King’s Queen by Marie Johnston

Chapter 16

Aiden

My nephews’laughter drifted down the hall of the trailer and into the bedroom. I sat on the edge of Kate’s bed with my arms propped on my legs, answering emails on my phone.

New Year’s Eve wasn’t a holiday. I’d gone to the office early in order to make Sharon’s dinner on time. The McDonoughs celebrated New Year’s Eve with pizza, but just because Sharon didn’t cook it didn’t mean I was going to be late. Other than not wishing to insult my mother-in-law, I had another reason to make sure I showed.

Tonight, Kate was coming home with me. Her bags were packed and by the bedroom door. Tomorrow morning, I’d wake up next to my wife.

This year was going to be different. I’d find a way to balance all the demands on my time. I’d make it work.

Violet hovered in the doorway.

I glanced up from my screen. “What’s up?”

She looked around the room in a way that told me she didn’t have a purpose for coming in here, but now that I’d asked her a question, she was determined to figure out an answer. “Um…what are you working on?”

“I’m analyzing the amounts we’ve contributed to non-petroleum-based energy research programs over the last five years and trying to project how much more we should contribute based on current findings.”

“Oh,” she said like she followed every word. “I’m almost eight.” She kicked a foot up so only her toes were on the floor, then took a hop into the room.

I clicked off my phone. Solar energy returns could wait. Violet was usually in the thick of rowdiness with the boys. She seemed to need something quieter right now.

“Any birthday plans?”

She shook her head and wandered into the room, plopping on the bed, her little legs swinging off the side. “My dad said he’d take me wherever I want to go to eat.”

“That’ll be fun.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I told Mommy I wanted a watermelon cake.”

“That sounds…” Would the cake look like a watermelon, or taste like it? Or both? “Good?”

She nodded. “Chocolate chips are going to be the seeds.”

That answered one question. “How’s wrestling?”

“Good.” Violet’s shoulders hunched.

What had I said? I nudged her with my elbow. “How good is good?”

“Grandpa tries to coach me, but there’s a lot of kids.”

“And not enough coaches?”

She nodded. “Think Aunt Kate will practice with me?”

The image of Kate wrestling with little Violet made me smile. How cute would that be? Seeing her mess around with the boys had shown me a whole new side of her. Violet was so much smaller, but with just as much determination. “There’s nothing wrong with asking her.”

Violet shifted from foot to foot, her expression unsure.

“Would you like me to talk to her?”

She brightened. “Could you?”

“Hmm…” I pretended to think about it. Violet’s eyes widened as she waited for the answer. “I’ll talk to her.”

She grinned and threw her arms around me. “Thank you, Uncle Aiden.” She jumped back. The wrestling crisis must be taken care of in her mind. “I brought my Old Maid cards but no one likes to play with me. Gramma said it was game night, but they’re not playing games I like.”

Kate had asked Violet to be her partner during Scrabble against Randall, but the girl had drifted away a little before I’d left for the bedroom. Jason and Sophie were each cleaning off their own six-pack and getting louder in a Cards Against Humanity game with Sharon. My mother-in-law was indulging in her second rum and Cherry Coke. The game was getting rowdy and full of jokes Violet shouldn’t hear. Matt and Violet’s mom, Ada, had plans with friends and had dropped Violet off to play with her cousins.

I could easily work another hour on my tiny screen, but I’d been sequestered in the bedroom long enough. I’d work longer tomorrow. “Why don’t you grab your cards and bring them here?”

Her eyes brightened. “You know how to play Old Maid?”

“Kiddo, I grew up playing Old Maid.” I hadn’t played the game since I was old enough to tie my own shoes, but she didn’t need to know that.

Violet ran off and was back within a minute, lugging a pink backpack covered in unicorns. She jumped onto the bed. I tucked my phone away in my pocket as she unloaded dolls and books from the backpack.

I picked up one of the books and paged through it. “You can read this stuff already?” My first-grade days were hazy, but I didn’t recall reading books with this many words on the page. It was a cross between a graphic novel and a chapter book.

“Uh-huh.” She found the cards and shoved everything else to the side. A fairy doll and a book similar to the one I was holding fell off the side. She ignored it. “So, I deal all the cards. Only put down pairs. If you get two school teachers, put those cards down. But if you have three school teachers, don’t put all three down.”

She spoke with the seriousness of Kendall running a meeting. I picked up my cards and arranged them, setting down each pair I found. Over the top of her cards, Violet watched me like a hawk, waiting for me to make a wrong move.

“Okay,” I said. “Remind me how the rest of this goes again.”

She smacked her lips, her expression full of ancient wisdom. “So. You pick a card from my hand, and if you get a pair, set it down. Whoever’s left with the old maid loses.”

“Got it.”

I chose a card. Half my enjoyment from the simple game was watching Violet trying to control her poker face. I knew when I was picking the old maid or not by the way her eyes lightened or her mouth twisted, fighting a smile.

