Page 25 of Endless Depths

“That bag.”

“What bag?”

Finn darts around him and snatches it with a grin. “This one.”

Cole jumps, feigning surprise. “How did that get there?”

“It’s not a fish, is it?” Finn asks.

“I mean… It doesn’t have water, so no. It might be a crab, though.”

Finn’s hazel eyes narrow. “It’s not crab season.”

Cole grins at me, and I flush like a kid with a crush.

“Finn’s smart,” I say.

“Well, you don’t get that from me.” Cole nods toward the bag. “Go on and open it.”

“Okay!” Finn pulls a battered baseball mitt from the bag. “Another mitt?”

After Finn saw a picture of Seb pitching in high school, he took up an interest, so I got him a pair of mitts for us to practice with.

“Not just any mitt.” Cole points out Seb’s name written in faded permanent marker.

“Uncle, I can’t read.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He laughs. “It saysSeb Morrissey. This is your dad’s lucky mitt.”

“Woah,” he whispers.

Cole helps him put it on. “I thought you could use a third mitt to go with the ones me and Uncle bought you.”

Asshole. He can’t reply to my texts, but he can take credit forthe gifts I bought, and find time to dig up Seb’s mitt from storage, then not even show up on time?

“Can you play catch with me?” Finn asks him.

“That’s up to Uncle Mor.” Cole lifts his gaze to me, blue eyes vulnerable.

An ember of hope flares inside my chest. Maybe there’s still a chance. Or maybe he just wants me to tag along because he’s nervous to be alone with Finn.

“I’m in.” I ruffle Finn’s hair. “Go grab your stuff.”

Finn runs upstairs, and tense silence fills the kitchen, at least until Shay walks in.

“That’s the first time he’s sounded happy today.” She squeezes my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“What happened?” Cole asks, zeroing in on the place Shay’s touching me.

I’d be jealous too if he moved in with another man, but Shay wouldn’t be here if Cole had followed Seb’s wishes and moved with me.

“Birthday blues,” I explain.

Finn runs back into the room, mitts and a ball in hand. “Oh! I forgot.” He dumps his stuff on the dining table and hugs Shay. The ball rolls off the table and into Cole’s waiting hand.

“I’m sorry I yelled at you, Auntie. Next time I’ll yell at the pillow.”