His self-satisfied smirk had her shaking her head at him. She should have thought of that herself. All the children were fascinated with Knox’s police car. They were constantly begging him to turn on his siren.
With their fingers entwined, he drove her to Riverview, where she was still principal. Viper pulled up to the side of the high school, and her hand went to the door handle, but she hesitated before opening it.
She leaned over the armrest, placing a kiss on his lips. “You in a hurry to get to work?”
“No. You want me to park behind the school so we can neck?”
She bit down on her lip, mad at herself for what she was going to ask her husband to do. He was never going to let her live it down.
“I was just wondering…” Changing her mind, she reached for the door handle again, leaving the sentence half-said.
“Winter… What do you need?”
She refused to look at her husband as she made her request. “Before going to work, do you mind going by the house, getting Aisha’s teddy bear, and taking it to her?”
“What did you say?” Viper asked through his laughter.
“Never mind.”
Viper grabbed her arm before she could open the door. “I put it in her backpack this morning when you two were eating breakfast.”
“I knew I married a smart man,” Winter praised, before kissing him goodbye. “Don’t be late, and don’t forget we promised Aisha she could get ice cream to celebrate her first day of school.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve already warned Lily we’ll probably be late. You’re the one who has trouble getting out of the office on time.”
Winter hated it when her husband was right, and that afternoon was no exception. His told-you-so grin was already plastered on his face when she climbed in the car that afternoon.
“It was not my fault. Two cheerleaders got in a fight during sixth period,” Winter excused.
“Did they hit each other with their pom-poms?”
“No, their flutes. It was during band practice. I had to send one to the emergency room. I think she has a concussion.”
Viper laughed, but Winter didn’t find it funny. It had taken two teachers and a security guard to break up the catfight.
“Don’t worry. Beth texted me, saying the kids wanted to go to the church to play on the playground before going home.”
Winter relaxed back in her seat. “Willa’s bakery was probably more of a motivation than the swing set.” It had been a good call to add Beth to the pickup list.
She smiled as they walked into the gate of the church’s backyard, seeing the children happily playing. Their faces had traces of chocolate.
“I hope it’s okay,” Beth said when she greeted them, “that Willa gave her a chocolate cookie.”
“It’s fine. It looks like they’re playing it off,” Winter assured her.
Noah, Chance, John, and Aisha were chasing each other around the backyard, playing hide-and-seek.
When Aisha saw her and Viper, she came running. “Daddy! Mommy!”
Viper scooped his daughter up into his waiting arms. Winter felt a lump in her throat at the sight of them. One of his biceps was as big around as Aisha’s tiny body, yet he held her gently, as if she was the most precious thing on earth, and she was to them.
“I’m going to go steal—go ask Willa for one of those cookies, since you’ve eaten your treat for the day. I’ll be right back.” Viper set Aisha down, winking at her as Aisha’s face fell.
Aisha waited for her father to leave before tugging on Winter’s skirt. “We can’t get ice cream?”
“Maybe a small one.” Winter nodded, knowing Viper had been teasing her.
“Thank you, Mommy!” She tugged on her skirt again. “Swing me, Mommy!”
“Go ahead. I’m coming.”
Winter thanked Beth as she gathered up the boys to leave.
“No problem. Anytime.” She smiled as they left through the side gate.
“Look, Mommy! I can reach the sky!” Aisha kicked out her legs.
Winter moved behind her daughter, feeling her heart drop in fear as Aisha pointed her toes toward the sky. Viper nearly choked on the cookie he was eating as he came back outside. Winter shook her head then motioned for him to stand a few inches away in front of her, just in case her tiny sprite started to come down to earth. When he was in the right position, she gave Aisha a small push. It was time to let their daughter fly.
Epilogue
Two
“I hate boys!”
Winter was standing at the kitchen stove when her fourteen-year-old daughter slammed her backpack onto the kitchen counter.
“You know that’s not where it goes.” Viper shut the door behind them, his eyes growing ominously dark when Aisha didn’t greet her like she usually did after coming home from school.
Aisha slid it off the counter. “I might as well go to my room. Call me when dinner is ready.”
“Sit.”
Aisha’s face fell at Viper’s command. Her thin body was knees and elbows as she climbed on a stool at the breakfast bar.
“You didn’t have a good day at school?” Winter asked, turning the soup she was cooking down to a simmer.
“School was okay. It was after school that sucked.”