Page 24 of A Family Affair: The Cabin
“I know.” She sneaked a peek at him, swiped her eyes from beneath her glasses.
Since Lily believed in angels, then he’d give her a good thought to hold onto. “You know your dad was watching you ride, don’t you? I mean, you couldn’t see him because he was high up in the sky, but he saw you.” The sniffing stopped and she grew very still. “Who do you think protected you from getting more than a broken leg when you jumped the fence? You don’t think that was luck, do you?”
“It was Dad, wasn’t it?” she asked, her voice filled with wonder.
He shrugged. “Who can say? You’re the one who tells us about angels and how your dad’s one of them. Doesn’t it make sense that he’d keep an eye on you and Christine?”
Lily’s head bobbed up and down. “Uh-huh.”
He smiled at her, held out his arms. “Come here, kiddo. Give me a hug.”
She sprang off the couch and rushed toward him, flinging her arms around his neck. “I love you, Nate.”
He stroked her hair, whispered, “I love you too, kiddo. More than five hundred flannel shirts.”
The tears stopped after that, replaced with laughter and stories about Anna and Joy’s latest antics. Lily loved being an aunt and told them she wouldn’t mind another niece or nephew. She said it with such conviction that Nate and Christine couldn’t find the words to tell her couples didn’t have more children because someone wanted to be an aunt. But then Lily shrugged and her next words made Nate wonder if she’d been playing them all along.
“It doesn’t have to be a two-legged niece or nephew.” Her lips pulled into a big smile and she said, “A four-legged one is fine, too. What do you think about that?”
Fortunately, they didn’t have to answer because Miriam appeared in the living room doorway, nose red, eyes puffy. She made her way to Nate and Christine, hugged first one and then the other. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”
And then she turned and disappeared back into her bedroom.
Harry didn’t find out about the letters until late the next afternoon. He knocked on Nate and Christine’s front door with a bottle of bourbon and six sticky buns, fresh baked and iced this morning.
“Greta’s a keeper,” he said, easing one of the sticky buns from the container and handing it to Christine. “She knows I can’t resist these things; makes them for me and the kids once a month.”
Nate pointed to the bourbon. “Does she know you can’t resistthateither?”
Harry laughed. “Those days are gone. I’ll have a drink or two, but I’m not swimming in the stuff like I used to…” He let out another laugh. “I got too damn much to do. Kids and a wife who depend on me. I can’t afford to get bleary and out of focus.” Harry shook his head, lowered his voice. “Greta would clobber me if I stepped out of line, and besides, I’m not gonna disappoint her.”
“Spoken like a husband who knows how to keep peace in the household.” Nate grinned, set a glass of water in front of him. “So, what’s going on?”
“Is everything okay, Uncle Harry?” This from Christine. “Your phone call worried me.”
His blue gaze slid from his niece to Nate. “Nah. Nothing serious.” He shrugged, sipped his water. “I heard you found a few things at the cabin.” He paused, rubbed his jaw. “Letters from Charlie?”
Damn, how had he found out about the letters?“Who’s the little bird that’s been chirping?”
He shrugged. “Who else? Lily.”
Of course, it would be Lily. She was so excited about her letter, she’d decided to memorize every word of it, and his mother told him she’d slept with it under her pillow last night. “How did I not see this coming?”
Christine raised a brow. “Did you see the play for the four-legged family member coming yesterday? She’s a sharp one, and very crafty.”
“Huh?” Harry placed both elbows on the counter, clasped his hands together. “What did Lily do now?”
“She tried to talk us into a pet by saying she wanted to be an aunt again.” Christine shook her head. “It was very clever. And when she saw our shocked expressions, she backtracked and said four-legged additions to the family counted, too.”
Harry threw back his head and roared. “Ah, that’s my Lily Girl. I’ll lay money you’ll have a pup by summer.”
“Don’t count on it,” Christine said, “A puppy’s like another baby and we’ve got our hands full.”
Nate considered his wife’s response, slid in an alternative. “We could always rescue a dog that’s a few years old.”
“Rescue? A few years old?” She looked from Nate to Harry. “I haven’t had a dog since I was a child.”
Her uncle raised a brow. “So? Every kid should have a dog. Teaches them responsibility, right?” He paused, his face shifting to pink. “Greta and I are thinking about getting one for our gang. I’m the one who wants one, but I’m going to blame it on the kids.” More pink, swirling to his ears. “What do you think about a Great Dane? I like the name Felix.”
