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“Why are you on the floor?” Eric yawned as he wandered into the foyer. Muffy and Millie were right beside him.
He plopped down next to me and the dogs did the same.
“Lincoln said some things that surprised me.” Absently, I toyed with Muffy’s ear. I wasn’t sure I was ready to repeat his words out loud. For the moment, they were safely rattling around in my brain.
“And you had to sit on the floor because of them?” Eric had such a way of putting things in perspective.
I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Yeah.”
He rested his cheek on top of my head. He was the one who had been upset earlier. I should be the one comforting him. As always, he supported me.
“He’s a good driver. And he can carry a lot of dog food.”
I snickered. “He is useful for that.” I let out a long sigh. “You like him.”
It was a stupid statement. Eric had been taken with him from the first time they met. Why I didn’t know, but he was like a magnet for my brother.
“He’s good people.”
I lifted my head and looked at him. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Pepper,” he said easily.
“She thinks he’s good people too?”
“No. She said we are.”
How fortunate we were. Eric and I had each other, but our circle of people we could count on had expanded.
“She’s good people too.” I put my head back on his shoulder. “How would you feel about living with Lincoln?”
I needed to know how Eric felt about the major decisions we faced.
“Here?” There was wonder in his voice.
“Anywhere.” I wouldn’t burden him with the possibility that Lincoln might lose the apartment until it was certain.
“Is Millie going to live with us too?”
“I think so.” From the way it looked, neither of the dogs were going back to Grey Paws . . . or anywhere without Lincoln.
“Can I stay in the room with the painting I gave him?”
Eric so rarely asked for anything for himself. I couldn’t say no to that, though I wasn’t sure Lincoln would be thrilled.
“We can ask him. But there’s no bed in there.”
“I like the couch.” He stroked Millie’s fur. “Is this because Dad was at our house?”
Pain stabbed at my chest. I didn’t want Eric thinking about that monster.
“No.” I wanted to live with Lincoln. The fact we were protected from our dad was a bonus.
“He can’t put us in the closet here.”
Everything hurt. I’d hoped my brother had forgotten those awful memories.
“They’re never locking us in a closet again.”
