Page 74 of Crack the Ice

“Yeah, five minutes and it’ll be done.” She turns to the cabinets and pulls out a stack of plates and sets them down next to the stove.

Cade and Cecy work as a well oiled machine, putting the food on everyone’s plate in such a way that nothing is touching, definitely a Cecy trait, but there’s the correct protein to carb to veggie ratio for us all.

“Soooo…” Lettie draws out once we’re all sitting around the dining room table. “You going to fill us in?”

Cecy lets out a small laugh, one that might fool them, but I feel the pain in it. “As you guys know, Mav is trying to adopt Cade and Lily.”

Monroe and Sammy both cup their hands around their mouths and yell, “Daddy Reed!”

I roll my eyes, but they catch on Cecilia’s when they snap my way, a blush coloring her cheeks that I don’t think has anything to do with what she’s cooking. Huh, maybe there’s something there to explore at a later date.

She clears her throat, looking down at the chicken in the pan, frowning slightly before she schools it. “Anyway, his lawyer thinks having a two-parent household makes his case stronger considering the travel schedule you guys have. So I’m going to be living here. Sunny’s taking over my house.”

The room is deathly still. They look around at each other one by one, as if they’re trying to gauge what they can or should say, especially with two kids in the room. Thankfully, Kait breaks the silence before it gets too awkward.

“I think that’s a great idea.” She walks past me, squeezing my wrist before continuing to Cecy. “So what, are you going to adopt them, too?”

Her eyes slowly fill with tears, the column of her neck flexing with the force of her swallow. This is exactly why I wanted to have this conversation before they came over later this week.

“We haven’t talked about it fully yet,” I say, voice hoarse as I do my best not to make it seem like that isn’t an option. “If that’s something she wants, and the kids are okay with it, I’ve already asked my lawyer about putting her name on the document too.”

The spatula clatters to the floor as her hands cover her mouth. “Really?” she whispers.

I nod, losing the fight to keep myself from touching her in front of our friends the second her chin starts to tremble. “Fuck, baby. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry. You don’t have to. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.”

“They’re happy tears, Mav. I’m happy.” She burrows herself further into my chest.

I cradle her head against me, squeezing enough to calm her tremors. Her head snaps up, eyes meeting Cade’s.

“Wait, would you guys even want that?” She sniffles.

He nods, and seconds later Lily’s in front of the fridge pointing to the picture she drew earlier this week. “Duh, you’re already part of the family. Why not make it official?”

Lily claps her hands rapidly in front of her. “Does that mean you’re going to get married?! I call being the flower girl again.”

“Now wait a minute,” Sammy says, rubbing the back of his neck.

Cecy reaches out and ruffles her hair, bending until they’re eye level. “Maybe one day, sweet girl. We have some things to work on before we can think about that. You and Cade come first, though, okay? We made a promise to always do what’s best for you guys.”

“But what if what’s best for us is you getting married?”

Cecy’s eyes drop to the floor before lifting to the bright blue ones staring back at her. “We can both love you to the ends of the earth without being married. If that were to happen one day, then great, but it’d be because we can’t live without each other anymore. Okay?”

“Yeah.” Lily smiles. “Okay.”

* brother

* little sister

TWENTY-SEVEN

CECILIA

The conversation flows easily as we sit around the massive dining room table, my brother sitting on one side of me while Mav sits on the other. I’d like to tell myself that it has nothing to do with the fact that I cried earlier, but I know better. My tears have always been kryptonite to Markus, whether it’s because I’m not one to cry in front of other people, or because he knows more than he lets on. I don’t know, but today, I’ll take it.

There’s been so much change this past week, plus Lana not showing up today and me having to figure out how to get everything up and running on my own. Usually that would have sent me into one big spiral that would have put me under the covers for the next three days, but these guys showed up for me. My brain may still be holding on for dear life as the whiplash from everything pulls me from side to side, but my heart is at peace.

“This is good, Cecy. What is it?” Lettie asks, around a forkful of chicken and pineapple.