“When I get a chance to get my hands on some fresh berries, I will make a nice batch of jam,” she said. “Do you think I should make some for the other wives to take with us as icebreakers?”
“Icebreakers?” he asked, peering around Willow, still giving Karli the side eye for eyeballing him. “Stop staring at me like that.”
Karli grinned at him as Dusty came down the stairs. She smiled at her sister, who looked at Raphael giving the same sideways glance. It unnerved him.
“Cut it out,” he said, using his Dad voice.
“Daddy, we’re happy you’re happy,” Dusty said, walking around the table to provide a kiss on his cheek, which he accepted. “Skylar wants me to go bike riding with him today and show me the island. Is that okay?”
“No,” he said, “you don’t know enough about the island, Skylar, or young boys to ride anywhere alone with him.”
“Our friends are coming too,” Dusty whined.
“They are not your friends. Those kids are people who live close by. Until your life is put on the line and one of them has to save you, then they are acquaintances that you don’t trust. You understand me?” he asked.
“Yes Daddy,” Dusty said and let the matter rest for a second. “Can they come over and hang out on the patio again?”
“No, they can’t. I’m not buying food to feed the neighborhood,” he said, feeling like his father. “I’m sorry, Dusty. I’m not trying to be a hard ass here, but coming from the compound into this fast world of kids with too much money and too little guidance is a recipe for disaster. Give me some time to train you properly to operate in this new world, and then, once you are able to defend yourself and discern danger, you can go. There are too many drugs, drinking, and opportunities for the situation to go bad. I don’t want you hurt.”
“Yes, Sir,” she said, “I hear you and respect your decision.”
Dusty took a seat at the table, made her a plate of food, and didn’t bring the subject up again for the remainder of the day. She followed him to the boat on her bicycle and worked at his side helping to clean his boat, and even had Skylar, who joined them later to swab the deck. As the lunch hour neared, Skylar wanted to head out for a slice. He asked if Dusty could come along.
“Skylar, are you willing to protect my daughter? If some man tries to touch her, what will you do?” Raphael asked.
“If he is larger than me, I’m going to get out my phone, take a photo of him and then call 9-1-1,” Skylar said. “If I think I can take him, that dude’s ass is going to get kicked for messing with my girl.”
In Mr. Exit’s estimation, Skylar couldn’t beat his own meat with his left hand on a raining night in a cabin high in the mountains, but he had heart. Raphael passed Dusty a 20.
“Pizza, home. One hour,” he said, pointing at Skylar. “The last thing you ever want is to have me come looking for you, Skylar.”
“Yes, Sir,” Skylar said, helping Dusty down from the deck. He watched them ride off on their bikes, still worried, but he had other items on his list to work through, mainly, a dance lesson with Karli before the big night.
Raphael scratched the side of his face, ready to head home when his phone rang. It was the Archangel.
“Exit,” he said into the line.
Gabriel’s voice was clipped, “Did you know?”
“In my world, the things that I may know or may not be privy can run the gamut. Would you care to be more specific?” he asked in a droll tone.
“The Glitter Man, in Kentucky, he’s killed a few people,” Gabriel said. “People who are connected to the packages in your home.”
“I knew.”
“Did you have anything to do with it?”
“I’m insulted you should ask such a thing from a man with my honorable reputation,” Exit said, waiting for more information.
“Don’t try to make it seem like you’re fancy. You’re an assassin. A well-paid one, but nonetheless a killer. It appears to be mighty convenient that the men who would stand in the way of your happy family are falling ill,” Gabriel said.
“Hymn is sick?”
“No, Kindred is dead,” Gabriel said.
“Yeah, and?”
“Hymn paid the Glitter Man to take care of Kindred. Rami has taken it upon himself to knock off a few of the soldiers surrounding Hymn,” Gabriel said. “There was also an argument where Rami has threatened to find the woman, record her being...intimate and give it to Hymn.”
“Well, that’s perverted,” Exit said in a bored voice.
“Are you being intimate with that woman?”
“Are you planning to marry us on Tuesday?”
“Yes, I am,” Gabriel replied.
“Then you do you and let me handle this,” Exit said. “My eyes are always open. See you Tuesday.”
In his opinion, the Archangel was as messy as a woman without a steady man in her bed. He appreciated the attempt at providing him a heads up, but in his world, information came and information went; it was up to him to determine which was more relevant and pressing. What was relevant and pressing was his stomach, which felt like it was touching his spine. His stomach grumbled. He was hot and sweaty, plus he hadn’t been fishing in nearly three weeks. Fishing. Sex. Fishing. Sex. He liked the sex much better, but truly missed fishing. Now he had to go and teach a 10-year-old to dance before taking her on a date tonight.
A smile came to the corners of his mouth as he thought about Karli in pretty bows, a bit of lip blusher, and white hose with shiny black Mary Jane shoes. He threw his head back in a sad sigh because his next concern was to make sure he had a tie to match her dress.
“Shit, she needs a corsage,” he said, climbing down from the boat. “And I have to buy berries too and shit for Willow to make jam.”
THE AFTERNOON DANCE lessons paid off. He waited at the base of the stairs as Karli descended wearing a yellow pleated skirt dress with a lace bodice and a demi white sweater, white tights, and shiny black shoes. Raphael swallowed hard, nearly choking back the tears he didn’t know his body still produced as she made it to the bottom step and performed a slight curtsey.
“You look so beautiful,” he said, slipping the corsage onto her wrist.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she said with a wide smile. “Look what Mommy made for me.”
She turned in the middle of the floor. With each spin and revolution, the pleats opened to reveal small colorful unicorns tucked neatly away behind each fold. The large bow in her hair, which she wore in a ponytail, was held together by a unicorn ribbon.
“That is one amazing dress, Pooh Bear. You look stunning,” he said softly with his eyes going to Willow. In her spare time, which he didn’t understand where she found any, she had made a matching bow tie and cummerbund for him. He hadn’t worn the tuxedo in the back of his closet in years and opted instead for his black suit and the tuxedo shirt. If Willow found a pair of unicorn cufflinks that would be the point where he would draw the line.
Karli was anxious to leave, asking her father, “Are we ready?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said, extending his arm.
“Wait, we need family photos,” Willow called out and gathered everyone at the base of the stairs. It was then that he noticed the damned dog also had on a unicorn tie and the kitten wore a tiny yellow felt hat with a matching mini jacket.