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Milo just hums as he plops back down in his chair, a little furrow in his brow. “Was your fridge full?”
Lyric looks at me and then back to Milo. “My mom made sure the fridge was always full, yes,” he says softly, his eyes taking on a faraway look. “There were fruit baskets on the counter for us to eat throughout the day, as well as a board of snacks.”
“What’s that?” my inquisitive little brother asks.
“Well, I guess it’s a charcuterie board.” Lyric crosses his arms and leans back on the counter again. “We were all up so early to take care of ranch duties, we didn’t always get to eat breakfast together, but I remember my brothers and I would race downstairs to get to the kitchen first, where Mama laid out breakfast items.”
“Brothers?” Milo asks.
“I had two,” Lyric says. “My older brother, Kelly, passed away last year.”
“Do you miss him?”
Lyric wrinkles up his face. “A little, yeah. We got split up as kids, and I didn’t get to see him much after that. His favorite pastry was orange scones, his favorite snack was chocolate almonds, and his favorite dinner food was tacos.”
My heart clenches. He might not remember his parents, but he remembers his brothers.
“Matty brought over pretzels for Lottie,” Milo says, his little mind working on comparisons.
“I do love pretzels, but my favorite food is steak,” Lyric says, “which reminds me…” Before I can tell him not to, he opens the freezer, which is mostly empty. Grunting, he looks at me and then back to the freezer. “Ice cream, and is that six-packs of hotdogs?”
“They were on sale,” I mutter, hiding behind my coffee cup. “No judging.”
“Oh, I am judging you so hard.” Lyric chuckles and shuts the fridge.
“You should cook for us,” Milo says. “Did your mom teach you how to cook?”
“She did,” Lyric says slowly, as though he’s trying to remember her clearly. “She taught me how to make mac and cheese from scratch.”
“Not the blue box?” Milo nearly yells in excitement before turning to me. “Lottie, that is the perfect Halloween food.” He hops up from his chair, startling the cat as he bounces toward Lyric. “You have to make mac and cheese, please.”
I don’t know what I expected to happen, but Lyric laughing and picking Milo up wasn’t it. He swings him around and then sets him on the counter. “I’d love to make you mac and cheese on Halloween.”
Milo’s eyes nearly roll into the back of his head with excitement. “I can taste it now.” He smacks his lips.
“I’ll have to go shopping,” Lyric warns. “You think Charlotte would be okay with that?”
That sneaky killer.
“Oh yes. For mac and cheese?” Milo nods excitedly, then leans down to whisper in Lyric’s ear.
“That so?” Lyric muses.
Neither of them look at me. I’m not so sure I like this bromance, and that’s when the answer to Milo’s question hits me—brothers. They’d be his big brothers, and damn it, I want that for him more than anything else in this world.
“Yes.” Milo leans back, a toothy grin on his face.
“I can do that,” Lyric says, lifting Milo up off the counter to set him on the floor.
“Milo, go get ready. We have to leave in ten,” I interrupt, earning myself grumbles from both of them.
“Hey, Milo,” Lyric calls before he can run out of the room, “what’s your favorite game?”
“Like a board game?” Milo tilts his head to the side and taps his lips with a finger. “Mouse Trap.”
“No, like video games.”
“Oh, Lottie doesn’t have those.” Milo’s eyes grow wide, and he glances at me. “Says they will rot my brain.”
