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“True,” I agreed, waving Calder on his way before starting the car However, ht before Now there was someone with serious fatherhood potential Neither Calder nor I were cut out to be family ru family He was a natural with kids and had the sort of life where I could absolutely see him and some future husband with a house full of musically inclined kids I hated the future husband dude already

And undoubtedly Arthur would have done a better job thanall the kid questions they peppered ot underway

“How fast does this thing go?” Taylor asked, but before I could answer, the other questions started piling on from the twins

“Will you show us?”

“We won’t tell Mom if you burn rubber” Vince, the wilder twin, ht actually take him up on it “Pinky promise”

“What’s it like being on a subhway speed No as I risking a ticket with a back seat full of kids

“Yeah, what happens when someone farts on a sub?” Taylor added

“And how do you knohether it’s night when you’re underwater?” Vince threw in his questions before I could answer the first two “Is it true they put you in a dunk tank in school?”

“Slon,” I ordered after about tento speed, so you can stop asking that And I’ll tell you all about life on a sub if you let me talk”

“Talk,” Taylor parroted like I was the one holding up the conversation

“I wanna know everything” Seth stretched like he was settling in for a story, so I gave the about air filtration syste and more

“Why’d you want to be on a sub anyway?” Taylor asked as I finished explaining sleeping arrangements “My dad says you couldn’t pay him to be on a sub”

“That’s ’cause your dad is army My dad says your dad is a crap swi this insult

“Is not”

“Is—”

“Enough” I silenced the backseat battle with the same tone our chief of the boat used with unruly new recruits “I like being on a sub because we’re all a tea ships where you can get lost in the crowd I know the nale person on my sub I like that And I like e do in the sonar depart for discrepancies”

“Nerd work,” Vince scoffed

“Hey,” Taylor protested “Derrick’s not a nerd”

“Thanks—”

“That’s Arthur Now he’s a nerd”