“I’m cool sitting out the hard labor,” Alex said seriously.“Besides.One time Gavin got bored putting up Joe’s tree and just left the lights all bundled up together in the middle.”
“Right, yeah.I think you’ve got the right job, then.”
They heated up leftovers for lunch, and soon they were crowded around the dining table.Joe looked so content to have his children at hand, though Austin did have to wonder….
“No Meg today?”
“She’s gearing up for a big competition,” Gavin said between bites.
Alex pulled a face.“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”
Gavin stuck out his tongue.
“Children,” Joe said mildly, in the tone of a man who wasn’t about to be put off his leftover risotto.
Alex elbowed Gavin.“He’s talking to you.”
Gavin swayed under the touch.“Nah.I’m the favourite.”
Naturally, that started a heated debate, Alex loudly explaining why Gavin was wrong and Will backing them up with well-timed jabs.
Joe caught Austin’s gaze and rolled his eyes, so Austin took his cue from the experienced parent in the room and ignored the bickering in favor of his lunch.
Afterward, Joe abandoned them for paid work.“There’s lots of post-storm cleanup still to do,” he said with a shrug on his way out.
By this point, Alex and Will had caught sight of the boxes and boxes of seasonal décor and couldn’t be stopped.They approached the boxes with the enthusiasm of children who had been denied the experience in the past.Part of Austin definitely got it.The greater part thought it was probably best to stay out of the way.Maybe they could convince Gavin to help too.
Austin set up his bedroom and was gathering the last of his stuff from the front hallway, where the boys had left it after they pulled it out of Joe’s truck, when Starling entered trailing her gear.
“No furry children today?”she asked with an arched eyebrow, noticing the empty space around him.
A fair question, considering Pepa and the kittens had taken to following him and Joe around the house.“They found better entertainment,” Austin explained as laughter rang out from the living room.
“Teenagers?”
“Teens with Christmas decorations.”
“Oh.Shiny, hangy things,” Starling said, nodding.
“And teens who think you’re the cutest thing they’ve ever seen,” he agreed.
She followed him upstairs.“I think I’ll be able to finish things up today.Should be ready for inspection once I’m done.”
“No shit?”
She laughed.
“That was faster than I was expecting.”
“Well, call me crazy, but I wasn’t thrilled about the idea of my best friend living in a house with knob-and-tube.”
Austin pulled a face and once again pushed away the ominous thoughts about the outdated system and why it was retrofitted.
He left Starling to her work in the other bedrooms, finished unpacking in his own, and figured it was time for Pepa’s walk.
They’d slowly been increasing the distance they travelled each time, and Austin was so proud of how well she was adjusting.
The kittens were sleepily watching the children decorate—evidently they’d already tired themselves out chasing bits of garland—so Austin felt no guilt about leaving them behind and pulling Pepa out into the cold.Well, maybe he felt some guilt about that, but Pepa was happy for the fresh air.
