Cade glared at him while fake smiling. “I’m sorry, Grant. I was just teasing. You’re not a loser.” He mouthed, You big fat loser. “I just missed you so much.”
“Me too, Uncle Grant. I missed you lots.” Alex held up his arms, and Grant lifted him up and swung him around. The little guy looked just like Cade, with mischief in those big blue eyes, his hands perpetually stained with something gooey.
“Easy, he just had orange juice,” Ellie warned. “I’m not sure about the sticky mess on his fingers. Alex, go wash your hands.” To Grant she said, “Now come in and sit down while I put these gorgeous flowers in some water.” She smiled at him while warning Cade, with her stare, to behave.
Cade sighed. “Once again, you’re getting me into trouble.” He took Alex from Grant’s arms and shooed him to go wash and play. “We’ll call you when breakfast is ready, you little punk.”
Alex made sure his mother didn’t see him and shook a fist at his dad with a tiny glare, then laughed and raced away.
“I love that kid.” Grant laughed.
“Yeah, he’s a ball of fun.” Cade’s eyes crinkled, his joy with life apparent. He had a fire going, the house in a state of pleasant disarray with scattered toys and coffee mugs on the table, a plate of fruit untouched next to a half-filled cup of juice near the mugs.
“Where have you been and what have you been doing?” Ellie asked. “I thought you were planning to stay with us for the month.”
Cade shot him a look Grant couldn’t read, and since he’d been avoiding his brother’s texts for the past two days, not reading them so it would look as if he hadn’t received them, Grant had no idea what to be be wary of.
“I mean, I told my sister and brother-in-law we had a full house, but if you’re not going to stay, maybe they can come instead.”
Cade looked ready to pass out, so Grant did his best to fix things for everyone. “You know, I didn’t want to say anything, but I do plan on coming back to stay. It’s just... I’m doing a favor for Jared.” Spit-balling, he decided another little fib couldn’t hurt anyone. Right?
“Oh?” Ellie put down the spoon she’d been stirring with and approached him. “Is everything all right?”
Grant had no idea what to say next, but Cade cut in. “You know, Ellie, I told you that Piper was having a tough time this holiday. I bet that’s what Grant doesn’t want to tell you.”
“She is? I should swing by and visit, don’t you think? I love Piper. We haven’t spent a lot of time together, but—”
“No,” Grant and Cade said together, before Grant covered with, “What I mean is, she has no idea I’m there to give her company, but we were friends a long time ago and we’re getting to be better friends now. She’s still hurting over a failed engagement, and seeing you, her happily married friend, might rub her the wrong way.”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” Ellie sighed. “I understand. I mean, if I was left at the altar, I’d be hurt forever.”
“Yeah.” And wasn’t that a tough situation to deal with. He wasn’t quite sure how to get Piper over that grudge against marriage. “But I’m single, so nothing about me screams marriage. I don’t pity her, and heck, I wasn’t even here when that whole mess happened.” He scowled at his idiot brother. “No one told me about her getting married.”
Cade blew out a breath. “And it’s done, so let’s let that go, eh?”
“Jackass,” Grant muttered.
“Fat head.”
“Fart weasel.”
“Shit breath.”
“Banana dick.”
Ellie choked on the coffee she’d been drinking but didn’t manage to hide her laughter. “Would you two stop before Alex overhears? He’s already telling me he’s happy to pick up his ‘damn shoes.’” She looked at Cade, who shrugged.
“My bad.”
“Banana dick?” she repeated, which had Cade turning beet-red.
Grant snickered.
“I need a word with my brother,” Cade snarled.
“Be nice, sweetie.”
“I love you too,” Cade said as he put Grant in a headlock and dragged him out back onto the patio.
