“There’s my cheer-man. Doesn’t he look fierce?” Colt asked more to Gage as all eyes focused on Jace. A flash from a camera had Kellus blinking, trying to get the unexpected shooting stars out of his eyes. He looked over to see someone with a press pass hanging around their neck when another picture was taken, aimed their way.
“What’s going on?” he asked Arik quietly.
“It’s Gage and Colt, I’m sure. They always draw the local press,” Arik whispered back as the music boomed through the gym and the girls started their routine. Since every girl on the floor looked the same, luckily Arik’s mother pointed out all the Layne girls.
“Why is she wearing all that makeup?” Trent who sat right in front of him, bent to the person next to him and had to shout to be heard. That was when he noticed the surrogate from the night before sitting beside Trent.
“They all wear it. Pay attention,” she yelled back, pointing to the floor.
“She’s eight,” Trent hollered, his head twisting between the girls and the surrogate.
“They have to. It makes them uniformed. Stop being an overprotective dad and pay attention to your daughter!” she scolded. Kellus realized that their entire exchange had been captured on the camera the surrogate held up to record the whole routine.
Kellus was lost again, having no idea which girl was which until the song came to an end and one of the little girls busted out from the pack of others. She ran straight for them, a big grin stretching her cheeks as she climbed through the people to land right in Gage’s lap before she hooked an arm around his neck, then she reached for Trent and gave them a group hug.
“I love it so much!” Em said, beaming at them. Her excitement was contagious. Kellus grinned down at her huge smile and excited face as she looked between Gage and Trent.
“You did good, baby,” Gage said and gave her a quick tight hug. “But I think you have to stay down there a little longer.”
“Sweetheart, come back down here, we have to stay together as a team.” One of the coaches next to Jace had come forward to get her. Kellus looked up to see Jace’s stern attention focused on them. His eyes scanned the whole situation. He took these children’s safety very seriously, but when his gaze landed on Colt, his expression softened for the briefest second before that handsome face grew fierce again.
“Bye,” she said and bounded down the stairs.
It might have been one of the sweetest moments he’d ever seen. This entire family was just so well balanced. He was a little behind when they all stood, and he was last to follow.
“We have to let the next team have the stands,” Diana said, to explain their rapid departure.
He looked down to see a line of people anxiously waiting to get their spots. With everyone exiting and entering the stands, he was easily separated from the family. As tall as he was, there were just too many people in the gym. Instead of searching them out, he decided to give them their time and started for the front doors. The crowds didn’t stop there, so Kellus went through the front doors and started for the car, hoping Arik eventually figured it out.
As he got closer to the car, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket. He swiped the screen to accept Arik’s call.
“Where are you?”
“Outside, close to the car. It was a madhouse in there.” Kellus heard the car doors unlock. “Did you do that?”
“Yeah.” The background noise on Arik’s end made him hard to hear. “Did it start?”
As if it were magic, the car started right up. “It just did.”
“I’ll be out in a minute. They’re talking about freezing temperatures. I can’t imagine that. We’re in Texas, but wait in the car. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Take your time. Tell your parents bye.” The small chirp sounded in his ear as he said those words.
“Will do.” Kellus got inside the car and locked the doors. He palmed his phone to see a text message. With a few swipes, he saw the message was from a telephone number he didn’t know and opened the text.
“What the fuck, Kelly? Cops in front of the house? Are you fucking serious?”
No name appeared on screen, but it could only be from John. He had no idea what he was talking about, but if he saw the police in front of the house, that meant he had to have gone by there. Before answering the text, he checked the security application Arik’s guys had put on his phone. He saw no sign of entry; everything looked locked up tight. That didn’t always seem to matter with John. On that thought, Kellus opened the cameras and saw for himself that the house and shop looked in order.