We went inside and all received identical invisible stamps on our hands. “Your little girl is adorable,” the lady working at the front said.

“She gets her cuteness from me, don’t you, sweetheart?” I asked, making Carrie giggle and Beau scowl.

As soon as we were away from the lady, Beau muttered, “Dumbass.”

Carrie pointed at him and said, “Ooh, I heard that, Uncle Beau.”

He poked her in the ribs, making her squeal, and said, “You keep your pie hole shut, little turkey. One word about this to your mother, and the tickle monster will attack with a furious vengeance when you least expect it.”

Carrie’s eyes widened with excitement, and she gripped my neck tighter. “Don’t let him tickle me, Daddy.”

I laughed. “I won’t. I’ll punch him in the nose if he does.”

Beau gave me a scary smile that had a bit of a snarl to it. “You can try.”

Well, this was going greeeeat so far.

I purchased a purple armband for Carrie and loaded it up with credits so that she could just tap it against the game she wanted to play, and she was good to go. Finding a table with a view of the entire play area, I kissed Carrie’s cheek and said, “Okay, sweetheart. You go play for a minute and let me and Uncle Beau talk. I’ll come play with you in just a little bit while we wait for our pizza. We will sit right here at this table so we can see you the whole time.” I tapped two fingers on the white Formica tabletop.

Nonplussed, she skipped off toward the play area, and Beau and I watched her as we sat across from each other. Never taking his eyes off Carrie, he asked, “So, what are your intentions with my sister?”

I shot him a look. “What is this? The 1800s?” I saw the corners of his lips twitch for a brief second, and then he was back to his usual stoic stare. “My intentions are to take care of her and Carrie. I’ve asked them to move in with me. Then I will marry Blaire the very second she will have me.”

Beau looked at me in surprise. “Seriously, dude?”

“Deadly,” I said, staring him right in the eye. He gave me a hard glower that would have withered a weaker man, but I didn’t flinch or look away. My eyes and the strong set of my mouth said, “Do not fuck with me, Atwood. Not about this.”

“If you hurt either of them, they will never find your body.”