Drake Forever (Unrestrained 7)

"Of course," I said, for I would if it would make Kate happy. "If you feel it would give you more time with Sophie or with your art, yes."

She glanced away and considered. "I'd be embarrassed. Maybe a housekeeper once a week though. That would be nice. Then neither of us would have to mop or vacuum."

"Consider it done. I'm sure there's a service we could hire that could come in once a week. We could all go out as a family while they were cleaning and when we came home, all our dust and dirt would be gone."

"That's great. But I want to keep cooking together. I love it when we cook for each other."

"Me, too."

We kissed quickly and then returned to our breakfasts while the news came on at the top of the hour.

The jury had been deliberating for several days, and that wasn't a good thing, according to Lara. The longer they took, the less likely they were to convict because it would mean the state's case had not been made clearly enough for an easy verdict. They had asked to see evidence again and read over testimony. Lara said it was often the case that jurors wanted to go back over the evidence and testimony but the longer they were out, the shorter might be the sentence.

Finally, what we had been waiting for – the jury reached a verdict and was going to reconvene in the courtroom. There were cameras on the street and a real buzz in the public. What would the verdict be? We watched entranced while the news reporters outside the courtroom heard the verdict over their earphones and informed the viewers.

The verdict was better than I could have hoped. Lisa would be spending twenty-five years in prison for the murder of Derek Richardson. Her trial for the death of Jones wasn’t for months but it could only add to her sentence – or I hoped at least she'd get another decade or two.

I turned to Kate and smiled, then opened my arms. Together, we hugged and a moment of silence passed between us. I think that, at that moment, the burden of the past was partially lifted.

She was going away – for a long time. Once her other trial took place, I knew she'd be going away for even longer.

"I'm so glad," Kate said, tears in her eyes. "That bitch can no longer hurt us."

"I hope not," I said but I felt uncertain even then. I paid a heavy price for my relationship with Lisa. What else could she do? She could continue to spread lies about me. I had a feeling she wouldn’t go gently into that good night.

Kate and I sat listening to the commentary for another half an hour. Then I heard a squeak from the back of the suite.

"That's Sophie," I said. "I'll go get her. You stay."

"Are you sure?" Kate said, making a move to stand.

"It's my day today. You stay."

"Okay, thanks," she said and sat back down, then continued watching.

I went to the bedroom and opened the drapes to admit bright sunlight into the room. Sophie was standing up in her crib and was smiling at me, her pacifier in her mouth.

"Good morning sweetheart," I said and went to her, picking her up and giving her a big kiss on both cheeks. "How's Daddy's favorite little girl?"

She pointed to the door, but instead, I carried her to the bed and laid her down, grabbing the diaper bag from the floor. Of course, by the time I got back, she'd crawled to the edge of the bed so I had to grab her playfully and pull her back into place. While I unzipped the bag, she twisted out of my hand and crawled once more over to the edge.

"Hey, you!" I said and grabbed her, pulling her towards me and tickling her once I got her back into place. "You stay put so Daddy can change your diaper."

She giggled when I tickled her, and finally, she let me get her onesie unzipped and her diaper off. As I changed her, we played the 'Wat dat?' game, as I called it. It was a point and name game that we played while I changed her. She would point and sometimes poke my face or her own and we'd name the part. Every time I changed her, it was the same.

"Wat dat?"

"Daddy's nose," I replied. Then it was my turn. "What's that?" I asked, pointing to one of her eyes.

"FoFi eyes." Then, she'd point at something on me. "Wat dat?"

"Daddy's mouth. What's that?"

"FoFi ear."

Sophie referred to herself as FoFi, as it seemed to come the easiest for her to pronounce. I loved hearing her say actual words rather

than the babble that often came out when she was trying to talk. I couldn't wait to hear what went on in her mind in more detail once she could express herself more fully.