Cal walks over to us. “Looks like he drowned.”
“What?” Penny hisses, frowning at him. “Did his boat sink?”
Cal shakes his head. “He was hanging off the side of the boat, his face in the water. They’re trying to revive him now, but it’s not gonna happen. Dude is dead.”
Relief floods through me.
Penny stiffens. “I threw a rock at him.”
“Did he deserve it?” Cal asks.
“He deserved more. I would have given it to him too,” she growls. “I didn’t have time. I had to get to Zella.”
I run my knuckle down her spine and give her a kiss on the head. “You’re a hero, Penny English.”
We linger quietly until a cop walks over to us a while later.
“Henderson was pronounced dead on the scene,” the officer states in a flat tone. Everyone in this town knows about that monster. “He had a contusion on his head. Know how he got that?” He pins Penny with a firm stare. Almost as if… Almost as if he wants her to lie.
“He fell,” she says, the emotionless Penny wall up and stronger than ever. “Must have bumped it on the boat.”
“Must have,” the officer agrees. “You ladies okay?”
“We’re perfect now,” Penny says. “We just want to go home.”
“We’ll have you out of here in no time, ma’am.”
“Work harder, pet,” Penny says. “For a construction dude, you sure do yap a lot.”
Jace flips her off but doesn’t let go of the beam Jordy is trying to screw into. The swing set is much harder to assemble in the dark—our only light from the headlights of our vehicles—but my daughter deserves to wake up to this, especially after the helluva day she’s endured.
Hollis and I are working on the rock wall section while Cal takes a break to walk Charlotte home. Roan’s shift will end soon, but he’ll be beat after putting that hotel fire out. It might take us all night with just the four of us, but that’s fine by me as long as it’s ready to go by morning.
“Where’s Garrett?” I ask Penny.
“Inside with Tierra. They’re watching Zella sleep. It’s super creepy.” She grins at me before sipping on more hot cocoa.
I chuckle. “He’s a doctor. It’s what they do.”
“What’s Tierra’s excuse for hanging with Dad?” Penny challenges.
“Daddy issues,” Jace offers.
Jordy kicks him.
“Ow,” Jace complains. “A fuckin’ joke, man.”
I get back to work but sneak glances at Penny. After she and Zella were released, we came back. Cal cooked up the burgers, the girls drank hot cocoa, and then Zella conked out. Poor thing nearly died today. She deserves to rest. Penny has been wired. I’ll wear her out later, properly worshiping every part of her like the queen she is.
Sometimes a hero can be both a knight and a queen.
My Penny is.
“Your heart eyes are glowing in the dark, Smash,” Penny calls out. “Focus on your task or I’ll be forced to call in reinforcements.”
“Don’t,” I warn.
“Oops. Already did.” She laughs. “My bad.”
“You gonna spank her ass or am I?” Jace asks.
“I’ll get her later,” I promise.
But first, we have to deal with her oopsie.
“If you all take your shirts off, this will go faster,” Loden says, appearing from the trail beside my cabin.
“Definitely whipping her ass for this,” Jace grinds out.
“Make yourself useful, Lo, and hand me that board,” I bark out.
He grumbles but saunters our way. Jace glowers at him, but Loden laughs, poking his stomach as he passes. Jace nearly drops the beam on his head.
“Yeah, yeah, pet,” Penny says. “I know. I’m in trouble.”
“She likes trouble,” Jordy replies unhelpfully. “Her mouth gets her into a lot of it.”
“Sass for days,” I agree.
“I can hear you,” she calls out.
“That’s the point.”
She flips me off. “Stop talking.”
This fucking girl.
Three hours and one fully assembled swing set later, I abandon my friends to carry my exhausted girl inside. I’m a man on a mission as I shut my bedroom door and undress her. After her fall into the river, she took a shower and she smells like her usual sweet self.
“You going to give me a reward fuck for saving the day?” she taunts, stifling a yawn.
I set her down in the bed and then undress. Once I crawl into bed, I haul her to me, stroking my fingers down her arm.
“I might have to take that reward in the morning.” Another yawn. “Or you can do me while I sleep.”
I grin as I kiss her head. “Stop talking, Penny.”
“Okay,” she murmurs.
“I love you, Zero.”
“Love you too, roadkill.”
We both laugh and then it grows quiet again. I’m almost asleep when I sense Penny tensing up.
“What is it?” I ask, hugging her tighter to me.
“She, uh, she called me Momma.”
My heart squeezes in my chest.
“I couldn’t correct her,” she whimpers. “I couldn’t do that to her.”
Hot tears wet my chest. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
“But I’m not her momma.”
“You might not think so right now, but one day, when you’re older and pregnant with more of my babies, you’ll realize it.”
“Realize what?” she croaks.
“You’re ours. Zella and I won’t ever let you go. Might as well accept it, Momma.”
She laughs. “You’re a caveman.”
“According to Zella, I’m the king. My laws. My rules. You’re ours.”
“Fine, your majesty. I’m yours. Now go to sleep before I find some other bed to crawl into that’s quieter.”
“You’re not going anywhere, woman.”
Her pleased sigh is my only response and then her breathing evens out as she falls asleep.
I can’t sleep, though. I realize that my happily ever after begins right now.
Unlike the storybooks, mine ends with a mouthy knight who slayed the dragon to save a princess for her beloved king. It’s not like how most stories go, but I wouldn’t change a goddamn thing about it.
Penny
One year later…
The English professor drones on and on, but I can’t focus on him. And it’s not because I have one AirPod in as I listen to my white noise, either. It’s because of her.
Charlotte cuts her eyes my way, pausing from her studious note taking. There’s a benefit with taking classes with your nerd sister. Later, you can just copy off her notes.
“What?” she mouths, frowning at me.
I smirk at her. She knows. A smile tugs at her lips before she goes back to taking notes for us. Charlotte is as beautiful as ever, but man is she huge.
Her belly, that is.
Cal calls it super sperm. I call it gross.
Somehow, despite my sister being on birth control, she managed to get knocked up. It wasn’t planned or expected. Certainly derailed her career plans. She assures me it’s only a minor setback that’ll be worth it. One day she’ll eventually become a doctor. I believe her. At least now, she also gets to be a mom. I know, when forced to choose, she’d drop becoming a doctor in a heartbeat if it meant keeping the baby boy in her belly.