Only The Goode Spy Forever

Chapter 102: The Average Family

"For you created my inmost being: you knit me together in my mother's womb." -Psalm 139:13

    Early on Saturday morning I threw on a pair of Lululemon leggings that were collecting dust at the bottom of my drawer. I pulled over a crew neck and threw my hair in a messy bun that I thought even Macey Winters would have liked. Thinking of her I grabbed the Kate Spade backpack she got me for my birthday and filled it with sunblock and snacks. Today I was on one of my hardest missions yet: soccer mom.
"Riley are you almost ready?" I yelled down the hall at my youngest son. I heard a faint 'yes' yell back at me. One would think that being a spy mom means that doing regular mom things would be easy, but that's a lie. It's always been hard for me to blend and be "normal". I haven't been normal a single day of my life. I'm not in the mom cliques, though Zach says I'm hot enough to be.
I heard a creak in the doorway and turned to see Zach. His hair was messy and he was in the gray sweatpants that girls swoon over. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt which, for trying to blend in and look average, seemed all too tight and muscle revealing for me, but I wouldn't be the one to say so.
"How many times do you think Chadwick will bring up the stock market?" He asked with a grin.
"Not as many times as Chanel brings up how talented her kids are," I smiled. Zack laughed. Chadwick and Chanel sent their son to the same private school that Riley was currently in. The boys played soccer together so Zach and I always got an ear full of bragging and complaining from the entitled couple.
"Keep an eye on Brandy today," now that her and Jeremy are divorced she's been way too touchy with me," Zach grimaced. I frowned. He grinned at my dismay. "She's stealing every touch she can get. Jealous?"
"Of course not," I scoffed. I held up my hand and wiggled my wedding ring at him. "I stole the last name." Zach laughed. He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him as he kissed me.
      "Cameron Goode," Zach said as he stared at nothing in particular with wonder. "How did we get here?" I was thankful Zach's question was rhetorical because I really didn't have an answer for it.
    I hurriedly packed lunches as Zach loaded up the car. I filled water bottles for everyone and then I threw on my shades and jumped in the car. Riley, Jaycee, and Zach were already waiting for me. We made the drive to Riley's school and I rolled my eyes at the preppy's who were all there. I hated that Riley had to go to a school with such snobs, but Zach and I figured such a prestigious school would be beneficial for his future. Sending Riley to Blackthorne was out of the question after all that had been going on there.  We were considering the same boarding school that Matthew and Townsend went to, but so thought England was too far.
      "Zach!" A voice yelled snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned and saw Brandy walking towards him. She was wearing a crop top that said "girl mom." I rolled my eyes as she grabbed Zach's arm, too close to his muscles. "I'm soooo glad to see you! Ever since Jeremy and I got divorced I've really struggled with home projects. Would you be ok to help me sometime?" The spy in my gave her a calm smile, but the girl in me wanted to stare daggers into her soul.
     "Jeez I'm never even home to do my own projects," Zach laughed. "I'm always on business trips." Brandy squinted her eyes at him, but smiled anyways. I could tell that she was disappointed.
"The game is about to start so I guess I'll see you later," Brandy said, the annoyance showing lightly in her voice.
"Zach!" Another voice called. I saw Chadwick and Chanel motion for us to sit down by them. "Have you seen the stock market today?" Chadwick was already pulling out his IPad to show Zach. Zach's cover legend was a successful international businessman. He winked at me and then flipped on his cover.
"It's way down today, but I suspect the SPF 500 is going to sky rocket soon." Zach began.
I leaned back and smiled. Riley is only 11, so the games are fairly short. I watched my 8 year old daughter dance around and giggle with her friends. I sighed. I didn't mind coming to things like this, it was just so different for me. I would far rather be unseen than make small talk with snobby moms who would surely talk bad about me later.
