Ilsa blushed. “I painted it for Uncle Aleb…” Ilsa was still working on her K’s, so Kaleb’s name came out broken. But I saw the way he perked up.
It wasn’t hard to introduce Kaleb into Ilsa’s life. She questioned why she’d never met him, and Kaleb told her he was away at work, but he was here now.
Ilsa walked around offering the picture to Kaleb. He held it close. “Thank you, Ilsa. It’s beautiful.”
Ilsa giggled. “Do you want me to color you another?”
Kaleb nodded at her, patting her head. I couldn’t help but smile at how close they were. Kaleb had always been someone that everyone would get along with, and it was the same for Ilsa. He bent down, picking her up. She showed him pictures of the coloring book, letting him pick out other ones.
My phone vibrated, and I looked down to see a message from Brandon. My stomach twisted up as I read the message.
Everything has been unpacked into the house. I set up everything in the two rooms that you and Ilsa will be taking.
I swallowed, glancing away from my phone. We had decided to tell Ilsa we were moving in with Brandon because he was a good friend of mine. We weren’t sure about telling her that we were married or that he was actually her father. We wanted to let her get settled first.
Ilsa had been unsure about the change. She looked around our apartment, telling me she was going to miss it. A space that was just ours.
“Ilsa, are you ready?”
Ilsa nodded her head slowly, and I could tell she was nervous. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. Kaleb had offered to take us, so I wasn’t going alone with Brandon the first time we saw the house.
We headed out to my car, and Kaleb gave me a look. “How is this thing still running?”
I rolled my eyes at him. “There is nothing wrong with my car.”
He gave me a face. “Seriously, Jade. You need a new vehicle.”
I wanted to snap that I didn’t have the money, but I didn’t want Ilsa to see. So, I just glared at my brother, and he silently buckled himself up. I turned the key, and, of course, the car sputtered as it struggled to cling to life. Kaleb looked smug, and I didn’t even look at him.
“Not a word,” I growled as I pulled the vehicle out of the driveway.
I drove and turned where Kaleb said to turn. Brandon lived in a nice house two miles away from our parents’ house. Brandon told me it was nice. It had four bedrooms and two bathrooms. That there was an entire basement that Ilsa could turn into a play area, even. There was a fenced backyard with a sandbox from the previous family.
Brandon pointed. “Here it is.”
He pointed to a white house with blue shutters. It wasn’t what I expected when he said it was Brandon’s house. It was charming, reminding me of a cottage. It wasn’t anything too big or extravagant.
“You look confused,” Kaleb said as he unbuckled.
“I just…I thought Brandon would have bought something else. It’s…cute.”
Kaleb laughed. “It’s nice. Brandon didn’t want anything too big.”
I wanted to ask why, but Kaleb had already started to hop out. I got out and helped Ilsa get out when I noticed Brandon standing in the doorway of the front door. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt. His hair was a little messy, and it was clear that he was sweating from moving everything around.
He smiled as Kaleb walked over, and they chatted. I walked across the lawn with Ilsa, who took the house in with big eyes.
“We’re going to live here?” Ilsa asked as we got to the doorway.
Brandon nodded. “I have all of your stuff in the rooms.”
We all entered, and I scanned the space. There was a small entryway that had hooks to hang coats. You walked a little further in, and you took a left into the kitchen. It was a light blue that matched the shutters outside, with a large wooden beam over the kitchen that had lights strung on it. The countertop was a dark black with an island that had four deep brown chairs.
The living room featured a small fireplace and a large L-shaped couch positioned across from it. The living room itself wasn’t huge, but it was big enough. There was a set of stairs that led up and another set that led down, located next to the kitchen.
“The bedrooms are upstairs,” Brandon said.
Kaleb walked into the kitchen. “This is a nice space.”