I wasn’t a big believer in letting kids win—lord knew Mama never had. She’d been brutal to play cards with. But uncles were supposed to spoil their nieces and I’d done a shit job of it. When choosing between the last two of her cards, I deliberately chose the one that made her smile impossible to hide.

“Oh, no.” I feigned disappointment. “I lost!”

She dissolved into giggles.

I grinned and shuffled the cards. “Play again?”

“What’s the party like in here?” Kate leaned against the doorframe, her warm gaze taking in the cards.

“I’m getting my butt kicked. Wanna play?”

Kate’s gaze landed on Violet. “I don’t know. I’ve heard what a card shark she is.”

Violet scooted over, sending more of her books and dolls onto the floor. “We can play with three people.”

Kate glanced down the hall. Thumps resonated from the living room. Shouts of Why’d you do that? mixed with accusations of cheating from Caleb and Corbin. Jason’s boom cut through the noise. “Shut the hell up. The neighbors are gonna call the police.”

Kate lifted a brow and eyed us. “I think cards is a safe choice.”

“Are you guys staying overnight too?” Violet asked as I was dealing cards.

Kate smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed. “No. Jason and Sophie get the bedroom. You and the boys get to camp out in the living room.”

If there was a living room left after tonight.

“Can I go home with you guys?”

I paused mid deal and caught Kate’s gaze. She lifted her brows to ask if it was okay with me.

I’d imagined taking Kate home and keeping her up until dawn doing wicked things I wouldn’t feel right doing with a seven-year-old overnight guest.

Violet intently watched us silently communicate.

Kate wasn’t answering, leaving it up to me. Which meant she didn’t mind, but she worried I would.

We’d never had a kid stay overnight. None of my brothers had kids yet and Kate had rarely hosted her family for the holidays. From the ruckus, I could understand why. I couldn’t imagine that in our quiet house.

A sense of loss tugged at my chest. Caleb and Corbin arguing was nothing like what Beck and I could do. Or Beck and Xander. Dawson and any of us. Sometimes all of us, and we hadn’t needed to be fighting to be that loud.

The silence was as obvious as the lack of photos of Kate and me living our life.

“We’ll have to ask your parents,” I finally said.

Violet flung herself across the cards into my arms. I patted her back and met Kate’s gaze. The wistfulness in her eyes disappeared as soon as she looked at me. Did it have to do with not having Violet or the boys over very often? Or did it have to do with not having kids of our own? Would she tell me what she’d been thinking?

I didn’t think so. And that bothered me. We weren’t moving forward with the divorce, but that didn’t mean we were done working on our relationship.

* * *

Kate

I wokewith a warm lump pressed into my back. It was too small to be my husband.

I blinked my eyes open. Aiden’s side of the bed was empty. I closed my eyes and concentrated. Muffled, rhythmic thumps came from downstairs. He was in the gym, but he’d closed the door to keep from waking us up.

I shifted to my back. Violet uncoiled from her huddle and flung an arm and leg out, narrowly missing both my face and my bladder.

Chuckling, I rolled a little farther away. But the girl was a heat-seeking missile. She flopped into me.

What would we do today? I wasn’t prepared for company. I’d felt like a failure of an aunt when I’d realized that I hadn’t done an overnight with my niece and nephews since I’d been married.

Frowning, I rolled out of bed and dressed. I knew why I hadn’t had sleepovers, but I’d never asked Aiden about it. I had assumed he’d be working and he’d want it quiet. Would he have minded? Could I have had the boys over, made popcorn, kept them from destroying the house, and then played with them the next morning? Would Aiden have joined in?

Would I have invited him to?

We had all this acreage and I rarely did more than grow a few flowers and take walks. It was made for kids to roam, build snowmen, and find frogs.

Violet sat up. Her fine blond hair stuck up in a million directions, a dandelion gone to seed and ready to blow away.

I rubbed her back and murmured for her to go back to sleep, but she shook her head and stumbled to the bathroom.

She’d managed to stay awake long enough to yell Happy New Year at midnight with my intoxicated family and her overstimulated brothers. Then she’d fallen asleep on the drive to the house.

I’d taken way too much pleasure watching Aiden lift her out of the pickup and cradle her into the house. We’d put her in the guest bedroom across from our room, but as soon as I’d wiggled between the covers next to Aiden in our bed, she’d cried out.

A strange room in a strange house.

I’d led her to our bed and she’d been asleep before her head hit the pillow.

She trudged out of the bathroom. “Can we have pancakes for breakfast?”

“Absolutely.”

I made Aiden’s protein shake and left it on the island instead of taking it down to him. Violet helped me measure ingredients. Flour dusted the counter and the floor by the time we were done, along with the residue of an egg I’d swiped up right away.

Seeing my kitchen dirty like this filled me with a sense of rightness. And that gave me pause.

Aiden bounded up the stairs, wearing his usual workout gear plus a shirt, since we had company. He smiled at us. Lines of fatigue fanned around his eyes. He spotted his shake and beelined toward us.