For a spy who's always on her feet, I'm constantly surprised by how exhausted I am by the end of my children's games. I was too tired to cook, so we got takeout. The kids were tired too and went straight to bed. Zach finished up some paper work from a mission while I studied my cover legend for my next mission.
I was fairly certain Zach was out the second his head hit the pillow. I looked at the clock. It was 3 AM. Sleeping had been hard for me recently. I got out of bed to grab a drink of water. When I lay back down Zach immediately rolled over and put his arms around me. His breathing was slow and heavy as he slept. He looked more peaceful than I had ever seen him look and I thought he was out cold. Then I heard my daughter yell "daddy!" And the peaceful Zach was gone immediately. He sat straight up in bed without missing a beat. "Mommy!" There was no sleep in his eyes as he locked them with mine. I was trying to figure out how Zach had gone from being dead asleep to being so awake, so alert, but my thought were cut short as he threw off the sheets and barreled down the hallway to Jaycee's room.
      When we threw open the door to her room I scanned it for intruders. When I saw nothing out of the ordinary I look at Jaycee. She just sat in her bed with a doll in hand and watched me. Zach sighed a deep breath of relief and sat by Jaycee on her bed.
     "What the matter, sweetheart?" He asked. Jaycee reached for him and he hugged her tightly. I made my way over to them and sat on Jaycee's other side.
     "I had a nightmare," she whispered. I placed my hand on hers.
     "It wasn't real. You're safe," I comforted. Jaycee didn't look so sure. She exchanged glances with me and Zach and then she looked embarassed.
     "It's okay," Zach consoled. "I get them too. What was it?"
     "It was Chase and Bree," Jaycee sighed. "They were missing and I didn't know where they went. Anna ran away and she tried to find them and that made you scared. Me and Riley were all alone."
      "It's okay, Jaycee," I said calmly. "Everyone is fine. No one is missing." Jaycee yawned heavily.
     "Will you stay with me?" She asked with wide eyes. "Just for a little bit?"
     "Of course," Zach replied. I moved to where I was laying down next to her and began stroking her hair. Zach met my eyes and smiled at me. He shifted uncomfortably trying to lay down too. He was far too tall to fit on Jaycee's little bed, but he didn't complain.
      Jaycee had Zach's gene of instantly falling asleep. As the moonlight streamed through her curtains I studied my youngest daughter. She looked different than my other 3 kids. Chase looked just like his father. The Townsend genes were thick in him. Chase and Zach looked more like brothers than father and son. Whenever they were together with Matthew and Townsend I struggled to tell them apart. Anna had more Morgan genes. She had my eyes and complexion, but she had my dads freckles. She was taller than me too, the height gene was all from Townsend. Riley was the perfect combination between Zach and I. He had my eyes and features, but he had Zach's hair and chiseled face. I didn't think Riley would ever be as tall as Zach and Chase. Jaycee was more of a mystery child. My mom swore her bleach blonde hair came from my grandma Morgan, but I wasn't so sure. Recently in the sun Jaycee's hair looked more strawberry blonde. In some lights it looked red. Her blue eyes had been gaining more green to them and her perfect skin and build didn't look like me or Zach. It occurred to me that Zach had dominantly Townsend genes, but Jaycee had more Goode genes. Of all my kids she easily looked the most like Catherine. It angered me that Catherine would even present a few features in my children. It angered me that their blood was the same as hers. Yet, when I looked at my husband that anger melted away. That's when it hit me: Zachary Goode was the only good thing that Catherine ever created.
      As I looked back at Zach laying next to Jaycee his question from earlier hit me. I looked at him and he peeled his eyes away from Jaycee and looked at me.
     "How did we get here?" I asked him. He cocked an eyebrow at me and smiled.
     "Well I was going to be a badass and be a bachelor for life, but then I fell in love with a Gallagher Girl and she brought me to my knees. I'm a big softy now," he replied. I chuckled.
     When we left Jaycee's room that night all was forgotten. Her nightmare slipped our mind completely. Little did we know in just a few weeks, her nightmare would become our reality.