Mallory chuckled. “I agree. Plus, babies don’t like shark movies.”
Hannah snorted. “That’s true! They’d get too scared, and we’d have to stop watching them.”
“Speaking of which, your grandpa and I curated a great list of movies to binge this week. A couple of them are PG-13, but I already read the warnings. I think I can convince your mom to let you watch them.”
“Yes!” Hannah said, kicking her feet under the blankets. “That’s awesome! Can you convince her to let me watch the rated R ones too?”
“Whoa! Slow down, girl,” Mallory said with a laugh. “There’ll be plenty of time for you to watch the more violent ones when you’re older.”
“Lame,” Hannah said under her breath.
“Oh, whatever.” Mallory gently nudged her shoulder before turning onto her side. “I’m the coolest aunt in the world and you know it.”
Chapter 3
The next morning, Mallory slept through Taylor and Erica’s arrival. They were also fast asleep when she woke up to run errands later on. Mallory didn’t see them until lunchtime when they emerged from Ariel’s old bedroom with tired eyes and warm smiles. They greeted her in the living room where she sat half-heartedly reading a bland nonfiction book she’d found on her dad’s shelf. Slamming it shut, she jumped up from the couch and opened her arms to give Taylor a big hug.
“Mal!” Taylor beamed and embraced her, not missing the chance to also dig his knuckles into her skull for a quick noogie. She pushed him away despite laughing. Erica gave her a much gentler greeting, in the form of a kiss on the cheek and a compliment.
“Your hair’s grown a lot since we last saw you,” she said, running her fingers through Mallory’s locks. “It’s beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Mallory blushed. Her hair, which she’d bleached and dyed so many times over the years, was something she rarely felt confident about. “I’ve been trying not to mess with it too much. I want it to get back to being more natural. And healthy. Although I miss my icy blond streaks.”
“Those were fun,” Erica agreed. “But this looks more… mature.”
Taylor sniffled and pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. “Our little girl is all grown up.”
“Shut up,” Mallory groaned, heading into the kitchen where Ariel and Sasha were swapping tips and tricks for diaper rashes.
“Just teasing you.” He winked. “It’s the job of an older brother,” he said with a smirk.
In the kitchen, Sasha stiffened when she spotted Taylor and Erica. Mallory wondered if they’d already met, but she didn’t have to wonder for long. Taylor stuck his hand out for a shake, smiling like a used car salesman. “You must be Sasha?”
“Yeah,” Sasha said shyly. “It’s nice to meet you. Taylor, right?”
He nodded. “Yes, and this is my wife, Erica.”
“Nice to meet you too.” Erica smiled but she didn’t go in for a hug like she usually would. Perhaps she was also picking up on the tension in Sasha’s voice and mannerisms. “We’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about you and your darling little girl.”
Sasha smiled and muttered a quiet thanks.
“Where are mom and dad?” Taylor asked Ariel. “And the kids?”
“Mom and dad took the kids to the park,” Mallory said. “And I think Dot’s sleeping?”
“Yeah, she’s taking a nap,” Sasha confirmed. “I’m just waiting for your mom to get back before I go to work.”
“I can watch Dot until mom comes back,” Ariel said. “If you’d be comfortable with that…”
Sasha didn’t answer right away.
“Or, if you’d rather wait for my mom,” Ariel quickly added. “That’s fine too. I won’t take it personally. I know how hard it is to trust someone new with your baby.”
Sasha smiled. “It’s not that Idon’ttrust you—”
“I get it,” Ariel reaffirmed. “Really. I was just offering, but I swear I don’t take it personally. I was just about to call my dadanyway and see when they were coming home. I know my kids are probably getting hungry.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to run and get changed then.” Sasha grabbed her to-go coffee cup off the counter and hurried out of the kitchen without saying another word. Taylor leaned back so he could peer through the doorway and around the corner, watching Sasha leave. Once she was gone, he looked back at his siblings with raised brows.
