AllFreeNovel
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The only people I really turn to are Natalie and Rooster.
“I guess I just don’t connect closely with a lot of people.”
“Hmm,” Kylie says and turns her head to look out of the window. Her head only barely clears the car door. “That sounds like you’re shy to me.”
I chuckle. I’m not shy, per se. But I don’t easily open myself to someone. I always keep things on the surface. Maybe Kylie and I are a lot more alike than I thought.
We pull up at Ben’s Burgers, and Kylie hops out. A moment later, a cab pulls up and Raven steps out.
When I see her, I can’t help but smile. She makes my heart skip a beat every time I look at her. She comes to me and hugs me. I don’t get a kiss—she’s keeping it PG.
“Kylie,” I say, pulling my niece closer. “This is Raven. Raven, Kylie.”
Raven kneels so that it puts her a little lower than eye height to Kylie.
“Nice to meet you. I love your shirt.”
Kylie beams. “It’s my favorite! Do you like Fairy Marla?”
Raven nods. “Yeah, she’s my favorite of all the fairies, but I love it when she and Peony think of tricks to play.”
“I know!” Kylie says, giggling. They’re talking a language I don’t understand and I watch as my niece, always so closed off and shy, opens up and blossoms.
“Let’s go inside,” I say.
Raven stands again, and when Kylie turns and walks next to her, she twirls Kylie’s ponytail through her fingers.
We’ve barely sat down when Kylie puts her hands flat on the table. “A cheeseburger and fries, and a soda. That’s what I want. Can I go play until the food arrives?”
I laugh. “Sure, but you’re eating here with us until it’s all gone before you go again, deal?”
“Deal,” Kylie says, leans in for a quick side-hug, and runs to the play place that they have set up for the kids.
“She’s adorable,” Raven says, looking after her. She has a smile on her face. “You guys come here often, huh?”
I nod. “Yeah, I bring her here now and then when Natalie needs a break. My sister works two jobs at the moment.”
“That’s tough.”
“She’s a single mom. Her husband passed away when Kylie was just a baby.”
Raven’s face falls, and I can see how it gets to her. “I’m so sorry.” Her words are laced with pain. She gets it.
“You’re really good with her,” I say. “How do you know about Fairy Marla?”
Raven shrugs. “You pick things up as you go along, right?”
I nod, but I don’t know what she’s talking about. I’ve never picked up anything about Fairy Marla, and I’m pretty sure it’s a show Kylie watches all the time. She wears fairy dresses and fairy shirts whenever I see her, but I didn’t think they had names.
“How’s work going?” I ask.
“It’s going really well,” Raven says, beaming. “I didn’t think it would be this good. I mean, I hoped. But I was scared to hope too hard.”
“Is your expansion looking more possible?”
She nods. “Very.”
I take her hand and kiss her fingers before I lean in and steal a kiss while Kylie isn’t with us. Kissing Raven always makes me crave her. If we weren’t here on a kiddie's play date, I would have been all over her. But I have to settle for a peck and my hand on her thigh under the table.
