Chapter 4

Steve had been hesitant to allow Myah to work at Mary's house alone, but after she had promised to check in with him every hour, he had finally agreed. He'd also informed her there was going to be an unmarked police car outside the house while she was there. Myah took a quick glimpse through the window and noted the plain green sedan still parked across the street. She had to admit that if she hadn't been so determined to finish Joanie's room, she would not have been in a hurry to be in a house alone. But with the security system set and the officer right outside, Myah had been able to set her mind to the task at hand. She had worked on Joan's room for most of the day before, with Nahele dropping her off and picking her up. Steve had once again come home late and other than a quick kiss in the morning when he'd woken her up, she hadn't seen him. She knew the whole team was working overtime to hunt down Wo Fat, as well as someone named Frank Delano. Myah hadn't been given many details but she knew that Delano was responsible for shooting Malia, as well as almost drowning Kono, and she did not begrudge Steve the time away. She only wished them all happy hunting and prayed that life would go back to normal soon.

The sunlight streamed in through the windows but Myah still found herself yawning. She was loath to admit it, but it seemed that Steve's insistence on her early bedtime actually did work best for her body. She was exhausted. She had slept on Nahele's floor the night before after tossing and turning in her own room for what seemed like hours. She'd finally fallen asleep on his rug, but had not felt rested when Steve had woken them up. Myah decided that in order to put forth her best effort on the finishing touches of the bedroom, she was going to need something to boost her energy and so headed for the kitchen. The pantry was heavily stocked with a toddler's dream bounty of snacks. Juice boxes, fruit snacks and pouches, cookies, pretzels and snack cakes of every shape and variety weighed down the shelves. Myah couldn't remember the last time she'd had a twinkie and so helped herself. She bit into the soft sponge cake and was shocked to find out that it seemed overpoweringly sweet.

"Oh, no…" she murmured. "What's happened to my taste buds?" Sighing, she opened the fridge and took in an entire shelf of diet coke and various energy drinks. She'd only had an energy drink once before and decided that the day called for her second one. There was a copious selection and finally Myah settled on a gummy bear flavored Reign. The caffeine seemed to jar her awake after only a few sips, and pleased with the results, Myah headed back to the bedroom. She was extremely close to being done and was able to stop and lean against the door frame to admire her work. She thought the soft pink and gray walls had turned out beautifully, creating a warm, relaxing space for a little girl to play. There were definitely some mistakes, especially around the floor trim, but Myah hoped that once the furniture was back in place they wouldn't be too noticeable. Bright pink curtains framed the windows and the whimsical elephant bedspread stood out as the star of the room decor. The only major thing left to install was the elaborate beaded chandelier, but knowing she was going to need help with that, Myah had left it in its box.

Myah's phone buzzed in her pocket and she tried to ignore the little skip of a beat her heart did at the noise. She was a little surprised to notice that Mary had sent a text to both her and Steve, saying she and Joan would be home in about an hour and could Steve meet her at the house, as she needed his help. Myah read the message a second time, but was unable to glean any further details. Her first guess would have been that Doris had contacted Mary, who now rightfully wanted some answers. However, it was odd that she had phrased it as needing help, as that didn't seem to fit the situation. Regardless Myah wanted the room to look perfect and now was on a time crunch to finish. Thankfully there were only a few items left to hang. When finished, Myah carefully shut the door and began to put a few of the tools she'd used away.

Mary's car pulled up almost exactly an hour later, as did Steve's truck, with him obviously having traded out with Nahele. Myah stepped outside, figuring Mary might need help with her bags, and eyed the two older McGarretts as they exited their cars. Steve looked tired which was not surprising, though he still managed a smile for his sister. Mary, on the other hand, certainly did not look like she had spent the last couple of days being pampered at a luxurious spa. Her blond hair was partially held back in a clip, but most of it had escaped, sticking everywhere else it could go. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot and Myah thought she might be trembling. Her clothes were so wrinkled she might have slept in them.

Steve did not greet Myah, but they shared a quick look of concern.

"I'll get Joanie." Myah said softly. The little girl was fast asleep in her carseat.

"Just put her in my room." Mary's voice was shaking. "I don't want her around paint fumes."

Myah kept her face turned inward as she undid the car seat harness buckle, so that Mary wouldn't see the face she'd made. Per Steve's suggestion she'd had the bedroom door and windows open and a fan blowing to ensure the fumes wouldn't be a problem and hadn't even been painting that day. She slowly picked up the sleeping toddler.

