Page 100 of The Haunting Plot

“Sawyer made me a new bed. Isn’t it cool?” McKenna squeals, beaming up at Raven. Her face softens.

“So cool,” Raven agrees impassively.

Maybe I overstepped? “I should’ve run it by you.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Sorry, my mind is elsewhere. For a second I thought this was a prank.”

“How would this be a prank?”

“I dunno. Is Jonah hiding in there, ready to pop out and scare me?”

“Boo!” Jonah yells from behind her, and Raven’s hand grabs at her chest as she turns to him. He looks worried as he shrinks back. “Did I scare you?”

I hold up my hands. “That wasn’t planned, I promise.”

She looks between us as she pants for breath. “I’m on edge. I’ve got to turn this project into my editor.” She kneels, looking at Jonah. “You did scare me, but it’s okay.”

“But you didn’t run into Sawyer’s arms.”

Her head tilts and her brow furrows, but I shrug, unsure what he’s talking about.

Jonah rocks from side to side like he’s getting worked up. “When you get scared, you’re supposed to hug Sawyer so he will protect you.”

“Says who?” She looks at me over her shoulder. “This guy over here is scared of his own shadow. He’s more likely to run into my arms when scared.”

“I thought it was a spider.” I try to lighten the mood, but Jonah’s not having it.

His lip trembles, and Raven grabs his hands. “Boys comfort girls when they’re scared.”

“People comfort people when they’re scared. We don’t buy into the patriarchy’s idea of women needing men to protect them.”

“But you’re supposed to hug him.”

She looks back at me, but I’m just as confused as she is. I can tell he’s about to spiral, and I look around the room for an idea. “Ah! What was that?” I point to the curtain. “There’s something behind the curtain. I swear I saw it move!”

Everyone looks at the window as I shake my hands like I’m terrified. “Raven! Save me!” I cry, reaching for her.

The smirk on her face and the gratitude in her eyes nearly do me in as she stands and opens her arms in invitation. I run over to her and hug her tightly.

“Thank God you were here to protect me. Jonah was right, I needed a hug,” I say loud enough for Jonah to hear.

“You’re a moron,” she mumbles into my ear.

“Yeah, but you love me.”

——————

It’s odd how quickly we slip into a domestic routine. On the nights I don’t have the kids, I end up staying at Raven’s, fucking her late into the night, then working on the house when I’m not at the station. When I have the kids, we still end up at Raven’s, minus the sleepovers. We both agreed it’d be too chaotic for the boys. All it’d take is one sleepover, and they’d be begging to stay at Raven’s on my nights.

The leaves change and fall in striking shades of red, orange, and yellow, and I recruit all four kids to help rake and bag them. Keeping up with all of them and their interests is a full-time job, but I’m happy to take it on so Raven can focus on her book.

It strikes me that this is what I’ve always wanted—not just the family and the partner, but someone I can support through their goals like they support mine. Things aren’t fifty-fifty right now, but no one’s yelling at me to do more, and I’m not the least bit bothered by picking up Raven’s slack. This is what I want. Who knew it could be this easy with the right person?

I’m tucking in Jonah tonight so Raven can meet her word goal. Do I wish Tommy was here too? Fuck yeah. But it’s Jocelyn’s night.

“Can I color your tattoo again?” he asks, bouncing on the bed.

“Not tonight, buddy. We need to read a book and go to bed.”