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“You need to talk about whatever is going on, you talk to me. No judgment, no shit, no griping. I’m your brother, Conor. I can help. Now, get some rest.”
I wanted, desperately, to ask him some more questions, but the pull of sleep came at me with the force of Temperance. As he closed the door, my eyelids were already shut and, did I but know it, the nightmares were already beginning to load…
12
CONOR
I wokeup to my nose being pinched.
Then my ear being tugged.
My hand wafted on the mattress as I attempted to stop whoever was gnawing at me while I slept.
My hair was snagged in a starfish hand, grabby fingers that gave me my first clue as to the identity of my attacker, but I stubbornly turned my head aside.
“He won’t quit,” Finn drawled. “He wants Uncle Kid.”
I groaned.
“Uncle Kid is tired, Jake. Very tired.”
Jake, ignoring me, started bouncing on the bed, singing, “Smell-ee, Unka Kid, smell-ee.” He extended the ‘ee’ sound until I was sure he was drilling into my eardrums with the syllable.
“You know you need to shower when a toddler says you stink,” Finn commented.
Blindly, I flipped him the bird as the bed jostled under Jake’s jumps. “The audacity. Jake, I’ve changed your diapers. You think I stink? You ain’t seen nothing, dude.”
Obviously unimpressed, a second later, I yowled when those little knees of his landed on my kidneys in payback.
“Stink-ee, stink-ee, Unka Kid!”
Finn snorted. “Be grateful it isn’t your junk. He’s got no respect for other men’s dicks.”
“Dick-uh. Dick-uh.”
“Ah, shit,” Finn complained under his breath as Jake started singing and giggling the word, making it two syllables and not one. “Jake!” Finn raised his voice to be heard over the song I didn’t need to hear. “Quit it before Mommy comes and tells me off for using bad words around you.”
Jake’s soft giggles told me he was well aware that Mommy would tell Daddy off for using bad words and Jake washerefor it.
With a huff, I rolled over, and because his attention was elsewhere, I managed to scoop him up without him expecting it. He let loose a loud squeal that cascaded into more giggles as I tickled his belly and hefted him in the air until he’d forgotten about bad words.
Squinting at my brother, I asked, “Why are you here?”
“I’m not anywhere I’m not supposed to be.”
My squint deepened. “It’s too early for philosophical debates.”
“I’m not debating anything,” Finn retorted, amused. “I’m sitting inmyguest suite where you passed outtwogoddamn days ago.” His head tipped to the side. “Jake wasnothappy about waiting for his Uncle Kid to wake up. Plus, I wanted to check in on you before Aoife did.”
“Why would Aoife check in on me?”
He hesitated. “Because she loves you?”
My lips twitched. “I love her too.”
“I’ll allow it.”
I dragged my middle finger along the length of my nose. “What else?”