"Mary, what's wrong?" She heard Steve ask. "Did mom call you?"

"What?! What are you talking about?!" Mary looked around wildly.

"Uh… never mind, what's going on?"

"No, you tell me!"

"Well… there's no easy way to say this…"

As Myah entered the house, she heard Steve start to relate the events of the last few days to his sister. She settled Joan carefully onto Mary's bed and covered her with a little quilt. Setting the camera to focus on the bed, she picked up the monitor screen and closed the door. Steve and Mary had moved inside to the living room and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"That… that bitch, I can't believe she would do that to us!" Mary was sitting on the couch, full out sobbing with her head in her hands. "Steve, I can't deal with this today. Today, of all days!"

"Well, what happened? What's wrong?!" Steve's normally calm voice was starting to elevate at the sight of his hysterical sister. Neither of them seemed to notice Myah, and so she sank quietly on to the armrest of a chair in the corner.

"At the spa… I got a call from a lawyer… These people are claiming to be Joanie's grandparents! They say they didn't know their daughter was giving her up for adoption! Steve, I'm so scared! They're going to take her away from me!"

"Mary, Mary, calm down! Did they say they're filing for custody?"

"No… they're just trying to find her! But I'm not stupid, Steve, what else could it be?! You have to help us, you have to protect us!"

"I will, I will! We'll get a restraining order, whatever we have to, Mary! It's going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to her!" Steve hugged his sister hard.

Myah sat still, her heart beating so loud she could hear it in her ears. Her thoughts were filled with the tiny sleeping girl just down the hallway. She slowly stood and made her way over to the couch. "Maybe they just want to meet her. You know, make sure she's all right."

"I don't care!" Mary said firmly. "I don't care what they want, they're not getting within an inch of her. I don't care what I have to do, Steve, or what I have to pay."

"We'll protect her, Mar." Steve said again.

"I don't think you're thinking about Joanie, though." Myah protested. "You're her mom, but eventually she might have questions and I think she has a right to know where she came from."

"I'm her family now, that's all that matters!" Mary snapped. "How can you even say that, Myah?! Don't you care about your family?!"

The words cut deep, and in her fatigue, Myah couldn't help but snap back, "Of course, I do! But last I checked, I'm the only one here who knows what it's like to be adopted! I mean, you guys know what it's like to lose your mom, and not only not get any answers, but to be lied to!"

Mary jumped up at this, her eyes sparking fire, but before she could speak, Steve was on his feet as well. "That's enough." He didn't shout, but his voice was as stern as Myah had ever heard it and even Mary took pause. "We will figure out what to do to protect Joanie. I will make some calls-"

"They said they'd be calling me tomorrow." Mary cut him off. She looked around the room wildly, and clearly not finding what she was looking for, picked up a nearby roll of paper towels and blew her nose. "Right now we have to get to that Bennet Charity Festival."

"Really, Mary? You just got back, Joanie's sleeping…"

"I'm not putting Joanie's future at risk because I'm tired!" Mary snapped. "I need to talk to that Hula instructor. Just let me change." She spun on her heel towards her bedroom. She didn't even glance towards the closed bedroom door and Myah felt her heart sink. Steve's phone rang and he answered with a sigh.

Myah eyed him and he met her gaze, but shook his head. She shifted uncomfortably but couldn't get a read on his thoughts. He definitely did not look happy. Deciding she was done with the situation for the moment, Myah quickly gathered up her purse and energy drink, and headed out to the truck. Once seated, she slammed the door a little harder than necessary, but still felt full of rage. Her heart was pounding like she'd run a mile. How could Mary even suggest that she didn't care about Joanie and about their family? There could be things in her medical history that Joanie might need to know at some point. Just like Myah knew now that breast cancer ran in her family. Wanting to know her biological family didn't make Mary any less Joanie's mother.

The truck door slammed as Steve entered the truck as well. He was still on the phone, but he shot a quick glance towards Myah, his expression unreadable. Myah met his eyes only briefly, before turning away and leaning her head against the window, stubbornly keeping her gaze outward. For the first time, she felt very much like an intruder, like she had crossed some invisible line with Steve and Mary.

The location of the festival was only a short distance from Mary's house. The streets were crowded with vendors and the air was filled with excited shouts and music. Myah normally loved festivals but at the moment felt very much alone. Steve was still on the phone when they parked, and Myah snapped quickly at him that she was going to find Nahele. Her tone was much rougher than she'd intended, and she slammed the door much harder than she'd planned. Feeling ashamed and unable to look back at Steve, she took off into the crowd. She really did intend to find her brother who was supposed to be helping a friend's mom with her parade float, but as she walked, she was actually relieved to not have to speak to anyone. Surrounded by people but entirely alone. She wasn't sure why she was so angry at the moment. She found it difficult to even rationally explore her thoughts. She was just so tired.

