The Swedish Prince (#Royal Romance 1)
ie's
e" she says. "They're dead,
ead, April. They don't die, this doesn't happen. It isn't happening. It
eaks off into loud sobs that seem to sh
I realize I'm
is barely
body all at once, reality of wh
rgot I was even holding it to my ear and i
at's going on?"
few months, I guess he hated dad. He, uh...he came into the house and shot him. And mom. As they were wat
iet and dependable Pike,
"Dad would have shot back. Dad has his guns, how c
t Walte
elove
seems like it could be real. An ex-convict broke i
oot my parents? How
n't hap
'm wondering how he's staying so calm. I guess he has to. Our
heir lega
a deep breath and a small whimper comes over the ph
ld
d..
w
to ever hold
ll ever be solid and
She bought me a drink. I would give anything in my power to go back in time, just five minutes, to that m
voice barely a whisper, flat
crazy, hopeful little
o
o
ear off, letting in tiny slivers of pain that I know will rip
EAR L
pi, Cal
ie's
ll are the Fr
, don't s
have Co
the orange juice and put th
sugar on the Cornflakes, it's
ey're called Flakes of Corn. We c
nflakes were invented
t in front
mastur
tion YouTube videos have been telling me about. I've been using them for months now to help my str
eep voice, making everyone in the kitchen hu
ief
ndfather clock in
m asks. "What'
He's only seven but he's smart and always asking questions. Alwa
get if you guy
t's mastu
ou can't get laid," Apri
oesn't shrink at all from my glare.
into the boiling water on the stove and
ered in the very home that we're all in. I never asked to give up my dreams of a career and a better li
I'm here and I'm doing the best I can every day to
we had many years of ups and downs as all mothers and daughters do.
in a world where if something broke, you either fixed it or waited years for a replacement that wasn't m
to actually raise a family, especially one of this size with
do something, he'll do it. And as bright and curious as he is, he's struggling at school and getting in fights w
roll, the twins are smart, hard-working and diligent. They don't "match" eitherāRosemary is a jock-in-training, Thyme is a goth-in-training. Contrary to w
ar for her is that she's going to get pregnant at some point, or maybe start doing drugs if she hasn't started already. Maybe som
t our parent's death threw his last bit of high school out of whack and he pretty much bombed all the classes he needed to ace. He won't even try again. He now has his sights set on being a ta
u can imagine that everyone here, including me, is still deep in t
T are going on a field trip to the air force base and need a signat
w? Where were those papers last night?" I glance at the clock. I h
" Thyme speaks up
dn't?" Rosemar
he's got a mischievous grin on his face. Don
pers from his hands and, oh jeez, I think he just added knuc
handing me a pen. "And
wh
e hierog
a dummy, you know what those
then raise my brow at Pike. "Just promise me you wo
a rare smi
e this family has to go off and marry a sugar mama. Or daddy
s a su
ng so many questio
the calendar on the fridge where I make a note
should I?" I ask Pike.