Page 56 of Home in the Country
“I’m atwin.Do you know what that means?”
He squints like he’s trying really hard to figure it out then shrugs. I laugh and pull out my phone to show him a picture of Case and me.
“That’s my brother Case. He’s my twin. We were in my mom’s belly at the same time.”
“Wow! Her belly was big, huh?”
“I suppose it was.”
His smile turns sad.
“I want a sister but Mama said Daddy is getting a new house when he comes.”
Fuck. Me.
Not for the first time, I want to shake Fallon for pushing me away and making me completely wing this situation. I debate what I’m about to say for only a minute before scrolling through my phone again.
“Do you see these two?” I point to Sorren and Marlee smiling on the day she married Waylon.
He nods. “That’s Marlee. She’s pretty.”
I chuckle. “She is. They’re brother and sister, and they lived with their grandparents growing up.”
“Like my Nonna and Pappy.”
“Yes, just like that. My mama said we needed to treat them like family when they came to Clementine Creek.”
I point to them respectively. “I think of Marlee like a sister and I think of Sorren like a brother. So even though we don’t have the same mom and dad, they’re my family.”
I watch his little face and hope like hell I’m doin’ this right.
“Like Aunt Cheyenne? She’s Mama’s frrriend.” He rolls therand I laugh.
“Just like that.”
“Cool! Do you like dogs? Miss Baker has a dog and she showed us a picture of it and his name is Nugget.”
The relief coursing through my body has me practically falling out of my chair at his apparent acceptance and the abrupt subject change.
I feel like I need to apologize to my mother for my childhood because I’m already exhausted.
We stay there for another hour talking and walkin’ around the lot. Briggs makes up stories, and we jump over potholes in the parking lot. He reminds me of how Case and I grew up being wild and curious.
Hank and Waylon were more intentional in their shenanigans whereas Case and I just wanted to see if wecould.
“You likin’ school?”
“Yeah, Miss Baker said I do real good with math, and we get books at the libary.”
“Library.”
“I know.”
“What books do you like?”
“Dinosaurs. Some trucks.”
“Cool dude, I like trucks and dinosaurs too.”
