Rinse [manxman]

Chapter Fifteen

Dakota sat in the living room with a cup of coffee in his hands. He looked as exhausted as I felt, but his eyes brightened a fraction when his children came bouncing into the room, still chattering a mile a minute, trying to tell me about books they'd read or things they'd created. Past all of their smiles, though—especially with Lila and Sophia—I could see the confusion, the curiosity. I'd have to talk to them, all of them, about what had happened. My version of what had happened anyway.

"Good morning," Dakota said, addressing all of us. His gaze lingered on me.

Lila and Sophia redirected their chatter to him, while Farley continued talking to me without so much as a pause to breathe.

"What'd you call me up here for?" Lebeaux asked over the kids, cocking a brow at Dakota.

"Dr. Brenner is in the kitchen making breakfast. He wanted you to join us."

Lebeaux rolled his eyes, but a slight quirk of his lips told me he wasn't nearly as annoyed as he pretended to be. Once he left, Dakota focused on the kids.

"Why don't the three of you give me fifteen minutes with Dad? After that, he's all yours. Got it?"

Lila scrunched up her nose, while Farley actually stopped talking to stare up at me with wide, sad eyes. Even Sophia's little face fell as she glanced between us. I opened my mouth, almost wanting to argue with him, until I met his eyes. They hadn't quite reached the extent of Farley's puppy-dog eyes, but they were still pleading, still needing something that I could only give him in private.

I looked back down at them and nodded. "It's just fifteen minutes, then I'm yours for the rest of the day. How does that sound?"

Lila kept her nose wrinkled, but trailed back through the hallway, taking Sophia with her. Farley continued to stand there, staring at me with his lower lip stuck out in an aggravated pout. I sighed and knelt down to get on his level, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's just a few minutes, I promise. Until then, why don't you go talk to Lebeaux's friend Wyatt? I think you'll like him."

Farley frowned at me.

I ruffled his hair. "Maybe later I'll talk Lizzy into giving you a haircut."

That got him moving a little quicker. He was out of my grasp and into the kitchen in a flash, leaving Dakota and I alone. I finally faced him, looking him straight in the eye, and my stomach churned. His eyes were sharp and steady, fierce, ruthless, and omniscient.

"When I woke up, I thought last night was a dream," he said.

I winced. "Sorry about that. I'd just woken up, and Lebeaux needed me downstairs... Sorry."

Dakota shook his head dismissively. "Varik sent a message after you left letting me know where you were. It's not a big deal..." He set his mug on the table beside him, and then leaned forward, bracing his elbows against his knees. "I just keep trying to come to terms with the fact that you are actually here. You are standing in front of me and last night you..." He trailed off again, shaking his head as worry bloomed in his green eyes. "What happened last night?"

"In a word—stress. I'd built things up in my head, and I was terrified when I first went in your room. I just couldn't hold it back anymore."

"Yeah, with everything you keep a lid on, it's no wonder something finally popped out."

I ran a hand through my hair. "You're right, but now that something gave, there's room for everything else to breathe a little easier." It was a clear way of letting him know up front that he still wasn't getting anything more than what I wanted him to have. "So, I figure you want to know why I went missing for so long."