Slater
Slater had called his buddy on the force to come over to check out the abandoned sedan. They took prints and found nothing, towing the vehicle away to have it impounded. If the asshole who was driving it came back to look for it, he was going to be pretty damn surprised to find his ride gone.
Rainey found him as soon as he stepped inside her house and armed the security system. “The kids have all had their baths and are waiting for us in the family room. You ready?” she asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” he said. “You ready to do this?” he asked.
“I think so,” she agreed. “I’m a little nervous though.”
“I’ll be right by your side the whole time. Remember, we’ve got this,” Slater promised. He reached for her hand, and she linked her fingers with his. He just hoped that he had made her a promise that he wouldn’t be able to keep. They had no idea how her kids would take the news that they were falling in love and that he was moving into their house—invading their space and taking their father’s house over. He knew that they might be faced with a bit of crying and maybe even some anger, but he and Rainey would navigate their way through it. They had to because he had to find a way to keep her and her kids safe.
They walked into the family room, hand in hand, and Jack looked up at them, a nervous frown on his face. “Why were the police here?” Shit, Slater was hoping that having his buddy stop by to look at the car, might go unnoticed. But judging from the look on each of the kids’ little faces, they had noticed the police in their back alley and were now going to ask a million questions about their presence.
“They were here to move that abandoned car at the back of our alley,” Rainey covered. “Someone kept parking it back there and it was on our property, so I had the nice policemen take it away.”
“So, we’re not in trouble?” Jack asked.
“No, honey,” Rainey said. “Why would you be in trouble?”
“Because the police come when people do bad things,” her son insisted. Slater let go of her hand and crossed the room to sit on the sofa with the kids.
“They also come around to help good people too,” Slater assured. “That’s why they were here tonight. To help your mom and she’s the best person I know.”
“She is,” Sarah agreed. The rest nodded their little heads and he smiled.
“So, there’s nothing to worry about,” Rainey assured. She sat down next to Slater on the sofa. “While we have you all here, Slater and I have something that we need to tell you.” The kids stared at her, and Rainey didn’t seem to miss a beat. He, on the other hand, felt as if his heart might beat out of his chest.
“Slater is going to be moving in here with us,” she said.
“Moving in with us?” Sarah asked.
“Yes,” Rainey said. “You all know that we’ve been dating for a little while now, and well, we’d like to take the next step.”
“Which room will he get?” Penny asked. “I don’t want to have to share with Ella.”
Rainey giggled, “He’s going to be sharing my room with me,” she admitted. “You will all keep your own rooms.” Penny celebrated and Slater wondered if that was going to be the end of the questions.
“Are you getting married?” Jack asked.
“Married?” Rainey choked.
“Is this the part where I play with Ella?” Slater loudly whispered.
“No,” she said. “Remember, a united front? And no, Jack, we’re not getting married. We’re taking this relationship slowly to make sure that you four are good with everything.”
“I like Slater,” Sarah said, shrugging as if this was all no big deal.
“I like him too,” Penny agreed. “Me too,” Ella said, crawling up onto his lap. Slater smiled at the three girls, waiting for Jack to come clean with how he felt about this huge change in their lives.
“I do too,” Jack agreed.
“So, we’re all good with Slater moving in with us then?” Rainey asked.
“Good,” the four kids shouted.
“Well, I think this calls for ice cream,” Rainey said. The cheers were near-deafening, and he stood with Ella in his arms.
“I like ice cream,” Ella told him.