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“Any big plans this weekend?” I asked.
“No, I thought I’d have Marcy and Elizabeth over for coffee and a playdate. The boys really like Bradley and Mark.”
Maria somehow fit into my life perfectly, like she and the boys were the missing puzzle pieces I’d never expected to have. Watching them gain awareness of their surroundings, seeing them learn to crawl and try to stand up, and watching their eyes light up when they saw me became the highlight of my day.
What had my daily highlights been before this? I couldn’t remember. Going hunting with my brother and my dog? Watching football games? Having a Yuengling on Saturday nights?What was that compared to a little boy with warm brown eyes laughing when you sang a song, or grinning when you handed them their favorite stuffed animal?
It soothed the hurt from my lost little girl. Instead of imagining her without me, I started to pray she had her own daddy and her own friends who loved her and took care of her.I prayed she had something as good as what my boys had. I prayed she was happy.
Bringing my attention back to the woman in front of me, I said, “I thought I’d spend a morning with my brother, if that’s okay.”
Maria put her fork down and steepled her fingers, giving methat look.
Shit. That was the look that said,we’re having this conversation and you’re not getting out of it.I’d seen it quite a few times over the past week. And she was nothing if not persistent.Somehow, even though I got the distinct vibe that I was in trouble, she was still gorgeous as fuck withthat lookon her face.
“What?”
“You have a brother?”
I shrugged.
“Andrew. I’ve been living with you for almost four months and you’ve neveroncementioned a brother.”
I shrugged again. Jonah and I didn’t talk much, but we used to hunt and camp all the time. When Maria came to live with me, I’d asked Jonah to take care of Brutus, not wanting the dog around the babies. Honestly, I was looking forward to seeing Brutus more than my brother.
“Okay, tell me about him.”
“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said. “He’s my annoying younger brother, and we go hunting sometimes.”
“You hunt?”
“Sure. Sometimes.” I shoved another forkful of pasta in my mouth before she could bombard me with any more questions.
She rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. “Is he as talkative and forthcoming as you are?”
I chewed my pasta, avoiding answering her question. She snickered.
“He never shuts up, actually.”
“Figures.”
I speared two asparagus and managed to somehow shove them into my mouth without getting butter and bacon all over my face.
“How long will you be hunting?”
“I’ll just go for the day. Leave in the morning, be home by supper.” I hesitated. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course,” she said, her expression full of conviction. “I survive full days without you all the time. I can manage a Saturday on my own.”
Of course she could. Because she was so dead set on being independent that she’d rather suffer than ask for help.
“Maria,” I sighed. “You have nothing to prove to me. I already know that you’re super-mom.”
Her expression softened and she got that sweet glimmer in her eye… the one she got when I did something she thought was sweet.
I hated that expression. I looked away.
I reached forward and scooped some more asparagus onto my plate. Beside me, Jacob was shoveling mashed sweet potatoes into his mouth like they were going out of style, and Matthew was attempting – and failing – to grab the cut-up pieces of buttered noodles on his tray. They slipped through his fingers every time he brought them up to his mouth. He kicked his feet in frustration, but tried again.
