Reagan looked back and forth between her mother and me, then asked with awe in her voice, “Like a super spy?”
“Sort of.” I grinned in response.
“Whateber,” my disgruntled progeny mumbled under his breath.
“That’s two, Rogan James.” Sloane used a tone I’d never heard from her before. “If I get to three, there will be consequences.”
He huffed, though wisely kept his mouth shut. I waited a few more beats before continuing.
“Part of being undercover meant I had to keep my real name a secret from the bad guys.”
“My momma’s not a bad guy!”
Rogan leapt off the couch, hands fisted at his sides like he was considering the ramifications of kicking my ass. Sloane intervened quickly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“That’s not what he said, Ro.”
“Christ, I’m fucking this up.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth I wanted to reach out and snatch them back.
Reagan gasped. “You said a bad word.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Dat’s okay. Uncle Finn says it lots.”
I snorted. “Oh yeah?”
“Yup. You gotta put monies in da swear jar now.”
“How much is it gonna cost me?”
She tapped a finger against her chin, thinking hard, but Rogan beat her to the punch.
“Twenty bucks.”
His smirk practically dared me to call his bluff. The little extortionist was good, but I was a trained negotiator.
“Ten,” I countered.
“Deal.” He accepted too quickly, then hopped back on the sofa next to his mother.
Shaking my head, my eyes cut to Sloane. “How much does Finn put in the swear jar?”
A smile broke out across her face. “A dollar, sometimes five.”
“That would’ve been great information to have.”
“You seemed to be doing fine on your own.”
Reaching into my back pocket for my wallet, I fished out a ten, handing over the crisp bill to my daughter. Round one went to my half-pint doppelgänger and with the cursing crisis resolved, Sloane resumed our story where I left off.
“Do you remember the accident I told you guys about?” They both nodded. “Duncan was taking me to our favorite hiking place to tell me who he really was and about his job. Before we could get there, our car crashed.”
Reagan turned to me with a serious look on her face. “You must not have been a good spy.”
“What do you mean, sweetheart?" Her statement threw me off-balance.
“If you were, it wouldn’t have taken you so long to find us.”