"All by yourself?"

Myah froze, startled by the familiar voice coming from only a few feet away.

"Lacey?"

The girl stepped gracefully off of the curb in order to stand next to Myah. She flipped her thick blond hair over one shoulder. "I'm glad I ran into you." she purred. "Look, our relationship is really special to me. I mean, you're my oldest friend and we share a lot of memories that no one else can understand. I really think we should just let the past go and move forward. Don't you think?" She smiled and wrapped a friendly arm around Myah's shoulders. "Let's go get ice-cream. We'll get cookies'n cream, in honor of your mom. The Elle special."

H50 H50 H50

"This place is a nightmare for security." Steve grumbled. He was tired, and frankly not in the mood for a noisy crowd. If he hadn't felt the need to keep an eye on Mary, and then to give Nahele a ride home later that evening, there was no way he would have shone up. However, due to those responsibilities, he was standing on the balcony of a second story bar that overlooked the street next to Danny. Steve sighed and leaned his forearms onto the railing and his partner followed suit.

"Technically we're not on the clock, you know. You could just relax… have a good time."

"Since when do you want to just relax and have a good time?"

"I don't know… Delano's dead. One down, one to go, right?"

Steve pressed his lips together and grimaced. "Yeah, Danny, that's not something I really want to think about. I'm going to protect Chin if it's the last thing I do."

"And your mother?"

"I'm going to figure it out."

"You mean why she deliberately let Wo Fat escape?"

"It just confirms that I can't trust her any farther than I can throw her."

"Well, you could probably throw her pretty far."

"Yeah. Bad example then."

"I see Myah."

"Where? Shit, who's she with?"

Danny squinted. "That would be Lacey, her drunken cohort. I thought you put a stop to that friendship."

Steve exhaled in frustration. "I did. Damnit, what is she doing?"

"Looks like they're just talking. It's a tiny island. She can't help running into her on occasion."

"Danny, I told her I'd whip her every night for a week if I found out she hung out with that girl again."

"Jeez, that's a little extreme."

"I was just trying to make a point. I didn't think I'd actually have to follow through with it." Steve's jaw was clenched, and his eyes were zeroed in on his daughter. "Come on, kid… don't do it." he pleaded.

Danny glanced at him nervously, and then back at Myah. "Come on, MJ." he murmured. "So you definitely told her no… as in you were clear about not hanging out?"

"Yes, Danny, I was clear. I couldn't have been clearer than if I'd typed it out. Things are just… a little tense right now. I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to her since I got back with Doris and then things got heated with Mary."

"With Mary? What are you talking about?"

"Apparently Joanie's biological grandparents want to make contact. Mary's freaking out."

"Well, are they filing for custody or do they just want to see her?"

"I don't know, I don't know." Steve growled, his eyes still glued on Myah and Lacey. Lacey had her arm around his daughter and they were starting to walk away together. He sucked in his breath. "Seriously, kid…" He stood up straight and shaded his eyes with his hand when he saw Myah push Lacey's arm off her shoulders and square off to the other girl. He obviously couldn't hear what was said, but a few words were exchanged and Lacey's expression darkened and she strode away. Myah's shoulders dropped and she stepped off the street and into a small shop. Steve let out a huge breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Well, that was close." Danny shook his head, looking nearly as relieved as Steve was feeling.

"Yeah. I wonder what made her change her mind?"

"You mean other than fear of you? You neanderthal."

"Thanks a lot. I hope she doesn't just make good choices because she's afraid of me."

"Well, whatever the reason was, it's a good thing for you. I'm pretty sure after a week of laying down the law, you would have broken your hand and been pretty much useless."

"Nah. I would have made you take shifts… every other night."

"No way. Right now I'm the cool uncle."

"I'm pretty sure I recall a direct Daniel Willims quote that coolness has no place in good parenting."

"You are right. Which is why I'm enjoying being MJ's uncle."

"Some partner. So you're saying you wouldn't have backed me up?"

"Oh, I would have backed you up. I'm just glad I don't have to."

"Me too." Steve sighed.

"You need to talk to her though… straighten things out."

"I will. Tonight when we normally read. We haven't even gotten to read for the past few nights." Steve's shoulders dropped. "I'm a crappy dad."

