Good girls don’t leave their husbands.
They give them a family to love, to teach, and to guide.
And that’s exactly what Skylar is going to give me.
I use my hand to wipe away the fog on the bathroom mirror. I had Skylar shower with me so that I could clean her up. While I do love the smell of me on her, I love her scent alone better.
I glance at her in the mirror, watching as she uses the towel to dry herself off, but she gets dressed as quickly as she can, and I chuckle.
Turning my eyes back to my own reflection, I wait until she leaves the room before I remove the towel from around my waist and run it against my body, making sure that I smell like the body wash and nothing more.
I crack my neck as I toss the towel into the hamper, then pull open the medicine cabinet.
In a weird way, Bryden and his family presented rather nicely, which took me by surprise considering how many of them there are. Today, I want to extend that same courtesy, so I reach for Dad’s bottle of aftershave and apply a generous amount to my face and neck.
If what Bryden says about Dad is true, then he should know the scent when it hits him. If he doesn’t, then he’s a fucking liar like the little voice in my head has been whispering to me, and I’ll take Cleo by force if I have to.
Deep down inside, no matter how much I try to fight it, I know I’m more Luke than Darby and I’ll have to tip the scales to bring my family back together again.
Dad may have torn us apart in a bid to get back at Mom, but I’m going to reclaim what’s mine.
And as I begin to get dressed, I know that’s what Mom would have wanted.
Even if she wouldn’t have wanted it like this.
Seventeen
Bryden
I’ve been watching the clock all morning as my family has worked through our usual routines. Breakfast, chores, and now everyone is settling into schoolwork.
Either teaching, or learning.
I think my family does a much better job than traditional schools ever could. Stephanie was able to teach me how to read in less than a year, and she was always looking for new and interesting things for me to learn. Luke didn’t always support it, but Stephanie made sure I understood how important it was to be educated. And even though that stopped when she was put in the ground, when I got kicked out and had to go to public school, the teachers said I did very well for someone who was homeschooled.
Not a straight-A student, but I passed with a mix of grades. Math was always my weakness, but I have a grasp on the important things, and I’ve made sure each of my children is educated. They know how to read, how to add and subtract, multiply and divide—and more importantly they know how to survive.
The garden we’ve built in the backyard will return in the Spring and provide us with vegetables and a few treats like watermelon. We’ve even learned how to can the produce so we don’t waste a single bit of what we grow. Keeping my family strong and healthy year-round.
I wonder if Richter and Skylar have had the same benefits.
Did Luke teach them? Did their mother?
Was their mother Jocelyn?
“Everything okay, Daddy?” Xoe asks, and I feel her hands slide over my shoulders, her thumbs digging in to ease the tension I didn’t even realize I was holding.
“I’m wonderful. Even better now,” I add with a smile as I look up at her behind my chair.
“I’m glad.” Xoe smiles down at me while she continues the massage, working at the knots in my shoulders as I zone out on the kids studying on the floor. “Daddy?”
“Yes, Xoe?”
“Is… Richter coming back today?” Her voice is quiet, hushed, as if she doesn’t want the others in the room to hear it.
“I hope so,” I reply honestly, glancing at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace again. It’s almost eleven, and that means preparations for lunch will begin soon.
Do we prepare an extra plate? Two?
Clearing my throat, I reach up and tug at Xoe’s wrist, pulling her around the chair and into my lap. She’s wearing a dress, even as cold as it is outside, and I know it’s because she’s hoping I’ll touch her… and, honestly, I could use the distraction.
“Did you get the chance to talk to with Cleo last night?” I ask, sliding my hand up her thigh, dragging the hem of the dress with it. No underwear, which means she definitely wants attention.
“I read to her and the other girls as they were falling asleep, so I didn’t get the chance before she was out.” Xoe makes a little noise in her throat as I find her clit with my fingers, slowly rubbing in circles as she spreads her thighs for me. “B-but I think she felt better after he left. She wasn’t upset at bedtime.”
“Hmm…” I acknowledge that I heard her as I think over the information. Even as I think, I’m steadily pleasuring her, which has caught the attention of a few of the kids on the floor, both the older and younger ones, but we don’t hide these things. It’s helpful for the younger ones to see what will happen when they’re old enough… to see how good loving your family can be.
But my mind is focused elsewhere. I’m thinking about Cleo, her response to Richter’s ploy to make her remember him. Did she remember? Was she upset by his presence, or the memories themselves?
When she was little, she used to wake up crying for her mama, and I did my best, along with Xoe, to make her feel loved and welcome. Eventually she stopped waking up searching for her mama and started calling for me. Her sweet little voice crying
