Page 8 of One Quick Obsession

Dinner, I had a feeling, was going to be a long one.

“Wait. So you’re not getting a goat in pajamas?” Emily asked.

I let out a long sigh before glaring at Flynn. “Stop telling everybody I’m getting a goat.”

“Oops?” Emily batted her lashes before grinning. “You don’t think you should tell your baby sister about a precious baby goat?”

“I’m not getting a goat. I’m not getting any animal. Harper and Dorian have their dog. I don’t need one.”

“You can’t just borrow another person’s dog,” Dorian said dryly.

Was that a migraine? Yes, I do believe so. “Yes, I can.”

“You guys fight about the weirdest things,” Emily said as she shook her head. Flynn wrapped his arm around her shoulder and beamed down at her. “Welcome to the Cages. You don’t come to enough of these dinners, so you don’t really know how insane we are.”

That was true enough. As one of the youngest Cages, Emily tended to have the most fixed schedule. She had just been finishing college when everything had changed in our lives, and I knew she was trying to figure out what she wanted in life. After all, her path had varied widely, a little bit like mine had. She and Kyler, my other half-brother, rarely came to these things. She couldn’t get out of work as much, and as Kyler was currently touring the world because my brother was a damn rock star, he barely had time to make these things.

Of course, I only showed up when it was in my small town because I rarely ventured into Denver, so I didn’t have much leg to stand on there.

“Okay, the girls are down,” Sophia said, as she walked inside, and wiped her hands. “I love Violet and Hazel with every ounce of my being, but I wish bedtime was easier.” Sophia rubbed her temples, and Isabella came forward and wrapped her arm over her shoulders.

“Where’s Cale?” I asked, looking around the room.

We were at Weston and Isabella’s house, so of course those two were here, and Dorian and Harper had showed since they lived in Cage Lake part time, and Flynn had come up mostly to annoy me, same with Emily it seemed. Sophia was staying with Isabella, and had brought her kids, and husband Cale. But I hadn’t seen him since dinner.

Sophia’s smile widened. “He got a promotion at work and is now on a call.” She rolled her eyes. “He ignores some of those calls, thankfully. But between his promotion, the twins, and my dance studio, I don’t know what sleep is.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Emily asked.

Sophia reached out and patted Emily’s cheek. “No, I’ve got it. You need to focus on your job. I know getting time off is difficult.”

The light seemed to die out of Emily’s eyes slightly, but she smiled anyway. “If you ever need perfect toddler clothes, I will do my best to design them for you.”

“They’re growing so quickly, I would need an entire wardrobe full.”

“How are they liking their beds up there?” I asked, taking the attention off Emily. She gave me a thankful look even though I’d rather be anywhere else but here at the moment. Even with family, too many people made me itchy.

Sophia smiled softly at me. “They’re beautiful. Thank you for painting them.”

I shrugged, ignoring everybody’s stares.

While Sophia could have any one of the homes around Cage Lake that our family owns, or part of the land and build something for herself, she usually opted to stay with one of us. Isabella mostly. Isabella had bought two sets of cribs that could turn into big girl beds, as they called them. They had come with just plain wood, and were ornate, but I had wanted to add a little bit more to them. Call me sentimental.

I’d also painted the murals in that room and had done my best to ignore Sophia’s quiet, thankful sobs.

“I seriously don’t know how you do it,” Cale said as he came forward and slid his phone into his pocket. He wrapped his arm around Sophia’s shoulder and kissed her temple. “I can barely draw a stick figure.”

I shrugged. “It’s something I do. And since Weston’s sisters said that they would give up one of their rooms for Sophia’s twins, it all worked out.”

Weston had two younger sisters and a younger brother, who were now adults and living outside the home. When they visited, they all piled together, or stayed in one of the various guest rooms, or in one of our homes. When you happen to own a town, we had a lot of real estate where we could stuff your family and friends when they needed to find a bed.

Conversation turned to the next family dinner, and I frowned, realizing that we were running out of them. In order for the family to keep Cage Enterprises, Cage Lake, and all of the estate business whole, our father had put certain things in his will. We weren’t even sure of all of the rules and stipulations yet, but the main thing was we had to have these family dinners.

I didn’t know what we would do when we reached the last one. Maybe I wouldn’t be dragged out so often. That would be a relief.

By the time everybody was ready to wind down, I was bouncing on the balls of my feet, ready to get home. I loved my family. I really did. But I needed time alone more than anything.

“Hey, Hudson, I wanted to ask you a question,” Harper called out as she came forward.