Fiasco (Dirty Aces MC Book 6) by Lane Hart (black male authors .TXT) 📕

in my arms. “I’ll take him to your bedroom and come back for his food and water if you want to get the door?”

Joanna

Sierra and Asher love playing with the new Legos Phillip and I picked up yesterday for their visit along with a few coloring books. If we’re going to make this a recurring event, then we’ll need to have even more toys on hand. And I do hope they get to come back. I can see how happy Phillip is to be with them. Seeing him happy makes me happy too. Besides, his son and daughter are at that incredibly sweet age before they learn to talk back or be mean. They’re actually sweet to each other.

“I hear a doggie!” Sierra says when Ace lets out a bark from the bedroom.

“He must need to go outside,” I tell Phillip as I get to my feet.

“You want me to take him?”

“No, you stay with the kids, and I’ll be right back.”

I get Ace’s leash from the wall next to the back door and take it to put on him, then sneak out that way before the kids can see him. Phillip is right, Ace is a sweet dog, but we don’t know the type of home he came from. Some animals don’t do well with children.

When we come back inside, though, both kids come running. “Can we see the doggie?” Asher asks.

“Wow,” Sierra says as she looks up at Ace with bright, excited eyes.

“Sorry, they heard you come back inside and wanted to see him,” Phillip says with a wince.

“Okay,” I say with a sigh. “But you have to be gentle with him, okay?”

“Okay,” the kids both agree.

I sit down on the sofa with Ace taking up all of my lap so they can pet his head. His tail starts wagging like crazy, and then he’s trying to give them kisses. Both Sierra and Asher squeal happily, and then Ace tries to jump to the floor. I lower him down gently so he can keep the weight off of his bad leg.

“What happened to his leg?” Asher asks, kneeling down next to him.

“He had a little accident,” Phillip explains.

I start to warn them not to touch the cast, but I’m too late. Asher grabs it, making Ace whine and then growl before he turns around and snaps at the boy.

“Ace!” Phillip exclaims. He scoops Sierra up in his arms while Asher starts to cry. Since I’m closest to Asher, I pick him up. His eyes are closed tight, tears racing down his cheeks as he starts to wail.

“It’s okay, Asher,” I tell him. “You just startled him, and he made a noise to warn you, that’s all.”

He shakes his head back and forth then holds up his tiny hand. “He bit me!”

My heart drops as I hurry him down the hallway to the bathroom where I keep the first aid kit. When I sit him down on the closed toilet to take his hand and examine it, I expect to see blood, but thankfully it’s just a couple of teeth indentions. Ace did bite him, but it didn’t break the skin.

“Shh, it’s okay,” I tell the still squalling child. “We’ll get you some ice, and your hand will be as good as new. You don’t even need a band-aid.”

That has him pausing in his howling. He blinks his big, brown eyes at me, lashes darkened by tears and says, “I don’t?”

“Nope.”

For some reason, that makes his lip quiver, and then the crying starts up again even louder.

“How bad is it?” Phillip asks from the doorway, still holding Sierra in a near death-grip. The little girl doesn’t seem to mind. Her arms are around his neck, holding on as tight she can with her head resting on his shoulder.

“Just a few indentions, but the teeth didn’t break the skin,” I tell him.

“Thank fu-God,” he mutters, catching the swear word just in time.

“Does it hurt, buddy?” Phillip asks Asher, who nods vehemently.

“I told him he didn’t even need a band-aid and that made him start crying again,” I explain.

“He likes band-aids,” Sierra tells us calmly. “Especially ones with the Avengers on them.”

“Is that what you want?” I kneel in front of Asher and ask him. Grabbing some toilet paper, I start to dry his face. “Do you want us to get you an Avengers band-aid?”

He nods his head, and his crying finally begins to calm down. “Avengers make it all better,” Asher says.

“I can run to the store,” Phillip says.

“Okay.” I look up at him and give him a small smile, but he looks as pissed as I’ve ever seen him for some reason. “Are you okay, Phillip?” I ask, and he nods without giving a verbal response. “Well, how about you let Miss Sierra stay in here with us while you get Ace back into his comfy bed in the bedroom?”

Phillip places a kiss on her forehead and then lowers her to her feet in the bathroom. Sierra comes over and takes her half-brother’s injured hand, lifting it to her lips to kiss it.

“Does it feel better now?” she asks Asher, and he nods.

It’s one of the sweetest interactions between siblings that I’ve ever seen. That’s when I realize that Phillip isn’t the only one suffering seeing his son and daughter for just one hour a week. Asher and Sierra obviously enjoy being together. I didn’t notice on the playground, but it’s been clear this afternoon that they play really well together, no arguing or fussing, just sharing and enjoying their time together like good friends.

I glance over to see if Phillip was as moved by them as I was but barely catch a glimpse of his back as he leaves. The bedroom door closes a moment later, and then I hear him go out the front door.

“How about a snack and a juice box while we wait for Daddy to get back?” I ask the kids, who both smile.

By the time Phillip returns with the requested band-aids,