Page 22 of When We Met

Her eyes move to Morgan and then away to her spaghetti. “I don’t know.”

“You let them watchBlack Mass, didn’t you?” I snort, watching Morgan choke on the food he just took a bite of.

Camdyn sits up straighter in her chair, her body rigid and straight. “I closed my eyes at the scary parts,” she tells me, as if this should be okay.

“And the naughty parts.” Morgan smiles. He pushes his plate away. “Is it time for hide and seek yet?”

“Yes!” Camdyn jumps down. “I live for this.”

She really does. She’s Morgan’s hide and seek partner, and I’m stuck with the crazy little one. Ten minutes later, I’m hiding behind the couch with Sev. She won’t shut up.

“You’re the worst hide and seek partner.”

“I’m three,” she points out. And then grins. “I tooted.”

Covering my nose almost immediately, I scoot away from her. “What did you eat?”

She gets right in my face, squeezes my cheeks, and scrunches up her nose. “Nut sacs.”

“I found you!” Camdyn yells, popping her head over the side of the couch. Immediately, she smells the tainted air. “Gross, Sev!”

Let’s be real here. Sev stinks up this house more than anyone. And to think, these meatballs are my family.

“Did you tell her?”

I know earlier I said I don’t want to be involved in his drama, but this is Morgan we’re talking about, and when Tara left me, he was there every day, helping me take care of my girls. I rely heavily on him, my dad, and Lara Lynn. Without them, there’s no way I would have made it this far two kids, and a full-time job.

“I was going to.” Morgan lifts the beer bottle to his lips, his eyes on the snow mercilessly falling outside. “But her suitcase by the door said enough.”

As I sit there with my brother, drinking beer by the fire, I’m beginning to wonder if the Grady boys are cursed when it comes to women. I stare at the snow as Morgan seems to chew on the words he wants to say. Leaning forward, he rests his elbows on his knees. Twisting his head, he glances over at me. “I love her. I don’t want her to leave, but what am I going to say? It’s the same argument every day.”

I raise an eyebrow, the firelight on his face adding to the haunting thoughts he’s having. “Because you work too much?”

“That.” He sighs, his shoulders rolled forward. “I don’t spend enough time with her. She hates being out here alone… I can’t give her kids.”

“She knew that going into it though, didn’t she?”

“She did, but it doesn’t stop her from wanting them.”

I know Morgan worried about Carly eventually wanting a baby. A baby he couldn’t give. “True. You can have one of mine,” I tease, peeling the label on my beer.

“I vote Sev,” Camdyn says, sitting down beside us.

I jump at the sound of her voice. “Where did you come from? Are you secretly training to become a Navy SEAL?”

Morgan smiles, standing up to retrieve a new beer. The second he’s up, Camdyn steals his seat. “What’s a Navy SEAL?”

“Someone who sneaks around in the dark.” I know that’s not what they are, but I also don’t want to explain anything to a five-year-old at two in the morning.

“Can I watch a movie?”

“No. It’s the middle of the night.”

“Then why are you awake?”

I lift the beer in my hand, winking at her. “I’m drinking beer.”

With determination, she tries again, hoping for a different answer. “Can I watch a movie?”

---