AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had something to look forward to.
“No. I’m not.”
“Sounds like you’re on the right path.” She winked at me. “You just need to take another step forward.”
“Now who’s being smart?”
Nancy appeared in the opening between the kitchen and living room.
Penelope was right behind her. “See? I told you they do this all the time.”
JoJo touched Nancy’s arm. “I need to thank you. For your advice about going back to the Hamptons.”
“If only my boys would listen to their mother.” Nancy brushed away the compliment, but her eyes shown with happiness. “Kane, set the table, please.”
Penelope watched wide-eyed as I obeyed. Sometimes I didn’t mind being told what to do.
I liked feeling I was part of a family. Before JoJo came back, this house was the only place I really felt that.
When I took the giant pan of lasagna out of the oven, Penelope grabbed her mother’s hand.
“Are there other people on the way?” I asked.
“You need something to take with you,” Nancy said as she pulled a pitcher of tea from the refrigerator.
“It’s just the four of us.”
“And we all need to eat.” She ushered JoJo and Penelope to their seats.
I put the lasagna on the table, and Nancy dished massive portions onto our plates.
Penelope dug in as I did while JoJo nibbled in her usual way.
My daughter pointed at her plate while she chewed. “This is amazing. I’m adopting myself into your family.”
Nancy beamed. “Honey, you’re welcome here any time. I’m always happy to have someone to cook for.”
“No offense, Mom, but this is the best lasagna I’ve ever had.” Penelope tore off a piece of garlic bread and groaned when it hit her tongue.
“None taken. I completely agree.”
Nancy put another slice of bread on Penelope’s plate. “You’ve meshed well together as a family. The time away helped?”
The three of us looked at each other. We were a family. Not just because we were bound together, but because we wanted to be.
“Dad was shocked about me.”
Dad. She’d called me Dad again.
“You weren’t shocked about me?” I asked incredulously.
She wiped her mouth. “Stunned actually. I still can’t get used to it, but in a lot of ways, it’s like you’ve always been there.” She shrugged as if she weren’t even going to try to figure that out.
“I suppose with a secret like that there are some additional things to be worked out between the two of you.” Nancy motioned between JoJo and me.
“We’re getting there,” I said.
JoJo paused mid-lift of her fork and met my gaze. I nodded. We had so much left between us to explore.
