Breaking Away (Assassins, #5)(129)

They were sending Claire off to college in a matter of hours.

She knew she should be glad that Claire was staying close to home, going to Bellevue University, with only a thirty-minute commute, but she was moving into the dorms and out of the house they had made their home. She felt like a piece of her was leaving. She knew she was probably overreacting, but she was going to miss her, so much, and she knew that Phillip would, too.

“Reese, can you hold Quinn for me?” Elli asked, holding out the youngest of the Adler clan.

“Sure,” she said, letting go of Phillip to take the sweet, dark-haired, blue-eyed toddler that looked just like his daddy.

“Thanks, I need to clean cake off the rest of my kids,” she said in a hurry before rushing to the table where her babies sat, but Shea made it there before she could. He flashed a grin before giving her a quick kiss. They shared a loving look, and Reese decided that Shea really was the best husband in the world. As Reese held Quinn close to her, he laid his head on her chest and let out a sigh as she watched the moms work hard to pass out cake to their offspring. Audrey had Penny in her lap, feeding her the cake and playing with Posey at the same time. Despite trying and trying, she and Tate hadn’t been blessed with another baby, but Piper had said that they were fine with it. While Lucas fed Asher and Aiden, Fallon sat with her feet up, a piece of cake resting on her protruding belly as she downed a whole bottle of water. She was due in a week with a little girl, named Stella, and they were extremely excited. Reese had fully expected a new baby from Piper at any time, but Piper said she wasn’t doing it, that Dimitri had ruined any thought of ever having another child. Reese hoped she would change her mind because she was ready for another baby that she could spoil. She was going to be bored without Claire. Maybe Fallon would let her borrow Stella every once in and while?

Kissing the top of Quinn’s head, she looked over at Phillip since she felt his eyes on hers. With a wink, he said, “You look really good with that baby.”

She smiled. “Thanks, he is a doll, isn’t he?”

“He is, and I love watching you with him. He likes you.”

He reached out, slowly running the back of his fingers against Quinn’s cheek. “Yeah, I like him too.”

“We could have one, you know,” he suggested, and Reese shook her head.

“No way, I don’t want to mess up a kid.”

Phillip shrugged. “We’ve done good with her.”

Claire followed his gaze and nodded. “I know, but the real test is coming with her leaving.”

“She’ll do fine. We are right here, and she’s smart.”

He was right. “I’m gonna miss her.”

Phillip wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple. “Me too.”

The whole ride to Bellevue University was quiet. Neither Reese nor Phillip said anything as they followed Claire to her dorms. Her car had been packed since the day before. Reese wished like hell that they weren’t doing this but when they got out of the car, they put on the biggest smiles imaginable and made this day Claire’s. She was excited, and they didn’t want to put a damper on that. She was basically bouncing on her heels, excited for her future, and while Reese was excited, the thought of not seeing her every day broke her heart.

Walking across the courtyard, carrying all her things, Reese took in her surroundings and decided that Claire was going to love it here. The courtyard was huge; they had a Starbucks, a Dominos, and Panera Bread. All Claire’s favorite things. As they walked, she noticed Claire checking out the boys and if Reese were a decade younger and not in love with Phillip, she would have been looking, too. As they came up to Fisher Hall, which held Claire’s dorm, Reese liked how clean it was and she knew that had a lot to do with the University being so young. That was one of the things that sold Reese and Phillip to the campus. It was safe and so close that between the security and Phillip, Claire should be safe.

“They have a hockey team, Phillip,” Claire said as she unlocked her door and pushed it open.

“That’s good, stay away from the players,” he mumbled. Reese rolled her eyes as she followed them in.

“But I like hockey players,” Claire pouted playfully.

“Yeah, well, unless you want them to die, stay away. Boys are off limits.”

Claire and Reese both laughed at that. She figured that pissed him off because he grumbled that he was going to go get the rest of Claire’s things and left.

“Don’t listen to him,” Reese said, waving a hand. “He’s just being silly.”

“I know,” she said, pushing her long, red hair off her shoulders. “He doesn’t want me to leave home, but I want to follow my dreams.”

“I know,” Reese said. Even though she didn’t like it, she knew that Claire needed it. “They have a dance team here, you know, for the hockey team,” Reese said as she helped unpack a few things. When she came to the picture of the three of them in the Fiji islands holding up the Lord Stanley cup, she smiled. Her eyes dusted with tears as she reminisced about the first summer vacation they had ever taken. They had so much fun that week and, despite the fact that Phillip was carrying the cup around like it was a solo cup and not a thirty-five pound cup, they had a blast.

“Yeah, you can’t try out till you’re a sophomore, so next year.”