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LJ is smart for his age. He explains things. He analyzes them in a way that makes a grown-up understand them better.
“That’s easy. I pay attention to Mommy. She is smart and pretty.” He angles his head. “Do you think my mommy is smart and pretty?”
“I do.”
“My grandma and grandpa don’t like my mom very much. They said mean things about her. When my daddy wasn’t payingattention, she would cry. They are not very nice, but my Auntie Exie is the best.”
I lean on the counter after I place the pancake on the plate and slide it over to him after shutting off the burner on the stove.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your mommy never cries again unless it’s because she is happy.”
LJ takes a piece of pancake inside his mouth with gusto. He chews and scrunches his forehead in thought.
“Promise?” he says between bites.
“You have my word.”
He nods once. “Okay, Kalum.” He forks another piece and swallows. “I trust you.”
I laugh, and then I hear the doorbell ring. My phone goes off. It’s a text from security.
Security: You have a visitor. A Miss Turner. She says she is related to Miss Rayne.
Me: It is fine. Let her in.
I walk over to open the front door, but Exie barges her way inside the house.
“Well, hello to you too,” I say sarcastically.
Exie is rambunctious and always gave me a hard time when it came to Aura. I figured out the reason when I visited Lane the day after I saw him with Aura and his friends at the fair, and Lane admitted he was interested in Aura.
“Where is she?”
“Aunt Exie!” Lane shouts, jumping off the chair and running into her arms.
“There’s my little man! Where’s your momma?”
“Sleeping, but Kalum made me breakfast.”
“He did?” she singsongs.
“Yep. It’s good, too. He’s a good listener.”
“It was my first time making pancakes.”
Exie rolls her eyes. “Oh please, it’s not that hard.”
“Actually, I couldn’t have done it without LJ’s help. Right, buddy?”
“Right,” he beams.
“Where’s my best friend?”
“In the main bedroom, last door on the right,” I tell her, but her eyes meet mine before she saunters off toward the bedroom.
She knows.
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