AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"What?" I looked to Jonas for confirmation.
"It's true." He chuckled. "We planned to tell everyone over dinner, but little Tayden here can't keep a secret."
"But I kept the secret real good, huh Dad?" Five-year-old Decklan chirped in, puffing up his chest with pride.
Jonas smiled and nodded. "You did a real good job, buddy."
Tayden put his warm, soft hands on my cheeks to turn my head back to his direction. "And it might be a sisterora brodder." He said it like it was the most amazing coincidence in the whole world.
"That is so exciting." I smiled at the cuteness of childhood. Everything was so magical to them. "What do you hope your mommy has?"
He shrugged. "Probably a girl. We already has two boys." Then he scooted off my lap and ran back to Grandpa without another word.
"So how is the new job working out?" My dad, Mr. Harold Dawson, asked once everyone was seated around the table, their plates full of French dip sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and steamed carrots.
"It's good. Definitely keeps me busy, but it's nice working full time."
"And how has it been working with a billionaire TV star?" my mom asked, tongue in cheek. "Has he made any ridiculous demands? Like, does the car have to be at exactly seventy-two degrees before he climbs in? What about the flowers in his dressing room? Are daises allowed, or only fancy orchids or peonies?"
"Sorry to disappoint," I said, dipping my sandwich in the au jus sauce, "but he's still as down to earth and easy tempered as he always was."
"Wait! You guys actually know the bachelor Drew Burrows?" Kerrie sat up and put a hand on Cason's shoulder.
"His mom lives just down on Kenneth Drive." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the general direction of Drew’s childhood house.
"Drew is a dear family friend. He and Aiden were tied at the hip their teenage years," Mom explained, her expression going soft.
A hush fell over the room, and Kerrie looked at her lap, visibly uncomfortable. "I see. Sorry, I didn't know."
"It's okay." Mom forced a smile. "We all love Drew like he's part of the family."
Cason patted Kerrie's knee, but she continued to stare at her plate.
"Since we're on the subject, are we going to celebrate Aiden's birthday next Sunday?" Lana asked. "The boys and I would be happy to make the dirt and worms."
Though not the typical birthday treat, chocolate pudding with gummy worms and crushed Oreos had always been Aiden's requested dessert—from the time he was five and even into his adult years.
"Oh, yes," Dad agreed. "We should do that. That would be nice."
Mom nodded, her mouth pursed together as she breathed deeply. "Yes. We should, shouldn't we? We'll all be together anyway."
Dad pointed at me with his fork. "Why don't you invite Drew too? It would be nice to see him again."
I wiped the au jus sauce that had dripped on my chin and nodded while I chewed. If he came, he'd find out I'd been lying about still being married to Nolan. He'd never trust me again.
But I could tell, from the looks on my family members’ faces, that they really wanted him there. Like having him come would almost be like having a part of Aiden back.
So I swallowed my food and said, "I'll invite him tomorrow."
