“Assholes,” Ronan muttered under his breath, not wanting the kids to hear him again. He still needed to figure out a way to stay out of the doghouse with Tennyson. “Anyone in the mood for Lobster Charlie’s?” The way to Ten’s heart was through his stomach. Maybe if his husband’s tummy was full of seafood, he’d forget to be mad at him.
“Sounds good to me,” Fitz said. “All Aurora’s wanted for dinner all week is mac and cheese. I could use a break.”
“Wolf’s like that too, only wanting one food. I hate the idea of him growing up to be a picky eater, but in the grand scheme, there are worse things he could be.”
Hooting and hollering caught Ronan’s attention. He could see the kids high-fiving each other and celebrating. Ten and Cope looked on proudly. Everly ran past Ten and into Ronan’s arms. “What do you think? Are the other kids gonna like our songs?”
“No, honey. I don’t think they’ll like your songs.” Ronan made an exaggerated sad face.
“What?” Everly’s face scrunched up. She looked like she was about to launch into a monologue on why their concert was going to be the best ever.
“I think they’re gonnaloveyour songs!” Ronan snorted.
Everly collapsed to the floor. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Who’s got a fart attack?” Wolf asked, running to Everly’s rescue. He pulled his friend up from the floor and tooted from the exertion.
“Not me,” Aurora said, waving a hand in front of her nose.
“Ewww, Woofie!” Everly gagged. “It’s in my mouth.”
“I love hot dog day!” Wolf ripped another juicy one. “Squishy!”
“I thought we might get dinner from Lobster Charlie’s,” Jude said with a shrug. “But if Wolf is having an issue controlling himself, I guess we’ll just have to go home and have toast.”
“I promise I’ll be good,” Wolf said. He looked disappointed, as if he had a lot more stored up for later. His cheeks bulged like a chipmunk collecting nuts for a long, cold winter.
Ronan took a step back. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Wolf when the little boy erupted. Not that it wouldn’t be hilarious, but he didn’t want to get any in his mouth either. “Lobster rolls all around?”
“With tots, please! I love tots!” Aurora grinned.
“Done!” Ronan loved the tater tots too. His mother used to make them for him when he was a kid. It was times like this when he missed Erin the most. She would have loved seeing Everly sing her little heart out in rehearsal tonight and would have been there with bells on for the concert tomorrow. He didn’t often miss the mediumistic powers he’d somehow gotten when he’d tripped and hit his head on the kitchen floor, but when it came to missing his mother, he’d take them back in a heartbeat.
4
Tennyson
After a dinner filled with lobster rolls and crispy tots, Ten had spent an hour pampering himself in the bathroom while Ronan wrangled the kids. He wasn’t angry that Ronan had said a bad word in front of Everly’s class but knew there would be complaints from some of the parents, especially the ones who thoughttheyshould have been the ones leading the choir practices. He deserved a night of pampering before the shit hit the fan.
Ten treated the next morning like any other, getting Everly on the school bus and Ezra ready for his day with Truman, who was also keeping Lizbet so Kaye could see the bigger kids sing. He and Ronan had spoken about bringing the kids with them when they went to the school for the concert but had decided it would be easier to keep to their usual schedule. The last thing he did before leaving for the field trip was to pack a cooler bag with juice pouches and snacks for the kids and water for himself and Ronan.
When he and Ronan arrived at the school, Ten had been given a final list of the students participating. Two kids had stayed home sick, which meant he was also down two chaperones. He’d have to see if Kaye and one of the other parents would be willing to fill in. With about twenty parents milling around, Ten stood next to the bus door, ready to check the names off his list.
“Are you ready for this?” Cope asked, coming to stand beside him.
“No!” Ten laughed. “I don’t think anyone is ready to spend time on a bus with twenty-five kindergarteners. I’m glad we’ve got a lot of chaperones, but I’m worried about the kids who don’t have anyone with them. We’ll have to keep our eyes open for signs of trouble.”
“I’ve got extra tissue packs in my bag just in case.” Cope patted his black backpack.
“Excuse me, Mr. Grimm?” a woman asked from behind him.
Rolling his eyes so hard his head hurt, Ten turned to see Ruth’s mother, Rachel, with a worried look on her face. “Good morning! Are you ready for the concert?” He hoped his sunny smile would disarm the woman, who his gift told him was gunning for bear.
“I’ve had a chat with some of the other parents, and we don’t think you and Mr. Forbes should be leading the choir.” Rachel offered her own brilliant smile in return, as if she knew something Ten didn’t.
It took all of Ten’s self-control not to remind the woman he was psychic. He knew the godly woman had gone down on her husband in the shower this morning and got a pearl necklace for her trouble. He bit his lip to keep from laughing. Ten didn’t know which would be funnier, the look on her face when he reminded her of his gifts or her reaction to her husband’s deposit. “Why is that?” Ten asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ronan and Fitz heading their way. Ronan might not be psychic, but he had this sixth sense of his own when it came to trouble.
“Well, because you’re with him…” She pointed to Ronan on the down-low.
