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“We’ll ask my mom when we get there.”
“Alright, my son? We’ll go to Spuds?” I confirmed.
Jace’s hopeful eyes flew to mine in the rear-view mirror at the endearment, and I realized uncertainty about me plagued him.
“Yeah, uh, yeah. That’s really good…” He petered off. He’d get there in his own time.
Much to their disappointment, Minnie, who I found out was their honorary aunt, and was named Minty, was not working, but Ruby called her cell and she said she’d head over.
“She’s going to come here just like that?” I asked.
“Well,” Ruby blushed, “she wants to meet you and she lives upstairs.”
I grinned. “Oh, I see. Hmm. What does she know about me?”
Ruby chortled, her eyes twinkling. “Probably more than you want her to.”
I groaned and turned away and she laughed harder. I stalked towards her, pulled her into my arms and kissed her while she laughed, momentarily forgetting about the boys.
When I finally pulled back, Ruby dipped her head to hide her face, but she couldn’t hide her blush. I chuckled, wanted to see more of that.
Releasing her, I turned to the boys. Jace looked slightly bemused, but the sadness on Alex’s face gutted me.
Alex looked exactly like I felt the better part of twenty years.
I sat down in the seat across from them and sought to distract Alex. “Tell me about Minty, and why you call her Minnie.”
Alex perked up while Jace kept an assessing eye on me.
The door opened, and I turned to see a pretty woman about my age.
She looked the very definition of high maintenance. Her blond hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, showcasing her jewelry and her perfectly made-up face. Designer jeans encased her long legs, and it was my guess that the blouse she wore was of equal quality. She was the polar opposite of Ruby.
Ruby was in the back, but as soon as Minty saw the boys, her face broke into a broad grin, and she held out her arms.
“Boys!”
I turned around, wanting to see the boys’ reaction to her, but they were already out of their seats, all bright eyes and broad smiles. They near bowled her over, crashing into her the way they did.
They broke into excited chatter about rock-climbing, and she stood patiently, taking in every detail, her hands resting on their shoulders as they explained how they got to the top.
“Jace made it to the top two times, but next time I’m going to make it up every time.”
“I can take you after school one day?” She offered.
Alex laughed. “No, Minnie. You have to be a trained belayer.”
She nodded. “Alright, then. I’ll look into that.”
Jace took half a step back and looked over her outfit. “You might need to wear real jeans and a t-shirt… Do you have track pants, Minnie?”
Alex cut in. “Do you have running shoes, Minnie?”
She chuckled softly. “I’ll buy some just for you.”
Alex released her but Jace took hold of her hand and led her over to me. With every step she took closer, a mask of cool composure settled over her face.
She held out her hand to shake mine. I opened my mouth to speak, but somehow with her eyes, she cut me off.
