Asher shot Nat a look out of the corner of his eye, one that said,Fucking fantastic, I thought I left you in charge.Now we’ve gotta deal with Sugar Satan again tonight.
Nat stared back with one eyebrow raised, her expression hopefully saying something along the lines of,Are you new here? Next time you want someone to tell my momma or gran no, it’s gonna have to be you. She must’ve gotten the message across, because his shoulders sagged slightly, and he turned his gaze back to his niece.
“Is that so?” he said.
“Mhmm.” Her momma nodded. “Owen was napping, and Nat was in the shower.”
“You don’t mind, do you, sugar?” Gran asked.
Nat looked at him with a raised brow, daring him to speak up now. See how well he did telling her momma and gran that he really wished they wouldn’t have.
“No, ’course not.”
“Can we put them in yet, Miss Caroline?” June asked.
“Well, I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day. Do you know how to set the timer?”
June nodded enthusiastically before jumping down from her perch on a chair. She dragged it across the kitchen floor and climbed back up as she waited for Nat’s momma to slip the tray of cookies into the oven. Once that was done, June leaned over and pressed the timer button. “How much time?”
“Oh, I think about eleven minutes will do just fine. Now then, we better clean up.”
Nat nearly laughed at that because there wasn’t anythingtoclean up, but still, her momma ushered June over to the sink to wash her hands.
“Everything go okay at your appointment, sugar?” Gran asked, her eyes studying Asher much like Nat’s had.
“Everything’s fine, Gran,” he said, but his voice was all wrong. And, when he slid another glance toward Nat, her hunch was confirmed. She had no doubt there was more to this than he was saying. “Nothing to worry about.”
* * *
Later that night,after both kids were finally asleep, she dragged Asher to the living room to get the real story on what had happened at the meeting today with Cole.
At Nat’s sharp shove, Asher collapsed onto the couch, and Nat curled up on the cushion next to his, tucking her legs beneath her as she faced him. “Okay, spill.”
“What makes you think there’s a story?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You can’t keep anything from me.”
“That’s not true. I keep plenty from you.”
“Is that so?” She raised a brow. “Need I remind you about when you told me Nash was the one who ruined my favorite pair of jeans in high school?”
“That didn’t count. You tricked me into tellin’ you that. Like I’d rat on him voluntarily.”
Nat shrugged, unrepentant. “Still weren’t able to keep it from me. How about ratting on yourself about eatin’ my birthday cupcake in fourth grade? Or tellin’ me about your first failed sexual encounter? Probably would’ve been better off keepin’ that one to yourself. Or how about—”
Asher groaned, cutting her off. “Fine, I get it.” He heaved out a deep sigh, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes. “Seems Aubrey kept some things from me.”
Nat’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “Like, that the kids are her secret love children from the mail carrier?”
“The mail carrier is Edna, so that logic doesn’t exactly hold up.”
“And your sister having a love child, period, does? She was a saint and totally in love with Nathan.”
Asher grunted an approximation of agreement.
“So, what was the secret she kept from you?”
“I guess it wasn’t so much a secret, as me just completely forgettin’ about any mention of it.”