“Thanks.”

“Welcome.” I peeked at him while pretending to watch Violet whisk the eggs. I loved seeing him after he worked out. Sweaty. Casual. His thoughts weren’t as rigidly guarded. He usually smiled easier, laughed more. But this morning his shoulders hung lower, and when he closed his eyes to chug his shake, he left them closed a few heartbeats longer.

“Did you get enough sleep?” I asked.

“Yeah,” was all he said. He put his empty shaker in the dishwasher. “I’m gonna shower. Let me know when breakfast is ready?”

Violet bounced on her toes. “I’ll make you a special pancake, Uncle Aiden.”

Another fatigue-lined smile. “Thanks, Petal.”

She giggled. “Welcome, Bud.”

The nickname was cute. They’d come up with it last night when Violet asked why people called her dad Mattie instead of Matt. Could I be called Violetie? Aiden had countered that nicknames could also be a play on a name. Like Flower, Petal, or Bud for Violet. She’d lobbied hard for Petal. Then started calling Aiden Bud.

With her help, making pancakes and eggs took longer than normal. Aiden hadn’t come out of the bedroom yet. I wiped counters while Violet swept. Aiden still wasn’t out.

“Do you mind getting silverware and napkins? I’ll get Aiden.”

Our bedroom door was closed. His voice drifted through the door. “I get it.”

I hated to bug him, but I’d just signal him somehow that breakfast was ready. I cracked the door. He was on the edge of the bed, his head in his hand while he listened. His damp hair was pushed back like he’d run his fingers through it a few times since he’d gotten out of the shower.

“No, I know, but I’m going to be objective.” He glanced at me. The resounding pressure in his eyes faded, but didn’t disappear. “Yes, I’ll get those too.” His shoulders went rigid. “I remember what happened, Grams. All I’m doing is compiling numbers. Yes, I know we’re on the downswing of a boom.”

Aw, heck. Emilia had caught wind that the board was getting approached about adding high-level positions and she was readying herself. Why couldn’t she see what it was doing to her family?

“Bye, Grams.” He clicked off and tossed the phone aside. Scrubbing his face, he muttered, “I shouldn’t have answered.”

In all the years I’d witnessed him giving one thousand percent to that company, I’d never heard him say that. That he’d said it in regard to his grandmother was depressing. “How’d she hear of it?”

He reclined on his hands. “Kendall sent the agenda out yesterday, hoping Grams would think about it over the holiday before she bombarded us. We didn’t want the board to think we were jumping them with this request. We want to be transparent.”

“And what is your grandmother’s problem with taking a day to think about it?”

He gave his head a little shake. “Unfortunately, they’re valid concerns. Not insurmountable, but valid.”

“Okay?” I took a seat next to him.

“How are current employees going to feel about new positions with market-comparable wages? New hires making more is never good for morale. Even if all current positions get the same bump, there are still those employees who will point out how much less they made when they started. Then there’s the promotions. Could any in-house promotions cause declines in morale? Competition in the workplace can be good to a point, until an employee feels like they’ve lost a chance for upward mobility, or that the promotions weren’t fair. If we hire outside of the firm instead of promoting from within, how will that look to lower-echelon employees? We could have a mass exodus, which would increase costs as we recruited, filled, and trained those positions.” He dropped his head back. “I haven’t even run the numbers for the meeting yet. It’s in two weeks. I was going to do that today.”

“Violet and I will stay out of your way.”

“I know. I just wish…” He rolled to his hip to face me. “Why have we never had sleepovers?”

The sudden change in subject made my head spin. Sleepovers? “I don’t know, but I’ve been wondering that. You were working. And I guess if you weren’t, I wanted my time with you.” I picked at the comforter. Brushed off invisible lint. I’d been greedy about my time with him, wanting him to myself for the scraps I was given.

He frowned and sat up. “Damn, Kate. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. They’re welcome whenever you want. I’ll try to carve out time—” His frown deepened. “We haven’t talked about kids since before we married.”

No. We hadn’t. I tried not to think about the march of time passing me by. The heaviness in my chest when I saw friends with their babies and kids. Coworkers sharing the trials of motherhood with each other.

“You said you wanted to settle into the marriage first,” I said carefully. “Do you feel like we’re there?”

I squeezed air out of my lungs and wicked in another breath as he thought about the answer.

Violet leaned through the door, one hand clutching the doorknob and the other on the doorframe. Her little shoulders stuck out and she cleared her throat like we were the ones interrupting her. “Your special pancake is getting cold, Uncle Aiden.”

His soft grin kept hope simmering in my heart. Was I still naïve, still thinking Aiden could strike the balance he was so certain of?

“Can’t have that.” He pushed off the bed and held out a hand for me.

I slipped my fingers into his strong grip. I met his gaze and smiled. I shouldn’t slip into my default nothing’s wrong here mode, but I did. For now.