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“Actions have consequences. No Wi-Fi access for the rest of the summer, either.”
“Why?! Because I made the dweeb cry?”
Sammy presses a kiss on Max’s head. “Baby, go look in the bedrooms. I’ll check the kitchen.”
When Max is gone, Sammy turns back to Em. “You know what this chicken means to him, Emagine.”
“It’s a fucking bird, Mom!”
Sam slams her hand on the counter. “Look around, Em. This is it. The three of us. One day I’m going to be gone, too. And your brother is going to be all you have left. You keep pushing him away, you’ll be all alone. And honey, that makes my heart hurt for you.”
Em lets out a frustrated growl, her foot tapping. She folds her arms over her chest, glances at me, then back to Sammy. “You’re being ridiculous.”
I look at Sammy. She’s fighting back her own tears, but she nods. “I’m being your mother.”
Em lets out a frustrated huff, her nostrils flaring. "I don't get what the big deal is."
Sammy closes her eyes to compose herself. "The big deal is, it matters to Max, so it needs to matter to us, okay? It's . . . it's the first thing he's been attached to. Let's let him hold onto that, okay?"
"Fine." She chews on her bottom lip. "I'm sorry."
“Can you please help us find this thing?” Sammy asks. She drops to her hands and knees on the floor and heads to check under the dining table.
Em’s lips curve into a smile. “I put her in the chicken coop after I stepped in bird shit in the hall. There was some on the counter, too.”
She glances down to point it out, then back up at me. “I think . . . you stepped in it.”
I freeze, glance down at my feet, then slowly pick one up. I inspect it, see nothing, and put it down. Repeating the same with my other foot, I brace myself for impact. Sure enough, there's green gunk smeared on the bottom of my heel.
I gag involuntarily and rush to the sink. Sammy covers her mouth with a hand and bursts into a fit of laughter. Em follows in with her own soft giggles, and I stand on the outside looking in. The noise is infectious, and I let out my chuckle while standing on one foot, the other under the faucet.
The girls continue to laugh, fully on the ground, rolling around and holding their stomachs. Max comes back into the kitchen, the chick in his hands.
“Found her,” he cheers, holding up a black fluffy bird. “Mom must have put her back in the coop and forgot to tell me.”
I point at it, then scratch my head. “That’s a fucking chicken?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Declanhandsmeaglass of wine, then settles in beside me on the couch. He drags my feet into his lap, then drapes a fleece blanket over both of us. I let out a moan when the palm of his hand digs into the arch of my foot.
My heart lurches, recalling the familiarity of having a man back in the house. Of having someone do the dishes while I do a speed clean before bed, of having another person at the dinner table while the kidslaugh.
“Thank you,” I say, gaze on him instead of whatever show he put on the TV.
His shoulder hitches in a half shrug. “Thanks for letting me stay. I should have called before dropping by. I didn’t mean to walk in and force an introduction with the kids.”
“I’m not going to lie. At first, I was pissed. I never expected to introduce them to a man. But Em’s laugh.” I shake my head, hating how much I’ve been crying lately. But this time, they’re happy tears. “It’s been so long since she’s truly had a moment like that. It was good for her.”
“What’s with the chicken?” he asks, taking a sip of whiskey from the tumbler in his hand.
I let out a soft laugh. “He’s been obsessed with her. He watched her hatch a few months ago, and when I headed to the farm to get them the other day, he insisted on bringing her home. I told him no, but the chicken cried for him.”
“Chickens get attached to humans like that?”
“They can. For whatever reason, Max really bonded to Violet. And as much as I tried to be the bad guy in the situation, I just couldn’t leave her there. Not when they were both crying.”
Bruce hops up on the couch, landing right on my stomach. I let out a pained grunt at the same time Declan scowls. “Off, Bruce. Before you hurt her.”