There were a few collective gasps from the seated patrons when Danny grabbed Steve by the front of the shirt and yanked him down a couple inches. "Now, you listen to me, you animal. Don't worry, we're fine!" He waved off a concerned looking waiter. "Ow!" He yanked his hand back when Steve bent his pinky backwards off his chest.

"All good, all good." Steve gave a friendly wave, before saying in a low voice, "You know, physically grabbing people is not a sign of good communication, right?"

"It's the only form of communication you generally understand, plus you deserved it. Now listen to me. You're a great dad, to both Myah and Nahele. They adore you and rightly so. You're still figuring it out and as long as you never give up, they'll never give up on you. So unless you've decided to become a quitter, I don't want to hear you talking like that, you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." Steve gave him a sarcastic salute.

"Don't be a punk."

"You got any more names for me in that repertoire of yours?"

"Oh, it's endless, believe me. But crappy dad is not one of them."

"Understood." Steve shot Danny a quick glance out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks man."

"No problem. Hey!" Danny waved at the waiter who looked at them warily. "Two beers, please?"

H50 H50 H50

Myah sat on the couch, exhausted. The tv was playing but she honestly wasn't even sure what was on. She didn't feel like coloring in the adult coloring book Malia had gotten her and was just scrolling mindlessly through her social media. She couldn't have told anyone what she saw, and didn't even feel like she had the energy to explore her thoughts and figure out why she was feeling so off. This was the third night in a row where she felt too tired to sleep and she was not looking forward to hours of tossing and turning.

"It's almost ten, kid." Myah barely registered Steve's voice from his office area. It was mid evening when they'd finally ridden home from the festival and she had been silent in the backseat for most of the ride, with Steve and Nahele keeping the conversation afloat in the front. She'd showered at home and eaten a bowl of cereal in front of the television. When Steve passed through the room into the kitchen and out the back door she saw he was on his phone yet again, and a bubble of resentment started to grow. She knew things were crazy with his work at the moment, what with his mother, with the team, with the criminals going after their families. She knew all that, but she wasn't sure what to do with the information and she desperately wanted to cry and release all the stress that was bottled up, but at the moment her eyes were completely dry and she couldn't find the words to describe her thoughts, because her thoughts were so confusing. So she stayed in place on the couch, continuing to scroll mindlessly through her phone.

"Hey."

Myah jumped slightly at Steve's voice, not having heard him re-enter the house. He was now standing in the doorway to the room, with his arms across his chest. He glanced pointedly at the clock and then back at her. The clock read ten twenty. Myah shrugged at him, playing dumb. She knew she was being a brat, but couldn't stop herself.

"Bedtime, kid." Steve didn't sound mad, but there was a clear warning in his tone.

"Make me." Myah shocked herself by answering. If she'd had enough energy to be thinking clearly she would have asked herself what in the world she was thinking and would have started to backpedal as quickly as possible. As it was, she was completely drained, both mentally and physically and so made no attempt to step back onto the right side of the line.

Steve didn't respond, but stepped forward and grabbed her by the wrist and in one smooth motion, hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her up the steps. Myah was not used to her feet being off the ground while moving and gasped, grabbing him around the waist and feeling extremely vulnerable especially on the stairs. In her room, Steve didn't bother to pull "his" chair out from the desk, but sat down on the edge of the bed and without a word, yanked her forward over his lap. Myah tensed up and then gasped when he grabbed the waistband of her sweatpants and pulled them to her knees. He'd only done that once before and she hated the vulnerability she now felt. "I… Dad… ow!" Her attempt at pleading was cut short when his hand delivered a stinging swat to the right side of her bottom. Her underwear offered little to no protection and Myah yelped when he smacked her a second time in the same spot. Steve's other arm locked in place around her waist and Myah dropped her head, knowing she was not going anywhere. In spite of the rising heat in her backside, she felt her chest relax and her lungs start to open up. It seemed entirely backwards, to have her bottom almost bare and to be receiving a spanking that was making her legs kick and toes curl with each swat, and yet to feel more secure than she had in days. Steve continued his pattern of administering two sharp swats directly on top of the other, before alternating to the other side of her butt. If Myah had thought about it, she probably would have confirmed that it was not the hardest spanking she had ever received but it stung enough on her exposed skin that it was not long before tears pressed against her lids and she was sobbing while bent over Steve's knees. She couldn't imagine a spanking from Steve that did not incur tears, but this time it seemed as if all the tears she had wanted to cry over the last few days were taking advantage of the moment and pouring forth at the same time.

