Page 65 of Remade

He furrowed his brow but caught on quick. “Gage Nolan.”

I sighed and shook my head. “Yeah, I just don’t remember anyone by the name Nolan.”

Alex made a giggly-snort sound and looked at me all weird. “What? Operator Nolan helped me tie my shoes when I almost fell in the cafeteria!”

I frowned, confused. “Huh? No, I would’ve remembered.”

She widened her eyes. “Are you being silly? He swims really fast! He fights lots and lots with Operator Slater, but it’s a joke. Danny says they’re best friends also.”

I just shook my head. “Nah. Go off and play some more with Cass instead. I wanna know where northwest is.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed Cass’s hand. “You’re weird, Uncle Bo. Come on, Cass. I’m gonna teach you about ass mouths.”

What the f— Oh, Jesus fucking Christ.

“Azimuth,” I corrected.

“That’s what I said!” she griped.

Right. I scratched my forehead and watched the girls skip off again.

I was really screwing her up, wasn’t I?

I wondered if, at what point, I could get Leighton to shoulder some of the blame too. After all, Alex clung to every word he spoke.

I cleared my throat and shifted my gaze back to Darius, who smiled faintly.

“Thank you.”

“For what? Don’t listen to Alex. She’s a kid.” I smiled back.

He laughed through his nose. “By the book until you’re not.”

Yeah…maybe.

I looked toward Leighton and figured it might be about damn time I stopped being someabout a certain thing. The book of Bo? I didn’t wanna be by the book when it came to him. He’d already changed everything, and I’d been certain of how I felt for a while now.

I should tell him that.

December 25th, 2024

Leighton Watts

Darius had been right. No amount of love for this family would make me think Christmas was just wonderful. Right after a “light” Christmas Day brunch at Mary and James’s house, I escaped to the front porch to catch my breath and calm my brain.

Kids were so damn loud, and the Quinns had so many of them!

My stomach felt like it was going to explode after all that food, and I wasn’t sure my eardrums were intact any longer. Sweet Jesus.

I embraced the cold and sucked in lungfuls of air.

Also, Ryan could be louder than all the kids combined.

I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else on the planet right now, but yeah, I definitely needed a breather.

Mary and James lived in a nice area, with modest Victorian houses and picket fences, and they managed to squeeze thewhole damn family into the living room and adjacent dining room, which, in turn, opened up to the kitchen. So, there was no privacy, no secluded area. Everyone was on top of one another. All the Quinns—and even some members of Gray’s family.

I shivered as a harsh wind blew past, and I let out a long breath.

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