“What?”
“Not telling anyone. He’s only as powerful as you allow him to be and underneath his tough shell is a scared little boy who probably feels as helpless as you do.”
“So what do I do?”
Do I tell her to run like I did or fight back? Neither was a sure thing. “You do what your instincts tell you to do.”
“He makes me want to punch him in the nose,” she grumbled. “Can I do that?”
“Do you think physical violence will solve your problem?”
She shrugged in that way ten-year-olds do when they know the answer but don’t want to admit it.
“It will make me feel better. I’ll embarrass him in front of all his friends like he does me.”
“Can I ask you something? I want you to think hard about this.”
“Okay.”
“Has he ever threatened to hurt you?”
Her face twisted hard as she tried to remember. “Do you mean like pull my hair and stuff?”
I took a deep breath and told myself it was necessary. “I mean has he threatened to kill you?”
Her eyes widened as if the prospect of dying never entered her mind. I was relieved, to say the least. At her age, I had already expected to die.
“No. Never. Do you think he will?”
“No, sweetie, I don’t, but make a promise, okay?” She nodded her permission to enter the pact. “If he ever does, I want you to tell an adult right away.”
“Like my mom?”
Something told me her mother wouldn’t come to her daughter’s rescue. “Don’t wait. Tell a teacher, your principal—and yes, your mom, too.”
“She didn’t listen to me before,” she pouted, confirming my suspicion.
“Then you keep telling her until she does.” She seemed to understand, and since I couldn’t think of anything else to say, I asked her about the book she was reading. She became completely animated as she filled me in on the adventures of Harriet the Spy. I was familiar with the fictional character, but she told it better.
When the sun began to set, I convinced her to come inside and found Keiran in one of the bedrooms with Maddie in his lap, holding a book. I stood back and listened to his melodic, deep voice fill the room as he patiently read to her.
“The cow mooed—”
“Do the moo! You have to do the moo.”
“The cow moooooed all the way home.” I stifled my laugh with a hand over my lips as he closed the book and set it aside.
“K—Ka…” Her nose wrinkled as she struggled to say his name. She was a light-haired version of Ken.
“You can call me Keke,” he begrudgingly offered, and I felt the shock to my heart just as it melted. I had been the one to advise Kennedy to call him by his dubious nickname and to this day, he vowed revenge. Pointing out that she would eventually outgrow the name didn’t help. He still despised it, but he would never risk hurting Kennedy’s feelings for his male ego.
“Keke, can you read another?”
“That depends… Are you going to make me moo if I don’t?”
“No, silly. That’s a cow.”
“Pick a book.” His innocent surrender drew me in until I found myself sitting between his legs with my own crossed and my hands on his shins. I needed to be in his space.
This was Keiran in rare form and something I may never see again after Kennedy grows older and Dash and Willow’s son follow.
“This one!” She shoved the book in his hand and crawled back into his lap. When her bright brown eyes rested on me, she slammed her head back against his chest and held my stare as if laying claim. My own narrowed, challenging her, even as I secretly cried a river of amused tears inside.
“Enough, ladies.” Keiran smirked but his gaze never even left the front cover. He was always aware of me even when he wasn’t watching me. “At least rabbits are quiet.”
“Yes, but they make this cute little wiggle with their nose,” I snitched.
“Yeah! Like this—” She wriggled her nose and turned her eyes to see. Keiran met my gaze and promised retribution. Maddie looked up with a wide smile, but he only stared back at her. “Try it,” she encouraged, unperturbed.
I pulled out my phone and hit record, needing to capture this moment to use as a bargaining tool later when he got me alone.
“No.”
“Pleeeeease.”
“Yes, pleeeeease. Wriggle your nose like a good little bunny.” My hole only got deeper, but it was worth it. I was hidden behind my phone, but I could see his face perfectly as the video recorded.
“Later,” he mouthed and wriggled his nose.
Maddie cackled and wiggled in his lap with glee. She even reached up to squeeze his nose, and I could practically see steam coming from his ears.
“You make a cute angry bunny,” I cooed.
His eyes narrowed, and I knew I’d gone too far. “Maddie, will you excuse us?”
Shit.
She jumped down off his lap and skipped out with the book, which had been my only chance for a weapon. As soon as the door was closed, Keiran stepped forward. I countered by taking two steps back.