Leo eyes me, then nudges Sienna. “Besides, sisters cry a lot and wear too much stinky perfume.”
Jacob scrunches his nose. “Mom wears perfume too. A lot of it.”
“I do not.” I playfully shake his shoulder.
He nods, his young eyes amused. Then, he pulls on my shirt. “I need to finish my homework, so I can play video games.”
“My kind of kid.” Leo puts his palm out low for Jacob to high five.
With that, we wave to Leo and Sienna. “It was nice to meet you.”
When I reach my door, Sienna calls out to me, “Before you go, please tell him that this town has, in fact, changed me. I mean, seriously, I even interviewed for a job.” She grimaces like she said she’s getting her legs waxed, which apparently hurts like a motherfucker—her words.
“It’s true,” I say. “I helped her with a résumé.”
Leo studies Sienna, his eyebrows shooting upward.
Grinning, I close the door behind me and peer out the window at them. They embrace goodbye and kiss on the cheek. She squeezes his upper arms, then waves as he gets in his Jeep.
Like siblings.
Once inside, my chest aches at their close relationship. They’re not siblings by blood, but they still obviously care about each other.
Jacob sits at the kitchen table by the window, his notebook open, pen in hand, his tongue sticking out in the corner in concentration.
“I’ve always wanted a little sister.”
And I wanted him to have one.
I’d love to give him a sibling. Someone to bicker and play with. Someone who’d look up to him.
Mitch and I constantly discussed having another kid, and just when I thought we’d try again, he’d remind me to take my birth control.
“Can you help me?” Jacob asks.
“Of course. Is it math?” I ask since he’s been struggling with that lately.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll try to help as best I can.” I take a seat next to him and pull the textbook closer so we can both read it. “And if all else fails, Dax is coming over later. He can take a look too.”
“Awesome. I’ll just wait for him then.” He goes to close the book.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I can try.”
“But Uncle Dax will definitely know how to help me.” He holds his hands out.
Working my bottom lip back and forth between my teeth, I ask tentatively, “You like Dax, huh?”
“Yeah. He’s so cool. He’s as cool as Mr. Grayson. Did you know he saves people too? He flies sick people in his helicopter.”
I muss his hair, smiling. “I do know. It’s super awesome.”
“I want to fly with him sometime. Can I?” His pleading eyes are wide and serious, like the time he asked for a PlayStation because he could not be in fourth grade without one.
“We’ll see about that.” I get up, forgetting the math problems for now. “What’s for dinner, bud?”
“If Dax is coming over, let’s do his favorite. Spaghetti.”
“We’ve eaten a lot of spaghetti.”
“He comes over a lot.”
I watch him for any sign of sadness or discomfort, but I don’t sense any. He’s always gotten along with Dax—he even idolizes him—but we’ve never lived so close to Dax before.
And I wasn’t with Dax before, not that Jacob knows.
“Are you okay with Dax coming over so much?”
“Yeah,” he says without hesitation.
He brings the noodles and a can of tomato sauce from the pantry and sets them on the counter for us to get started.
“If it is a problem, you can tell me.”
“I like when he comes over. He plays video games with me.”
“He’s good at those video games, isn’t he?”
“He said he’s so good because I taught him.” He puffs out his chest, obviously proud.
I check in with Dax to make sure we’re still on for later. He responds shortly after with a simple thumbs-up, and Jacob and I get to work on dinner.
Soon, the house smells of tomato sauce and herbs.
The anticipation grows with every minute that passes.
And when the doorbell rings, my heart lurches in my chest.
Adrenaline courses through me like it does when I go jogging. Dax is my own form of high, and although I don’t know what tonight will bring, I’m excited to find out.
Twenty-Seven
Dax
“Uncle Dax!” Jacob swings the door open and pulls me inside.
The first thing I notice is how strong he is when he’s excited. It’s adorable.
The next is Clara. Her curves in fitted dress pants.
Her lazy smile like she just woke up.
The blush on her cheeks.
“Do I smell tomato sauce and herbs? Are you making spaghetti?” I ask, my mind foggy from the long hours at the clinic and now Clara’s perfection.
Her hips sway as she walks toward me, her shoulders high. My Clara.
That’s what I want, for her to be mine.
For her to want the same.
That’s what I want to tell her when we’re alone. And then together, we can decide how to tell Jacob.
Jacob continues pulling me toward the kitchen. “Yes,” he says. “We made it together.”
While he digs in the refrigerator, I whisper in Clara’s ear, “Hi, beautiful.” I give her hand a squeeze as she dips her head, a small smile there.
Jacob comes back, holding a breadstick out to me. “For you.”
“Thanks, man. I’m starving.”
“Me too. You’re late.” He takes a bite out of a string cheese.
I chuckle. “Sorry about that, big guy. I had many patients to tend to. But I’m here now and ready to eat.”
“Can you help me with my homework while we eat?”
“Please,” Clara adds.
“Please?” Jacob repeats.
She sets the pot of spaghetti on the counter. “He has questions about math, and he wanted your help instead of my sad attempt at understanding why there are letters in math equations.” She rolls her eyes, her sarcasm obvious, and I wonder if that’s something Jacob said.
I move toward the kitchen table where his homework is laid out, my hand over my chest. “I’d love to help.”
I roll my sleeves up like I’m preparing to get my hands dirty. Didn’t have time to change before I
