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“Delicate operation. You might want to exit quickly,” I said, giving him an out.
“I’ve smelled worse,” he said lightly, which made me look at him a second time. Cash hadn’t been light toward me since before he found out we were half-brothers. “Sorry to follow you up here like a stalker. It’s not easy to have a private discussion.”
“I’m not up for another round,” I told him as I undid and folded Juniper’s nasty diaper, then cleaned her up.
Cash sat on the edge of the leather love seat. “I wanted to thank you for helping Ava the other day when I texted you.”
“It was no problem,” I said, caught off guard. “She talked me down a week or two before that. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, a writer’s brain can be a scary place.”
With a chuckle, he said, “I love that woman’s brain. It’s fascinating, but she was so full of despair, and then I got called away…” The antagonism from the past was missing from his tone.
I relaxed slightly, not yet convinced we were at peace but willing to take any concessions. “I’m betting she let you have it later for contacting me.”
“She did.” He grinned, and I could see his love for her in his eyes even now. It felt like a knife in my chest, and that made exactly no sense. “We worked it out.”
“I don’t need details,” I said.
“Wouldn’t give you any if you asked,” he shot back, but there was no bite to our words. He stood, paced toward the desk, and gazed out the window. Just looking at his back, I could tell he’d gone more serious. Tense. He pivoted toward me. “So…I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole. Ava and I talked a lot about you and your mom, our dad… It’s a fucked-up situation that she never told you before, but I can see now that’s not your fault. It just took me a bit to get there. So.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway. I’m sorry.”
With Juniper’s fresh diaper in place, I was able to give him my full attention. “Apology accepted.” I nodded, a little overcome, a lot relieved. “My mom meant well. I don’t want to say anything bad about her, but I would’ve liked to know you all from the beginning.”
“And there were days I begged to be raised as an only child.” Cash chuckled. “I imagine it was pretty damn quiet.”
“Compared to your life? Like a morgue.”
We both smiled, like maybe there was a new chance for us to get along.
“You got that cute little turkey cleaned up yet?” He nodded toward Juniper.
“About as clean as she gets, but now I have to wrestle with this outfit Faye got her.”
It was two pieces—a white onesie that saidLittle Turkeyand a tutu-type skirt in oranges, golds, and browns—plus the socks June Bug pulled off multiple times a day. I much preferred a one-piece outfit with feet, but when Mimi bought her granddaughter a special outfit for the holiday, I knew enough to dress her in it.
“I don’t know if I’d let them put me in something that saidLittle Turkey, Juniper,” Cash said. “That might be one of those photos that ends up surfacing at your wedding rehearsal.”
Juniper vocalized back to him. Once I had her socks on again, I stood and picked her up. She held out her stuffed monkey to Cash. My brows shot up.
“She doesn’t offer the monkey to many people,” I told him. “It’s her most prized possession.”
“Enjoy it while it lasts. One of these days she’ll prefer sparkly, expensive things.” Cash took the monkey and pressed a kiss to its furry head, eliciting a laugh from my daughter.
“You’re probably right.” I said to my daughter, “Let’s stick with stuffed monkeys for a good long while, okay, June Bug?”
She lifted her toy with a flourish and babbled as if she was proclaiming the stuffed toy her prince, making Cash and me laugh.
“She’s gonna be a heartbreaker in no time flat.” Going serious again, Cash shrugged and said, “I thought it was a good day to make peace.” He held out his hand. “Glad to have you in the family, brother.”
A surge of emotions washed over me, good ones—relief being the primary one. Gratitude. For the first time since I’d arrived in town last summer to search out my family, my misgivings and worries about revealing the truth faded away.
“Thanks, Cash,” I said, my voice strange as I shifted June to my left side and shook his hand. “June and I look forward to getting to know your peaceful side.”
“Hey, you two.” Ava appeared in the doorway. “Just making sure my fiancé’s behaving. Everything okay? Hi, Junie.” She stepped in and squeezed my daughter’s hand. Ava held out her arms to see if Juniper wanted to go to her, and June leaned toward her, smiling. I handed her off.
“Everything’s good,” I said, bending down to pick up the changing pad, the toxic diaper, and the wipes.
Cash palmed Ava’s waist and planted a kiss on her lips, then made funny faces at the baby and kissed her nose.
“I need to talk to Knox,” Ava said to her fiancé as I packed away all but the dirty diaper.
