He shakes his head. “Just like your mama.”
“Hey.” I slap him in the gut and then shake my hand because fuck, he’s still solid. I plop his namesake, little Daniel, between my other two children. I give the three of them a stern look. “I’m not going to take you outside to play if you don’t listen to me when we’re out there.”
Aurelia wants to roll her eyes, but she doesn’t. “Okay, Mama. We’ll be good. Won’t we?”
Both boys look at her, nodding in agreement. They listen better to her than they do me. It makes me sigh loudly.
Dan points at them before pointing at his own eyes. “Thirty minutes,” he warns before placing the money on the middle of the table.
Aurelia rubs her hands together, anxious to fill her piggy bank. She’s been saving up for a new bike. The girl has a bike, but that’s not good enough for her. She wants a “real” one.
“It’s not a real bike if it doesn’t have a motor, Mama.”
Dan laughs when I tell him the story, handing him a cup of coffee. “I’m pretty sure they’ll stay put. Especially since you laid the spoils on the table.” I set down my own cup and fall into the chair across from him, blowing my hair out of my eyes. “So, what can I do for you?”
He turns serious. “I need you to talk your parents out of this hair-brained idea they have.”
My shoulders fall, because I hate seeing the big guy sad. “Dan, they won’t be gone forever. They’re just taking some time to themselves.”
“I don’t like it.”
“What don’t you like about it?”
He leans back, pretending like he’s peeking into the other room to make sure the kids are being good, but I know he’s avoiding my question.
“I’ll miss her too,” I tell him.
“Well, she has a business to run. She can’t be traipsing off around the country.” He crosses his arms over his chest, and it warms my heart.
“You’re worried about her?”
“Everyone around here is losing their damn minds.” He throws his hands up in the air. “Your parents are running off like two teenage lovers, my dad’s not acting much better. I suppose you already heard the news?” He waits for my response.
I give him a little nod, trying to hold back my smile. Dan is overreacting. That doesn’t happen often.
“And don’t even get me started on this whole Jenny thing.”
“Uncle Dan!” Aurelia yells from the living room.
“What, honey?”
“Has it been thirty minutes yet?” she asks in her sweetest voice.
I look at the clock. It’s been less than five.
“Not even close!” he hollers back, earning him one of her signature sighs. He winks at me. “Come on, they’ll stay ifyouask them to.”
I sigh, realizing this might be where my daughter gets her dramatic exhales. “Dan, I can’t do that. I’m excited for them. They deserve this.”
He stares at me for a long moment, then makes a clicking sound with his tongue. “When the fuck did you grow up? I thought you’d be on my side.”
It gives me this warm fuzzy feeling in the center of my chest. I do love this man. “I’ll always be on your side. I don’t think this is about Mom and Dad. What’s really bothering you?”
His head drops between his shoulders as he rests his elbows on his knees. “It’s been a long time since it’s just been Lily and me at the house.”
“It will be your first time as empty nesters.”
The grimace he gives me tells me we’re finally getting somewhere.
