“Haylee, stay out of it.”
“I’m pretty good at these things,” she pressed on. “Look at Laurel and Chase. They got back together, didn’t they?”
“Youronedinner invitation wasn’t the reason that happened,” he countered. “If you remember, Sadie nearly sabotaged that.” He rarely spoke ill of the sibling only he truly understood. But he was grasping at straws.
“You saidsecretsalmost kept them apart.”
Ah, so he had. “Speaking of secrets, we’re overdue to pick up our last conversation.” Melly giggled, almost on cue. She was the topic, after all. “You don’t have to tell me who the father is if you don’t want to, but I think you should tell Melly’s dad about the daughter he doesn’t know he has.”
“It’s complicated,” Haylee said, instantly losing that sparkle, as she did every time they discussed it. She’d promised him it wasn’t someone who was married or anything that disastrous. But she refused to tell himwhyshe wanted to keep Melly’s father’s identity a secret. “I have my reason, Cody. You know I wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
“Is that what you’re going to tell Melly when she’s old enough to ask questions about her dad?”
Haylee busied herself in the kitchen, banging cupboard doors, running water, and clanging dirty dishes. Their parents had taken her in with open arms when she came home from college pregnant, and allowed her to live with them in exchange for chores and occasional hours at the store. Including washing dishes, which she hated the most of all.
“Haylee—”
Cody’s phone vibrated against the table, causing Melly’s eyes to widen with curiosity. Sadie’s name flashed across his screen. He could do this—juggle two sisters and a hungry baby at the same time. “Sadie, hey.”
“What time are you meeting me tonight?” The indistinguishable chatter of noise in the background made it hard to hear. But he’d bet she wasn’t at work. He hoped she hadn’t gotten fired again because of the on-again-off-again boyfriend messing with her emotions. One her family thought was long gone.
“I had to change my flight.”
“You better not be in Maui right now!” The snappiness in her tone spoke more to desperation than anger.Ah, so they’re off again.
“I’m at home for a few more days,” he said, letting those words sink in before he continued. He waved the sweet potato puree filled spoon around like an airplane, making Melly flash him that heart-melting smile. “Flying out on Saturday now.”
“Can I come with you?” she asked with a pitiful laugh that confirmed his suspicions. “I’ll do all the cooking and cleaning. I won’t be loud or embarrass you in front of your friends. Please, Cody?”
“You know I can’t take you with me.” This wasn’t the first time they’d had a similar conversation. He loved Sadie dearly, but she had a lot of growing up to do. The best he could hope was that theoff againstuck for good. “But you can come visit in a couple months once I’m settled.”
“It’ll be a lot harder to hide in your suitcase that way.”
“Is that Sadie?” Haylee hollered from the kitchen. “You know, the sister who won’t answer the phone when I call?”
“Did Haylee try to call you?” he asked, all too familiar with the referee role. He’d played it most of their lives.
“Maybe.”
“Can you call her back?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tell Sadie she needs to be home on Friday afternoon,” Haylee added between cupboard bangs. He felt a sliver of guilt for bringing up Melly’s father. The topic always put her in a bad mood. Maybe he could make up for it by inviting her to Warren’s Sea Shack when he met Jenna for dinner. “If she wants to know why, she cancallme.”
“Text me the time you want to meet Saturday,” Sadie said.
“Are you going to call Haylee?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Call her tomorrow or you’re not visiting Maui.” It was an empty threat and they both knew it. Cody wasn’t convinced his sister wouldn’t just show up in a couple of weeks with packed bags and announce she spent her last dollar on the flight to Hawaii.
“Sure, okay. Let me know about Saturday.” Sadie ended the call before he could say more. He might be the only one who understood their directionless sister, but that didn’t mean he was all that great at getting through to her.
“She’s not going to call me,” Haylee muttered. “You know it as well as I do.”
“Want to go to Warren’s with me for halibut tacos?”
