“It’d also impede my job. Can you imagine trying to arrest someone like this?”
A laugh burst out of me. “It might distract them enough to give you the advantage.”
Carter hummed, then sighed. “Shit, I still want you.”
When I’d laughed seconds ago, I’d felt the proof of that, so this wasn’t a surprise.
“You don’t have to sound so happy about it,” I said sarcastically.
“I am happy about it. I’m just thinking about how many hours we have until Shanti comes home.”
I blinked into the semi-darkness. “How many do we have?”
Flipping me to my back, he slid straight back into me. “Not enough.”
It turns out he was right. There weren’t enough hours. But we made the most of the ones we did have. And in the morning, I managed to stay calm in the face of the shit storm the news of having a possible second brother would cause me.
There wasn’t much I could do about it anyway, at least not until I had the DNA test results back, and I had to make sure Shanti was okay. Her picking up on the turmoil inside me wouldn’t help her, and I was adamant nothing would touch her. She’d been through enough in her short life already, and I’d sworn from day one to stop as much bullshit hitting her as I could.
So, yeah, I buried my head in the sand for the moment, but news like that didn’t mean I had to stop living, so I didn’t feel guilty about doing it. Instead, I waited excitedly for Carter to come back from picking her up while sucking up more fish babies and putting them in the little nursery.
NINE
Carter
“Where are we going?” Shanti asked from the back, her little neck stretched to the side as she looked out the window.
“Where do you think we’re going?”
Ignoring the question, she let out a loud sigh. “Where are we on the map?”
Glancing at the screen of GPS, I tried to think of a vague response to her question. “We’re following the blue line on the screen.”
“Huh. Hey, Carter, I need to go potty.”
Driving with little kids in the car was a different experience altogether, and I could say that after dealing with drunk, high, and severely pissed off people.
“We’re almost there, and then you can use the bathroom.”
“What if they don’t have a clean one?”
She had a good point. “We’ll line the seat with toilet paper.”
“What if they have that rough stuff? They got it at school, and my fingers go through it like puppets, except these ones have p—”
“Okay, okay,” I interrupted through my laughter. “I get it. If you need the bathroom that badly, though, you’re going to have to like it and lump it.”
“Curses,” she sighed, making me laugh even harder. How did that come out of a four-year-old?
Jacinda, it had to be her.
When the GPS told me we were almost at our destination, I hid a smile, hoping she hadn’t already figured it out.
That was dumb, considering I was with Shanti.
“Are we at the pet store?”
“We are.”
She was silent as I parked up and turned off the engine, then she squealed. “Are we getting a puppy?”
I’m not gonna lie, this kid melted me and was capable of extorting anything she wanted out of me with just a pout, but if I got her a puppy, Naomi would kill me.
“Not quite.”
“A kitten?” she asked hopefully as she undid her seatbelt and got out of the car, waiting next to me, and not giving in to the urge to run inside the store without me, which I appreciated. I wasn’t the kind of person who trusted distance between us, even if I was right behind her. I’d seen and dealt with too much for that.
“Nope.”
“A parrot?” I shook my head as she grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the entrance. “A normal bird?”
“No, we’re not here to pick up any more pets. We’re here to get something for the fish.”
I was braced and ready for her to pout or beg, but instead, she grinned up at me. “Neat. What about a shipwreck? Or some pink plants? Or more fish?”
I didn’t trust myself to ever buy fish again after the mistake I’d made with the pregnant ones. “You’ll see.”
It was a relatively quick trip as I picked up two more nursery things for the babies, a big tank with all of the setup shit in it and dividers for it to separate any babies based on when they were born.
Shanti stayed quiet the whole time until the sales chick said the total.
“Holy guacamole, you’re shedding a lot of cheddar on the fishies, Carter. Aunt Naomi’s gonna get that red face she gets when she’s upset.”
“She knows I’m getting this stuff, Hubba Bubba Baby.”
Shrugging, she followed me and the guy from the store who was helping me put it in my car. “It’s your grave, man.”