Page 74 of The Lilac River

And stupidly... I did.

Inside, the air was thick with laughter and the smell of something that made my stomach growl despite the nerves.

We rounded the corner into the kitchen, and I froze.

Bertie sat on the counter next to the stove, legs swinging. Nash was beside her, stirring a pot and smiling like the whole world was exactly right. Gunner leaned against the table, sipping a beer and watching them both with quiet amusement.

"And she’s so clever, Daddy! She writes all her own songs. Maybe she has, like, a million dollars!"

"That so?" Nash said, smiling at her. "A little pepper, please, munchkin."

She handed it to him like it was a royal crown. He turned the mill and said “when” at the exact moment she giggled.

It hit me in the chest. The domestic ease. The way they fit together. The way I had once fit there, too.

"Hey!" Wilder called, ruining the moment in the way only brothers could. "Look who’s come crawling back for her glittery phone."

Bertie’s head spun so fast it was a miracle she didn’t fall.

"Miss. Gray! Uncle Gunner, get me down! Hurry!"

Gunner chuckled and lifted her down like she was made of spun sugar. She darted across the room and threw herself around my legs.

"I missed you so much!"

Emotion hit me like a landslide. I bent to hug her. "I missed you, too, sweetheart."

"I feel way better today. I didn’t even puke! Only yesterday I kind of peed when I puked. And now I have a new wiggly tooth. Maybe two! I’ll be getting another visit from the Tooth Fairy."

She beamed. Pure joy. Untouched by the adult messes swirling around her.

“I think you could be right,” I agreed, remembering how excited I used to get when I lost a tooth. Oh, to be that young and innocent again.

“I am.” She nodded enthusiastically. “And Uncle Gunner said the Tooth Fairy has put her prices up.”

“Uncle Gunner is a stinky liar,” Nash muttered.

I met his gaze across the room, and his smile faded, replaced with something unreadable.

"You staying for dinner?" Wilder asked, ever the chaos agent.

"What? No, I just?—"

"Yes!" Bertie cut in, spinning to Nash. "She has to! Daddy, you made a lot, right? We’ll have leftovers!"

Nash didn’t speak, but his eyes locked with mine across the kitchen. They held something...tentative. Like maybe he was asking, not telling.

"You have to stay," Bertie insisted, tugging at my hand. "Please?"

Gunner grinned. "Wouldn’t be polite to say no now, would it?"

Wilder was already dragging a chair out like I was royalty. "Sit. Stay. We even got Cherry Coke, you still like that, right?"

My chest fluttered. Dangerous, dangerous ground.

"If you’re sure…"

"Bestest news ever," Bertie whispered.

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