The kid perked up, nodding so fast that her uncombed hair fell in her face.
“How about you do the smiley face?”
Piper gladly scooped up a handful of chocolate chips and started rearranging them on the pancakes. Luckily they were cool enough that the chips didn’t melt.
“If you’re my mom’s brother, how come you never came to visit us?” Piper asked. “This boy who I used to live next to had an uncle that came to visit them a lot. He even took them skiing once. But Mom would never let me go skiing because she said I could break my arm.”
Cameron blinked his thoughts in order, not expecting that to come out of the kid’s mouth. There were so many subjects that he wasn’t sure what to address first.
“Well,” he started. “I’m a lot older than your mom was, and we lived in different towns, with different parents.”
Piper tilted her head. “How can you be her brother if you have different parents?”
Such a logical question that required a complicated answer.
“Your mom and I had the same dad,” he answered as he swallowed back the bitterness of even speaking of his old man. “But we had different mothers. And your mom was born a long time after I was.”
Another blink. “So you lived far away from her?”
Cameron nodded and shut off the burner. “Yep.”
Piper finished placing the chocolate chips, resulting in large eyes and a crooked smile. “But if you had the same dad, how come you guys never saw each other? Didn’t you love each other?”
Ah, God. Why did the kid always have to ask such loaded questions? In her little sheltered mind, the situation should have been that simple. And Cameron wished it were. He wished his prick of an old man had stuck around. He wished he’d had an opportunity to get to know his younger half sister. He wished he’d made more of an effort to meet Piper before Dianna had died.
He braced his palms on the counter and looked at his niece. “Piper,” he said to her. “If I’d had the chance to get to know your mom better, I’m sure I would have loved her. But we were in a difficult position that neither of us could control. Do you understand?”
Piper pursed her lips, as though in thought. “Yeah.”
Her answer was simple, but Cameron knew she didn’t really understand. How could she? He wouldn’t expect anyone to fully understand the difficult position his father had put both him and Dianna in. Unfortunately, at the time, he’d been a pissed-off, selfish kid who’d had no interest in getting to know his father’s love child. But he couldn’t tell Piper that.
She dug into her breakfast, chewing slowly and getting chocolate all over her mouth. Cameron had just cut into his own breakfast when his sliding glass door was thrown open.
“Piper?” Audrey called as she burst into his living room with all the urgency he’d come to know her for.
“Uh-oh.” Cam set his plate down and gave Piper a pointed look. “You didn’t tell Audrey you were coming over here?”
Piper’s gaze sobered. “I forgot.”
“She’s in here,” Cameron called to Audrey.
Audrey skidded to a stop in the kitchen, then approached Piper. “Honey, we talked about this,” she told the girl. “You have to tell me when you leave the guesthouse.”
Piper gazed down at her knees. “I forgot,” she said again.
Audrey huffed out a breath in relief and pinned her eyes on Cameron.
Her cheeks were flushed, somehow managing to match the chaotic ponytail that looked like it had been slept in. Her light blue flannel pants were too big and were an odd pairing with the gray, sleeveless, muscle-type shirt she had on. The outfit was the most unsexy thing Cameron had ever laid eyes on, and had more wrinkles than a carelessly folded linen shirt.
Despite the state of Audrey’s disarray, and the just-been-thoroughly-fucked hair, Cameron couldn’t help the grin that crept along his mouth. He wondered if she even realized what she looked like in front of him and was willing to bet if she had a mirror, she’d run and hide. Oddly, Cameron didn’t want her to run and hide. He sort of liked this relaxed side of her and the simplicity of her Saturday morning attire.
It made her look like she belonged, as though she’d just rolled out of his bed and come to join them for breakfast.
“What?” Audrey questioned when she caught him staring.
The break in the silence brought Cameron back to reality. She hadn’t emerged from his bed. She wasn’t here for breakfast, and she didn’t belong.
She belongs more than anyone else you’ve been with.
Cameron knew that simply telling himself that Audrey didn’t belong didn’t necessarily make him believe it. Because she was…comfortable here.
And he was comfortable with her being here.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head.
She narrowed her eyes as though she didn’t believe him. Hell, he wouldn’t believe him either.
“Gave you a scare, did she?” he pressed. Because that was better, safer, than pressing his lips to her bare ones. As though he needed a reminder of how soft they were.
Audrey shook her head, and Cameron remembered how emotional she’d been the last time. Cameron decided to take pity on her.
“Holy God, what is that?” Audrey said with a gasp.
Cameron followed her gaze, already knowing what he’d find.
Yeah, there was Jellybean Jr., aka Satan’s Spawn, trotting into the kitchen with one of his socks dangling from its mouth. And wouldn’t you know the thing would have picked one that had been discolored from the wash. He glanced at Audrey, but she was too busy processing the hairless monstrosity.
“It’s a cat,” he answered, while trying to swipe the sock out of the cat’s mouth. But he, she, or it was too fast and spun around. “Dammit,” he muttered.
“Says who?” Audrey asked.
“That’s Jellybean Junior,” Piper spoke up.
Audrey offered him a grin. “Aw, you can call him J.J.”
“We’re not calling him anything. And how do you know it’s a
