Since that meant they were all upstairs, Law made us adults coffees while I finished cleaning up after the pizza party, and then Uncle Teague finally gave me the look I’d expected.
“Can I talk to you in private?” he asked me in his kind, patient voice.
“Yeah, of course.”
“You can use my room,” Law said immediately.
I widened my eyes at him, knowing that we hadn’t exactly changed the sheets of that bed.
“Or maybe we’ll just go into the living room and keep our voices down?” Uncle Teague looked mildly disturbed, having caught my expression.
“Meanwhile, I’m gonna chat with my big brother,” Charlie said brightly.
I followed Uncle Teague into the living room and we sat on the couch, close enough to each other that we could speak quietly.
“So.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Mhmm,” I added.
He took a deep breath, released it, and then looked at me. “So as the amazing uncle I am, I’ve got to ask you this: is this a thing between two consenting adults without any power imbalance I gotta worry about?”
I reached to take his hand and squeezed it. “It is. He makes me happy and I feel safe with him. So, so damn safe, Uncle Teague.”
He squeezed back and nodded. “Okay. That’s all I need to know.” He glanced toward the kitchen where Charlie was likely doing his best to grill his brother without much success because Charlie wasn’t that sort of person.
“Are you going to give him the shovel talk?” I grinned.
Uncle Teague snorted. “Nah. I’m gonna ask him the same question I asked you. But I don’t see him giving me a different answer.” Then he reached over to gather me in a hug. “I’m happy if you’re happy, Oak. You deserve all the good things, eh?”
“Thanks, Uncle Teague,” I replied, sounding only a little more choked up than I would’ve wanted to.
He let go and walked into the kitchen while I gathered myself. Soon, Charlie appeared and came to sit with me. He pulled me under his arm, and we sat in silence for a while.
“Seriously though.” He tugged at the rolled-up sleeve of my flannel. “Very cute.”
“Thanks.”
Smirking slightly, he asked, “So, when are you telling your grandparents?”
I groaned.
It turned out that we didn’t need to tell Nic and Dana, because Dana had guessed and she didn’t keep anything from her wife. Then Aunt Regan came to make a late delivery of some baked goods to the inn one morning, took one look at Law and I sitting at a breakfast table together, and their eyes widened comically.
“No!” they exclaimed.
“What?” I asked, all innocent.
They abandoned the pastry boxes for the time being and came to stand next to the table. “You two? Who knows about this?”
Law reached for my hand as if in support and shrugged. “Only ones who don’t are the kids and Sean and Mary.”
Aunt Regan’s gaze flicked toward the kitchen and their eyes narrowed. “Huh.”
“Are you opposed?” I asked, knowing they were distracted with the knowledge that Nic and Dana had known and not told them.
“What?”
“Is this a problem for you?” I spelled the question out carefully.
