Page 23 of My Eternal Light
Kincaid smiled. “It’s not so bad. Most of my check goes home, so they’re doing much better now.” He pointed to their surroundings. “The Elder Council and our Unit Commander ensures the warriors are taken care of, and of course our queen spoils us as well, we don’t really want for anything.”
Meryn patted his arm. “I knew you were a good bean.”
“I try my best.”
Ari didn’t look happy. “You go to whatever store and then come straight home. If you think for even a second that there’s trouble you call us immediately.”
“Yes, dad,” he teased. He checked his watch, it was just after five in the evening. “Can you call Cam and let him know that I’ll arrange for some bulk orders to be delivered to the Vanguard house. It will be easier than finding a secure place to shove everything in Meryn’s Bag of Wishes.” They heard a cry in the distance. “We’re going to need a ton of diapers.”
The queen turned to Cord. “Cord…”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I have it right here,” he said, walking forward to present him with a credit card that was solid black and a slip of paper with a phone number and access code written on it.
Kincaid swallowed hard. “Does this even have a limit?”
The queen blinked. “Why would it have a limit?”
Kincaid immediately tried to hand it back to the squire who stepped away, hands behind his back. “Kincaid, you will make our queen very happy if you allow her to provide for the children.”
“It’s not that.” He held up the weighty, metal-like card. “I’m scared to walk around with this thing.”
Meryn’s eyes were huge. “Auntie, could he buy a car with that?”
“Of course, easily.”
“How about a house?”
“Yes, dear.”
“What about an island?”
The queen laughed. “Meryn, I believe the term is ‘money is no object’.”
Brennus bent down slightly to look at his niece. “Did you want an island, darling?”
“Whoa,” Meryn whispered. “Uncle Bren, you’re the best.”
Brennus puffed out his chest. “Say that again when your Uncle Doran is around.”
Aiden rested his chin on the top of her head and chomped repeatedly causing her head to bop around.
“Aiden!” she yelled out, laughing.
He turned her so he could see her face. “I can buy you can island baby.”
“That’s not what I want.”
The queen, Brennus and Aiden leaned in. Aiden rubbed noses with her. “What do you want?”
“Toast’ems Pop-ups,” she said.
“What the heck are those?” he asked.
“They started out as kinda like off-brand Pop-Tarts. I used to be able to get them at the dollar store. I would scrape money together to get a box. It held three packets of two. So, for a dollar I had breakfast for a week,” she explained.
Aiden frowned. “But Meryn, there are seven days in a week.”
She shrugged. “I either went without or tried to make it so I ran out on Sundays. That’s when the mean old bitch would go to church, so I got to sneak downstairs and find something she wouldn’t miss.”