“That’ll be the uncles. I’m gonna finish this and come downstairs.” She gestured at her desk.
“You’re such a smart girl. I really admire you,” I told her honestly. “Keep doing your thing, Harper, and remember there’s always adults around if you need one.”
She blushed lightly and nodded, then went back to her books.
I left the room, only to be almost run over by Marlie and Ranger.
“Sorry, Oak!” she called out, being louder than normal in her enthusiasm.
Ranger barked as if in response, and I chuckled as I walked to the top of the stairs. Luckily Marlie was smart enough to slow down and take the steps carefully, so I didn’t need to remind her.
As soon as I got halfway down the stairs, I saw Charlie and Uncle Teague getting rid of the last of their winter gear. Uncle Teague carried a massive pile of pizza boxes into the kitchen and didn’t notice me.
Charlie, however, did. He tilted his head as he took in my appearance and rolled his eyes. For a split second I worried as I walked down the rest of the stairs to get to him.
He was wearing a red flannel I knew had belonged to my uncle.
“Totally stole my trick, you twink,” he quietly mock-hissed at me when he came to give me a hug.
In that moment, I knew we would be okay. “I love you too, Charlie.”
He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes, searching something without asking.
Then he said, “If you tell me everything is fine, that this is completely mutual and the potential power imbalance isn’t an issue, then I’ll believe you.”
“You know your brother and you know me. Everything’s better than fine, Charlie,” I promised.
“Good, then—”
“Uncle Charlie!” Harper squealed from the stairs, then did an odd, controlled dash down because running wasn’t allowed.
I made room for her and let the duo hug. I took in a deep breath and hoped my own uncle would be as fine about it as Charlie had been.
We ended up eating in the dining room around the big table. Harper found an extra chair to fit us all around it, and then we gorged ourselves with pizza.
About halfway into the excited babble about their weeks and how Ranger’s training was going and how Harper had gotten an A on her math quiz, Tristan suddenly looked at me.
“Why’re you wearing Daddy’s shirt?”
I almost inhaled a piece of pepperoni and coughed, then drank a bit of water.
“I took a shower after my nap and I was cold,” I said once I’d recovered a little. “It was right there and it’s comfy.”
Law looked amused and fond at the exchange, so I figured I’d managed to say the right thing.
“Oh, okay,” Tristan said easily. Then he squinted at me. “Daddy said you had a bad day. Do you feel better now?”
“Yeah, buddy, I feel much better.”
“Yeah.” He thought for a second. “I think sometimes I feel better after a nap, too.”
“But don’t tell Daddy you said that?” I deadpanned, making everyone around the table, including Tristan, laugh.
Once most of the pizzas were gone—there was definitely enough left for the kids’ lunches and some for adults as well—the kids were allowed some time with their electronics.
Mostly, that meant Harper would be using an old laptop to watch some YouTube videos Law approved of, Tristan played a game on his tablet, and Marlie and Ranger watched some PAW Patrol on her tablet—because “Ranger hasn’t seen it before.”
I’d been told that PAW Patrol was one of her comfort shows that had stuck with her. Now that she had Ranger for an excuse, she felt even safer watching a “little kids’ show” when she needed to wind down after a long day.
