Page 11 of The Road Back to Us

“We don’t have the fish game here, munchkin,” he said as he walked past and ruffled her hair. “I’ll ask Nana to bring it tomorrow.”

“Shoot,” I said, more to myself than anyone. “The games I have might be a little advanced for Chloe.”

“What are they?” Ben asked, surprising me again with how involved he was in the conversation.

I knew Cole had talked to him, but I was curious what he said to get Ben to drop the walls he’d been putting up around me.

“Well, I have Monopoly,” I said, holding up my finger as I tried to remember all five of the games I had seen earlier. “I also have Battleship, Scrabble, and I forget the others. I can go grab them real quick.”

“I think Monopoly would be fun,” Ben said, nodding to Chloe. “Do you want to be my partner again, and we can steal all of Uncle Cole’s money?”

“Yes!!” Chloe shrieked with pure happiness on her adorable little face.

“You guys play Monopoly?” I asked, loving the way Ben was grinning.

“On occasion. Dad used to try to get us to play board games, but things got a little busy the past few years, so there wasn’t as much time. We played a lot when we were little.”

My face fell as I put two and two together.

Things got a little busy the past few years, so there wasn’t as much time. We played a lot when we were little.

Before their mom died.

“It’s okay, Aunt Lyric,” Ben said softly, catching me by surprise again. “You didn’t know.”

I shook my head and smiled at him, thankful that he was being so open with me.

No, but I should have. Clay was my brother. I owed it to him to be more involved in his life. I owed it to all of them to be more involved, but I wasn’t.

“But,” he continued, a cheeky smile crossing his lips that reminded me so much of his dad. “I can’t promise to take it easy on you. Chloe and I play to win.”

He winked at his sister, who attempted to return it but just blinked both eyes instead.

“Oh, it is so on,” I teased, the anxiety and fear of not knowing what I was doing starting to dissipate. My shoulders lowered as I took in a calming breath and pushed it out. “I was the reigning champion in my family for years.”

“Your dad actually had to come live with me for a while,” Cole added, scrunching his face. “That was how bad Aunt Lyric beat him. She didn’t just bankrupt him in the game...”

“You’re such a terrible liar,” Kara told him with a giggle. “I told you, your eyes give you away. We can always tell when you’re pulling our legs.”

Cole shrugged, but I loved the way he was looking at the kids. There was so much love there that I knew they would never go a day without feeling it.

Twelve

Cole

“You’re killing me,” I groaned, letting my head drop as I counted what cash I had left and handed it over to Lyric. “I literally have nothing left to give you.”

“I hate to say I told you so, but...” she teased as her face lit up with happiness. “Two down, one more to go.”

“You can’t take us down,” Ben shot back, holding Chloe closer to him as he used her as leverage against Lyric. “How would you sleep at night knowing you left your poor, tiny, three-year-old niece bankrupt with no money for food or toys?”

He pouted his lip and batted his eyes, which only got more laughter out of Lyric as she watched Chloe try to mimic what Ben was doing.

“Stick your bottom lip out more,” Kara told Chloe, showing her what she meant by doing it herself. “Like this.”

Kara was the first one Lyric had bankrupted, but she handled it like a good sport and had actually stayed to watch everyone else play instead of playing on her phone, which was unusual for her.

“I would probably toss and turn a little bit,” Lyric replied, tilting her head to watch Chloe as she grinned at her. “But, that’s just because I don’t love my pillow. Once I get a new one, I’ll sleep like a baby.”