Steve finally paused and gently rubbed her back although he made no move to let her up. "You know why you're getting this spankin'. I don't care what's going on, you obey me when I tell you to do something." His tone was firm, but less stern than Myah would have expected. She nodded and dropped her head, before wincing as he continued with several more swats to her rapidly reddening butt cheeks. She'd thought she could cry no more, but more tears slid out and hit the floor. Steve finally shifted and allowed her to stand up, gently helping her right her oversized tshirt so that it covered her backside and letting her kick her pants off, before pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. Myah gasped in thankfulness and held onto him as tightly as she could.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I just wanted you to hold me."

"You could have just asked."

Myah shrugged, still holding onto him. "I needed to cry, I think. I'm not sure what's going on in my mind."

"Talk to me. I'm right here."

"I just feel guilty."

"For what?"

"For being happy. I'm so happy you're my Dad and Nahele's my brother, and I love the team and my friends here, and I'm afraid being happy means I'm forgetting my mom. And then everything's been so crazy, and I just want everyone to be safe and for things to go back to normal. Which I know is so selfish of me. And now Mary's mad at me and you're going to be more mad at me when you find out…"

"Hold up, kid. Let me try to catch up. I know for a fact, that your mom wants you to be happy. In fact, the best thing you can do to honor her is to live a full life and to love people the same way she did. You don't have to feel guilty. You can mourn what you've lost and still be happy for what you've gained. I promise you your mom would tell you the same thing. You got me?"

Myah nodded and pressed her face into his chest.

"I know everything's been crazy and believe me when I say that any time life's ready to go back to being normal, I'm here for it. I've actually felt like a pretty terrible Dad lately, and I'm honestly not sure how to navigate all this, so all I can say is that I'm sorry."

"You're not a terrible dad. I mean, you give the worst spankins' but aside from that you're the best dad in the world."

Steve chuckled. "Thanks. And thanks for not making me follow through on my threat to whip you every night for a week."

Myah sat up straight at this and stared at him. "What? How did you…"

"Danny and I saw you and Lacey at the festival. I was too far away to hear what you guys were talking about, but I definitely saw her put an arm around you."

Myah was somewhat stunned at this information, but shook her head, trying to clear her mind. "You know, spying on people is a very bad habit and in this house, usually gets people punished… at least in my experience!"

"It's not spying when you're out in public!" Steve responded, giving her a slight eye roll. "There is a big difference between keeping an eye on you and… invasion of privacy."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you say." Myah couldn't help but respond, although she knew very well he was right.

"You keep that up, kid, and we'll go another round." Steve made move to tip her forward again, and Myah let out a little squeak before pressing into his chest, stopping the motion. Steve allowed it and spoke. "Well, onto your next concern, I was just on the phone with Mary. You'll be getting a call from her tomorrow, but she wanted you to know that after thinking about it, she realizes you were right and that knowing some of her biological family could be really important to Joanie. She also said that you did an amazing job on her bedroom and that she's really thankful Joanie has you in her life, to take care of her and to be an advocate like you did today."

At these words, Myah felt herself start to tear up again. "I'm really glad you told me. I really only said what I did because I love Joanie so much, but thinking about it now, I should have been more gentle. I was just so tired, I wasn't thinking straight."

"Regardless you were right, and you were thinking straighter than I was at that point."

"I thought you would say I'd be in trouble for being disrespectful."

"You were definitely toeing that line. But you were right."

Myah sighed in relief.

"Now that we have that settled, what else did you think I'd be mad about?"

Myah hesitated. With all that Mary had gone through that day, the last thing she wanted to do was rat her exorbitant spending out to Steve. "Nothing… nothing we need to talk about right now."

"You sure?"

"Uh… yeah. I'm sure."

"Well, you don't sound sure, so I think we'll take care of this regardless." Steve pushed her back across his knee, this time with the upper part of her body across the bed, and started spanking her again with no regard for her already tender bottom. When he finally paused, he kept her firmly in place. "You want to try that again?"

Myah let out a breath of frustration. "I just… I don't…"

"Listen to me kid…"

Myah briefly wondered how she could do anything else, considering her current position.

"After dealing with my mom, I have exactly zero patience for people… especially my family… not being straight with me. So out with it, or I will get a paddle."

"You have a paddle?!" Myah was horrified at the thought.

"I actually don't officially, but I will find something to use. Now." Steve proved he really didn't need a paddle, by smacking her bare thigh. Myah gasped and jerked in response.

