she said. “I’m sorry if this is inconvenient for you, Slater. I hope that they weren’t too much.”
“Not at all,” he insisted. “They are pretty great kids and honestly, pancakes sound pretty good. Plus, I don’t mind getting up a little earlier to avoid the kids catching me again—well until you’re ready to tell them.”
She went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Thanks for being so understanding,” she whispered. “I promise that this won’t be forever. We’ll figure something out sooner or later.” He nodded and tested to make sure that the griddle was hot enough.
“Well, pancakes will be ready in no time,” he assured. “Have some coffee and relax. Let me take care of breakfast,” he insisted.
“If you’re going to take care of breakfast, I’m going to grab a quick, kid-free shower. I never get to have one of those in the morning,” she said.
He chuckled, “Have at it, honey,” he said. She ran out of the kitchen and up the back stairs like a giddy kid on Christmas and he couldn’t help his smile. Rainey and her kids were quickly becoming his world—all he had to do was find a way to fit into the one that they had already built for themselves.