Her Silent Revenge novel Chapter 96

"Yeah! That one's like a rainbow." His little finger points.

"And you see the way it shines in the light?" "Yeah!" He grins.

"They do that to communicate. Almost like sign language, but they use colors instead."

I slow walk him along the glass so he can take it all in.

Salem trails behind us, happy to let me take the lead, almost as impressed with the show as her son.

Shit, my son.

My son is in my house.

My throat tightens ferociously and I swallow hard.

"More cuttlefish!" Arlo whispers excitedly, moving his finger around and counting them.

Colt used to do that a few years ago, even as an older kid. The animals are used to it, I think.

A bright-green fish floats closer to investigate, its mouth opening and closing, but Arlo's eyes never waver from the tentacled creatures.

"Why don't you tell us what you remember about cuttlefish?" Salem asks him.

"They change color! Um… and they have beaks like an octopus. They shoot ink too."

Not half-bad for a five-year-old. I wonder about his memory, what else he can recall.

"I have an octopus, too," I tell him. "What? No way!"

"Way," I whisper. "Let's see if he's out and not hiding."

We walk along the tank and I point out different fish along the way.

Sure enough, I find the octopus tucked behind a rock with only one tiny curl of leg visible, but the seahorses are swimming around near us, curious as usual.

Arlo looks astonished.

"You know what's interesting about seahorses?" I ask. "The males give birth. See there?" I point to a sac on the front of one seahorse. "That one's full of babies."

The boy's eyes are almost as round as the sac. "But I thought only girls can have babies."

"That's what makes seahorses special."

"I like the seahorse method. Way more fair," Salem adds, flashing me a mischievous grin.

I shake my head, biting back a grin. I can't imagine how this would be working out right now if our roles were switched.

Then we could move past this.

Then he could understand, in his own little way, that I'm the guy with his mom and I'm not going anywhere.

For a second, I'm alone with the fish. The only light coming from the tank throws an eerie glow over my face.

So far, it's almost too perfect. Only, behind that glass, there's a stark reminder that chaos is always just a breath away, waiting to break through.

Sighing, I follow her downstairs.

They've already found my theater room with the huge screen and large leather seats that can swallow a person for days. The dark space still manages to look cozy.

They're already perched on the longer sofa, sunk into the plush cushions.

"You have a lot of pillows for a single dude. So colorful too," Salem watches me toss the extras on the floor as I take the seat beside her with Arlo curled up between us.

"My mom gives me another accent pillow every Christmas. It's her thing," I mutter. "Guess she thinks if she buries me alive, it'll summon a wife from nowhere."

Salem laughs loudly. God, I love that sound.

I also wonder if my mother's black magic worked, considering they're here and we're about to have our first family movie night.

The next look she gives me is lidded, more thoughtful, but I don't let myself dwell on it as I start the movie. Arlo bounces up in his seat, impatiently tapping his thighs.