Heart's Desire

Chapter 28 - Monty

"Y'all sit down and enjoy your breakfast," Freya says. "I'll handle this."

She goes to the door with a straight spine and a grim expression, and opens it before our visitor can ring the bell.

On the other side, Darius L'Amour stands with one hand behind his back and his hat and walking stick in the other. He grins at Freya, bows at the waist, and produces a dozen perfect red roses with a flourish.

He must be a magician of some kind.

Freya crosses her arms over her chest, her posture suggesting she's unimpressed, and ignores the offering.

"Darius. What are you doing here?"

He looks her up and down. She's still in her sleepwear, which consists of a cutoff t-shirt, exposing her midriff, and a pair of tiny shorts.

Lifting his eyes back up to hers, he grins. "I missed you, lady. A king is but half a man without his queen."

Freya scoffs. "The only thing you're likely to be 'king' of is the nearest Walmart parking lot." She nods over his shoulder at the behemoth vehicle blocking the road. "Get lost."

"Freya!" our dad calls from the kitchen. "The man's clearly come a long way for a reason. Why don't you invite him in?"

Darius's grin widens, revealing unusually sharp teeth, and his dark eyes sparkle with humor. "Yes, Freya, why don't you invite me in?" he asks.

"We'll be outside," she says, and steps through, slamming the door after her.

"Bets on the roses," Julian says. "I say they're doomed."

"It's fifty-fifty," Dane agrees, still staring at the closed door. "Wonder what they fought about?"

I focus on my breakfast. If Freya hadn't shared the whole story with Dane yet, that was her business. Meanwhile, Kit looks between our plates with a frown.

"My eggs are different from yours," he says.

My dad returns to the table with a fresh pot of coffee, and takes the seat on Kit's other side. "I know you said 'sunny, like Monty,' but you strike me as more of a 'scrambled' boy. Go on and try it. If you don't like 'em, I'll make you something else."

Ducking his head, Kit obediently spears a piece of fluffy golden egg on his fork and takes a bite. He drops his fork in surprise and goes still.

"Is it okay?" my dad asks, concerned. "I didn't mix up the salt and sugar again, did I?"

"It is delicious," Kit whispers, looking up at him shyly. "I did not know eggs could taste like this."

My dad gives him a funny look. "Tell you what, Kit: I'll teach you how to make 'em – and all the other kinds of eggs, too. Then you can find out for yourself what kind's your favorite."

Kit ducks his head again, blushing. "Yes, Sir. Joseph, sir."

My dad raises a brow at me, but I just shake my head. Kit's story is too much to tell over breakfast.

Meanwhile, the twins are causing chaos again. Luca somehow managed to eat half a stick of butter while no one was looking, and Luna got hold of the syrup bottle. Now, Julian struggles to get the girl to eat something other than maple syrup before the sugar-high hits, while Dane degreases her brother.

Our mom looks on with a fond expression.

"You know, I wasn't sure I'd ever see you as a father, Dane," she says. "I'm glad I was wrong. You're a natural – both of you are."

Julian looks up from his battle and flashes her a smile. "Unnatural is more like it," he laughs. "Being mated to a man, this is one kind of 'accident' I thought I was safe from. But I don't regret it one bit," he adds, having finally interested Luna in a bite of Kit's scrambled egg.