Page 10 of Summer Kisses

I stood on stiff legs. "I can't believe we were in here for that long."

"You really got into it," Brady said, his voice tinged with amusement.

"It's really no different than talking directly to kids, figuring out what will engage them to keep reading or, in this case, watching."

"You're a natural."

"You think your viewers will want to see me with you?" I asked.

“Yeah, you got into the scene, acting scared but curious enough to keep going."

"Are you sure? I don't know anything about video games."

"What I'm doing isn't really about playing a game; it's being curious about your surroundings, why things are here, and what we should explore next."

"It's an adventure but never leaving your living room."

"Exactly."

"Kids obviously love it. I saw how many subscribers you have."

"I'm not the biggest." Brady rattled off a few names I'd never heard before. "But I have a feeling with you on the videos, you're going to increase my viewership."

I snorted. "I bet they'll tell you to get the boring librarian off your videos."

"We'll see about that."

"I'd better get to work." I backed away.

He nodded at the screen. "I'm going to stick around and edit this for a bit."

"You don't have to work today?"

"We're waiting on materials to be delivered to start the next project. This one is supposed to be me and Dalton, but he's been distracted lately."

"Are you covering for him when he's dealing with other things?" I asked.

He let out a breath. "I want to give him the space and time to deal with his girlfriend. But Oakley’s making demands of him instead of just seeing how things play out. She's telling him they have to move in together and get married before the baby comes."

"That's a lot of pressure."

He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Dalton's overwhelmed. He wants to do the right thing, but he doesn't necessarily jump into anything. You know how he likes to analyze everything to death."

"I'm sure he'll make the right decision for him," I said, knowing how much Brady worried about Dalton. He was worried his brother would get hurt in this situation.

"I just want him to be happy. And if being with the mother of his kid helps him, then I'm all for it. I just don't like how Oakley'spressuring him. I think he would do all the things she wants if she just gave him time to adjust to everything."

"They have time. Nothing has to be decided today."

"Apparently, her parents are upset that she's single."

I frowned. "I thought they were dating."

Brady shook his head. "Oh, when her parents say single, they mean unmarried."

I wrinkled my nose. "It's not the 1950s."

"Dalton will figure it out." I'd been front and center to the family dynamic, and specifically Dalton and Brady's relationship. They were the two youngest boys and only eleven months apart, so very close, almost like twins.

---