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" either–Rosemary 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.