She laughs as she sets it down. “That’s so cute.”
“You’re kind of grumpy sometimes,” he says, his tone all tease. “Figured it suited you.”
Next she pulls out a beaded bracelet that readsBe Fucking Nice.
Laughter bubbles out of her, carefree and easy. “Wow, Quinn. I’m sensing a theme here. Should I be offended?”
His cheeks pinken. “I just… you don’t take shit from anyone, so…” He scans the gazebo, suddenly looking unsure. “Was it a bad choice?”
“No!” she blurts out. “No,” she says again, softer this time as she slips the bracelet on. “It’s perfect. I love it.”
“There’s one more thing in there.” He nods at the bag.
She digs through the tissue paper again, and this time she pulls out a tiny stuffed frog. It’s fluffy and no bigger than her palm, but the emotion it inspires in her is big enough to fill the gazebo.
“I love it,” she says, voice cracking as she cradles the tiny frog to her chest. “So much.”
Her reaction makes my chest tighten and my eyes burn. Fuck. I think she’s going to cry again.
I look between the siblings, clueless as to the significance of the frog stuffie but still moved by the gesture.
“I know it’s not the same one,” Quinn says, voice quivering. “But I thought it was?—”
“Perfect, Quinn. It’s perfect.” She squeezes the tiny frog to her chest, a tear leaking out of the corner of her eye. “Best birthday ever. Thank you. All of you.”
She leans over and presses a kiss to my cheek—though it lands closer to the corner of my mouth—shocking the hell out of me.
She sets the little frog on the table in front of her and studies it. “I love him.” With a sigh, she eyes me. “Growing up, I had this stuffed frog I took everywhere with me. Even when I was a teenager, I couldn’t sleep without it.” She wets her lips. “My mom said she donated it when she was cleaning things out, but I think she threw it away. It was shortly after I told her I’d found an apartment and was moving out. I’m pretty sure it was her way of getting back at me for daring to leave. I lookedeverywhere for that stuffed animal. Checked every thrift store nearby for months and never saw it.”
My heart pangs with sympathy, but also with a huge serving of respect. She doesn’t see just how much she’s done for her brothers. They may like to wreak havoc, but she’s raising two thoughtful boys with good hearts. Pranks and petty theft aside, a person couldn’t ask for more than that.
She inhales a shaky breath and reaches for the cake cutter. “Let’s have cake. That sounds good, right?”
Casen gently grasps her wrist, stopping her. “Candles first, sis. You have to make a wish.”
“A wish?” She echoes with a nod. “Right.”
The boys load the cake with twenty-four candles. I suggested getting the candles shaped like a 2 and a 4, but they wanted twenty-four individual candles.
Once they’re lit, the three of us sing happy birthday. And when she leans over the cake, ready to blow them out, I hop up and pull her hair back, scared it might catch on fire.
It takes three tries to get all the candles out, and as the smoke rises between her and her brothers, she tilts her head back, giving me a suggestive look that makes me want to know what she wished for.
CHAPTER 21
HALLE
With a groan, I remove my microphone headset and stretch my neck. Scheduling for a doctor’s office isn’t the hardest work, but here and there, some of the people I have to deal with make the job exhausting. Especially when they argue about paying the no-show fee, unwilling to accept that I can’t reschedule them until they do.
“Why can’t you just waive the fee? Every time I’m there, I sit in the waiting room for an hour before I’m seen, anyway. Maybe I should charge the doctor a late fee. How about that?”
I just want to say “Dude, I get it. But I just work here, and I can’t help you if you don’t follow the rules.”
Laptop powered down, I close it and slide it to one side.
My brothers won’t be home for another hour, and Caleb is in Boston until the weekend.
What should I do with my rare free time?
