𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 | 𝐊𝐕

XXXVII.

Chapter Thirty Seven.

"Oh em gee, daddy. You aren't even doing it right." Lani giggled as Justice sloppily put icing on the cookies that resembled Christmas stockings, candy canes and ornaments.

"Damn, I guess they do look terrible huh?" He chuckled, pausing to look at the mess in front of him. The child nodded, agreeing.

"Oh well." He shrugged, and kept going.

It was Christmas Eve, and the tradition each year when he and Jace were little was that they would help their parents bake cookies and set them out for Santa. He wanted to do the same thing with Ilani and keep the tradition alive.

When he finished putting icing on the last cookie, he sat the piping bag down and licked some of the excess off of his pointer finger.

"Get the milk out the refrigerator for me." Justice told Ilani. She did as instructed, opening the door to the fridge. While she grabbed the milk, he reached in the top cabinet and grabbed a clean glass.

Lani sat the milk on the counter, and Justice grabbed it shortly after that. He unscrewed the cap and poured it until the glass was a little over half way full. Justice then put the top back on and gave the milk back to Ilani to put back in the fridge.

Once she did, he passed her the plate full of cookies. "Aight, let's put this stuff on the coffee table."

Carefully, Ilani grabbed the plate from him and began walking to the living room with her father right behind her. He held the milk in his dominant hand.

Lani sat the cookies down, and Justice sat the milk down next to it. The plate and glass were angled to where they were directly adjacent to the fireplace.

"How will Santa even know to come here?" The ten year old asked curiously.

"He made a list a few weeks ago of all the houses he needs to hit up tonight. Everything is written down already." Justice explained, fighting the urge to laugh. Kids believed anything. Then again, he didn't have any room to talk because he believed in Santa up until he was twelve.

"Ohh, that makes total sense." Ilani nodded.

Looking over at the clock on the wall, Justice realized it was going on eleven at night, which was definitely past her bedtime. "Time for you to hit the sheets lil' mama."

"Nooo." She whined, "I wanna stay up to meet Santa. Please, daddy?"

He then chuckled, "Santa ain't gone come if he knows you still up. Real gangstas move in silence, he likes to be discreet."

She rolled her eyes, "Okay." Lani mumbled. All of a sudden, Justice picked her up and flipped her upside down. The child began to scream and laugh as he carried her to her room.

Once they made it there, Justice put her down flat on her feet. "Aight, come on. I'm finna tuck you in." He laughed.

Ilani walked over to her bed, pulling the covers back. She climbed in, settling into the most comfortable spot. Justice covered her up and made sure that she was relaxed. He knew that going to bed on Christmas Eve could cause some jitters, which was to be expected.

"Get some rest, lil' folks. I'll see you in the morning, I love you." He kissed her on the forehead, before running his hand over her cheek.

"I love you too, bookie." She grinned, grabbing her favorite stuffed bear to cuddle with.

He sucked his teeth, before flicking her nose playfully. "You play too much. Goodnight, lil' girl."

"Goodnight, daddy."