“Right,” Ronan agreed. “The information you get from your gift isn’t always yours to give away. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Everly shook her head.
“If I tell you I’m gonna get Dad a new car for his birthday, that’s a secret between us, right?” Ronan wished he could get Ten abitchin’ Corvette, but the closest he’d be able to come was a toy car from the store.
“Right.”
“So, if you go to Dad and tell him I’m gonna get him a Mercedes for his birthday, that’s not your secret to tell. Do you see what I’m saying?”
Everly nodded.
“Make it a BMW and you’ve got a deal!” Ten laughed as he walked into the kitchen. “It’s time to put on your costume. Give me a shout if you need help.”
“Okay, Dad.” Everly sprinted out of the room.
“Were you talking about the bike situation?” Ten asked, pressing a kiss to Ronan’s lips.
“Yeah, but I don’t know if I’m explaining it right. I told Everly that not everything her gift tells her is something she should share.”
“I definitely need to work with her on that. Figuring out what to keep to myself and what to reveal wasn’t an easy lesson to learn.”
“I agree, but we need to teach Everly that she can’t promise things that are above her pay grade.”
Ten snickered. “We’ll work on it together. What’s your plan for the race today? I know you’re both upset about Kenny P.”
“Everly told me she had a chat with my mom last night and decided that she just wanted to go out there today and have fun with me and her friends. To be honest, it’s what I should have urged her to do in the first place. I hate bullies and the idea of someone trying to hurt our daughter, even if it’s a first grade classmate, makes my blood boil. As a father, it’s my job to turndown the temperature, but instead, I feel like I only turned it up.”
“You did just fine, Ronan. The most important things we can teach our kids is how to handle themselves in this scary, ugly world we live in. This is just another lesson in Everly’s ongoing education. The thing to focus on here is that it upset her to think about striking back at that rotten kid.”
“You’re right.” Ronan knew this was a big takeaway for their daughter. “I just wish there weren’t assholes in the world bent on hurting people.”
“Come on, Ronan, it’s the assholes and their karma who make life interesting.” Ten grinned at Ronan. “That and glitter.”
Ronan barked a laugh. “I can’t wait to pass your color station. I want to shimmer like Snow White’s diamond mine!”
“We’ll be stationed by the bank, which is near the end of the course.”
“People are gonna lose their shit when they start to sparkle likeTwilightvampires!” Ronan still couldn’t believe Ten had been onboard with his crazy idea to add glitter to the color powder. Thanks to several trips to local craft stores, everyone who participated in the Salem Witches Fun Run was going to shine bright like a million diamonds.
6
Jude
Jude stood with the other runners going through pre-race stretches. His glutes were a little tight, but that wouldn’t keep him from the start line. As far as he was concerned nothing would stop him from running alongside his son, nieces, and best friends.
“You realize these kids are going to smoke our asses, right?” Ronan asked. He was leaning from side to side following along with Greg Prentiss, the elementary school’s gym teacher, as he stressed how important warming up was before the race. Ronan looked like a million bucks in his pink tutu and curly wig.
It was on the tip of Jude’s tongue to tell Ronan the only thing getting smoked would be their victory cigars, but he knew his annoying best friend was right on the money. Wolf had been running non-stop for the last two hours and still had tons of energy to spare. Not only was Wolf going to kick his ass, but everyone else’s as well. "Oh, yeah. The kids will be across the finish line before any of us even find our stride.”
“Speak for yourselves.” Fitzgibbon crowed. He was dressed in a pair of black running shorts and a purple tutu, which highlighted his ass, along with a Salem Witches Dead Run tee that was stretched to bursting across his broad chest. On his head was a witch’s hat headband sitting at a jaunty angle. Fitz looked like a million bucks. Maybe fiftywasthe new thirty. “I’m kicking everyone’s ass today. Especially yours.” He pointed a finger back and forth between Jude and Ronan.
Jude rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, before the ass kicking starts, can you help me with my cape?” Jude held it out to Ronan. Thankfully, Ten had added Velcro to the strings of the red SuperJude cape so that he wouldn’t accidentally suffocate himself, or strangle if someone grabbed the cape from behind and pulled tight.
“Tilt your chin back.” Ronan fastened the cape. “Ten must have gotten the idea for the Velcro from that tear-away toga he loves to wear when we roleplay as Maximus Erectus and Titus Assicus!”
“EW! TMI!” Jude batted Ronan’s hands away. “I’ll never unsee that.”
“You think Ten could make something like that for Jace and me?” Fitzgibbon waggled his eyebrows.
