Love Unspoken

Quinn's eyes lit up as he stared at the distant black ship. "Is that Maddox and the others?"

Alexander squinted, but it was too far to see clearly. He could only tell it was a ship.

Kyle heard the conversation and quickly ran over, exclaiming, "Does it feel like they're here? How dare they sail in this weather!" Quinn turned to look at him. "Are you sure that's Maddox?"

Kyle replied, "Isn't it coming in our direction? Who else could it be? Mrs. Kennedy, should we get ready to board?"

Quinn hesitated. "Let's wait until they disembark."

'Just because they arrived safely in this weather doesn't mean they can return safely right away,' Quinn thought.

It took almost forty minutes for the ship to get close, and Quinn's legs were weak by then.

Seeing people disembark, she immediately ran down the path to the beach.

As expected, it was Maddox and the others, with Sean among them. They were happy to see Quinn, and Maddox strode over to her. "Quinn!"

Quinn's face was filled with joy and worry. "Why did you come now? It could rain heavily at any moment."

Maddox replied, "No worries. We checked; it won't rain for the next eight hours, so we set off early. We made it safely. Did you bring Sprout and Brandy?" Quinn replied, "Yes, they're inside."

Maddox grinned. "I'll go see them! It's been so long; I wonder how Sprout has grown."

He quickly walked past Quinn towards the village.

Quinn smirked. Why did it feel like he was more interested in Sprout and Brandy than in her?

Sean walked over and said, "Mrs. Kennedy, he heard you brought Sprout and Brandy. If we hadn't held him back, he would have come yesterday."

"So, he came just to see Sprout and Brandy?" Quinn asked.

"Not entirely. Of course, he wants to see you the most." Sean rarely said something so considerate, but given Maddox's eager back, his words didn't seem very credible. "Forget it, let's go back." Quinn didn't bother to argue.

When they returned to the house, Maddox was already holding the two children, one in each arm. Sprout stared at him curiously with big eyes, while Brandy looked timid and a bit scared. Maddox nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. Do you two know who I am?"

Brandy, who had never seen him before, shook her head and said in her sweet voice, "No."

Sprout struggled to get down, and when he couldn't, he reached out to grab Maddox's hair.

Maddox, talking to Brandy, didn't notice until Sprout had a firm grip on his hair.

He tilted his head and glared at Sprout. "Sprout, let go of my hair!"

Whether Sprout understood him or not, he seemed to get the tone and grabbed his hair with both hands.

Maddox cried out in pain, quickly calling Quinn to take Brandy.

Quinn hurriedly took Brandy and saw Maddox trying to pry Sprout's hands off his hair.

Maddox threatened, "Sprout, do you believe I'll hit you?"Sprout mumbled something, and it didn't sound friendly.

Maddox asked, "What's he saying?"

Quinn replied, "He said you're a bad guy and he'll beat you up."

Maddox was angry but didn't dare do anything to Sprout. He was so small that Maddox could hurt him with one hand.

It would be easy to pry Sprout's hands off with a bit of force, but their familial bond stopped him. Maddox, grimacing, glanced at Alexander. "Alexander! Get your son off me!"

Unlike his earlier excitement at seeing Sprout, Maddox now looked as annoyed as he could be.

Alexander remained unmoved. "He likes you and is playing with you."

"My scalp is about to be torn off! Get him off, or I'll hit him!" Maddox roared.

Quinn knew Maddox had a bad temper and quickly put Brandy down to help. She patted Sprout's hand. "Sprout, let go. This is your uncle."

Sprout pouted and glared at Maddox, showing no intention of letting go.

Quinn sighed, wondering why these two didn't get along from the start. She thought Sprout and Alexander were already troublesome enough, but he and Maddox were even worse. Sprout feared Alexander but not Maddox, so he was even more unruly with Maddox.

Quinn struggled to pry Sprout's hands off Maddox's hair. Maddox, fixing his hair, stepped aside.

He pointed at Sprout. "This kid is so arrogant at this age. What will he be like when he grows up?"

He rolled up his sleeves. "Quinn, I think this kid needs discipline. Let me teach him a lesson, and I guarantee he'll be obedient in a month."

Sprout immediately started yelling at him, looking very angry and flailing in Quinn's arms, ready to fight him. Quinn laughed at Maddox's messy hair. "Really?"

Maddox snorted. "Of course! I can handle him. What's he saying?" Quinn replied, "He said you're a bad guy and he'll beat you up." Maddox was stunned. "Wait, how does he know to say that?"

Quinn was also surprised and instinctively looked at Alexander.

She suddenly remembered the stories Alexander told Brandy. What had he been teaching these kids?

Alexander looked innocent. "Why are you looking at me? It's not my fault."

Quinn asked, "Didn't you teach him?"

Alexander denied, "Of course not. He learned it from other kids."

"Which kids?" Quinn pressed.

Alexander said, "The ones at the park."

Quinn remembered Alexander loved taking them to the park, where there were many children.

Maddox snorted. "I knew it. Sprout is so naughty because of you!"

Alexander claimed innocence. "It's not my fault."

"Then it's your personality. You can't escape responsibility!" Maddox insisted, rolling up his sleeves. "Quinn, let me educate Sprout. I promise you'll have an obedient son in a month." Quinn looked at him skeptically. "Really? You won't hit him, right?"

"Do I look like that kind of person? Don't worry, I'll use love to change him," Maddox replied, raising his chin with a confident look in his eyes.novelbin