"Okay. Okay. I'll tell you. Can I please sit up?"

"No."

"Okay. So I don't know if you've checked your credit card bill…"

"I have not."

"So, I know you said the card you gave me was just for emergencies…" Myah felt Steve tense, and in response, her stomach tightened as she prepared for a barrage to her already swollen rump. She was pretty sure she was never going to be able to sit down again. "Well, Mary found out I had it, and asked to use it to pay for the stuff for Joanie's room. I really tried to talk her out of it and asked if we could shop somewhere less expensive, but she insisted it'd be okay. I didn't know what to do. We spent a lot. Over seven hundred dollars." Myah closed her eyes and waited. When no swat came, she turned her head and peeked back at Steve. He was looking at her thoughtfully.

"Is that all?"

"Well… as far as that's concerned, yeah. There's also… Lynn came by."

"Lynn!"

"She said she needed to get some shirts that she'd left here because her mother's pin was on one. She said she knew where they were and she kind of went through your dresser to get them. I offered to get them for her, but she just kind of barged in. Anyway, she didn't find her pin, but she did find a ring. An engagement ring. Which she figured out wasn't hers, by the way, judging from the receipt. So if she's still mad at you the next time you see her, now you'll know why. But I am sorry I let her in. I didn't mean to go through your stuff, honest."

Steve sighed. "Do you need to cry anymore?"

"What?"

"You said earlier that you needed to cry? Any more tears hiding in there?"

"No… I don't think so."

"Well, unless you tell me you need it, your spankin' is over. I'm not going to punish you for either of those things." Steve gently pulled Myah back into a sitting position, again gently helping her to right her clothing.

Myah almost didn't want to ask why, just in case he changed his mind, but couldn't help herself. "So I'm not in trouble for…"

"No. At the end of the day, you're my baby and frankly both of them took advantage of you."

"I don't want you to be mad at Mary. She's already going through all this crap-"

"I'll deal with Mary." Steve interrupted her. "You don't have to worry about it. Get under your covers. You are awake way late." He stood so she could slide under her comforter.

"You're not going to make her return Joanie's bedroom stuff, are you?"

"Of course not. Although how in the world did you guys spend that much on a two year old's room?"

"It's easier than you would think. The chandelier was probably about half. It's not actually installed yet."

"A chandelier?! Are you serious?"

"Yeah, it's got beads and crystals… it's going to make rainbows all over her room when the light hits it." Myah gave him a tentative smile. "We could always get some prisms to hang in her room instead. It'd still make rainbows."

"We'll see." Steve sighed.

"So…uh… who was that ring for?"

Steve shook his head at her. "Good night, kid."

Myah poked her lip out at him. "Good night, dad."

Steve leaned down and gave a quick kiss on the forehead. "Oh, what was it that changed your mind? With Lacey? Why didn't you go with her?"

"I'll be happy to tell you when you tell me who the ring was for."

"At some point, I will tell you, but not tonight."

Deciding she was going to have to be satisfied with that information for the moment, Myah sighed, but nodded. "Well, uh… I will admit that I was initially tempted to go with Lacey. I was kind of mad and frustrated at the world and she started talking about getting ice cream in honor of my mom…"

"So you weren't afraid I was going to whip you every night for a week?"

"Would you actually do that?"

"No."

Myah sighed in relief.

"I'd make Danny take shifts for every other night so I wouldn't wear out my hand."

Myah's glared at him. "I didn't go with her because she called you an egotistical maniac."

Steve was a man rarely taken aback but his eyes widened. "Wow. Great friend."

"I know."

"Alright. We are well past your bedtime and it sounds like you are completely over tired. Sleep in tomorrow and we'll go hiking in the afternoon. I think we could all use it."

"Go tell Nahele I'm still alive."

"You think he's worried?"

"Yeah. Better tell him you didn't completely kill me. Although I'm pretty sure there are literally blisters on my butt."

"There are not." Steve scoffed. "Although considering this conversation, I better go make sure Nahele doesn't have any confessions he needs to make after the past couple of days."

"I'm sure the golden child is fine." Myah sighed.

Steve actually laughed at this. "Go to sleep, young lady."

For the first time in several days, Myah was able to do just that.

H50 H50 H50

Author's note: Hey friends, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review. I love seeing everyone's opinions and feedback. I, along with Myah, definitely agree that Steve needs to stay in town for a while. Hope you have a great day and I need to get to bed. Steve would not be pleased with my sleep habits and frankly I wish he was around to enforce a bedtime with me, lol.