“I hear congratulations are in order,” Sheila said, dipping her head toward my left hand where my black wedding band sat.
“Yep, he finally made an honest woman out of me,” Nat said.
“Finally? How long were y’all datin’?”
Since I absolutely couldn’t tell her the truth, I went with what was the closest. “We’ve been friends since first grade. Things just kind of naturally progressed from there. So, I guess you could say she’s been waitin’ her whole life for me to get on with it.”
Nat snorted. “You sure you don’t have that the other way around?”
“That, too.”
Our eyes locked for a heavy beat, a question in Nat’s gaze that I couldn’t answer. Was I pretending just for show? Or did I actually mean that?
“Y’all are too cute.” Sheila sat on the couch and opened her bag, gesturing for June to come over. “Hi, June. I brought some new toys for you and your brother. Mind if I chat with your uncle for a bit while y’all play?”
“Do you have any gum?” June asked, peering into the bag.
Sheila laughed. “’Fraid not.”
June sighed, sounding heavily put out, but grabbed the bag and dumped its entire contents onto the floor. Owen dropped the remote he’d been playing with and crawled straight for the mess as if a shotgun blast had gone off.
“How’ve things been goin’ for y’all?” Sheila asked, dragging my attention away from the kids.
Nat and I exchanged a glance, and she raised a single eyebrow, her silent deferment to me. Though she didn’t have to say a word for me to know what she thought I should do.
Clearing my throat, I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on my spread knees. I rubbed my palms together and stared at the floor, reminding myself that if June didn’t get the help she needed to overcome her grief, it didn’t matter if it made us look bad or as if we couldn’t handle this. Her welfare was my top priority.
“Good. Mostly, I think,” I said with a nod. “The good days outweigh the bad, that’s for sure.”
“That’s great. How do you feel the kids have been adjustin’ to the change?”
“Owen’s always happy, just as long as nobody forgets his bottle,” I said with a chuckle.
She grinned. “And June?”
“Honestly, if you’d come by yesterday, I’d’ve said things were fine. That she’s been her normal, precocious self.”
“But since I came by today?” she asked, leaving the question open for me to continue.
I blew out a heavy sigh. “We found her curled up in my sister’s bed this mornin’, askin’ when her momma and daddy are comin’ home.”
Sheila made a gruff sound of sympathy, and I swallowed down the apprehension I still felt, even knowing what the right thing to do was.
“I don’t know if this’ll make us look weak or incompetent, but this is about the kids. And I don’t care about anything more than makin’ sure they’re okay. Because of that, I’d love your help.” I lifted my gaze and glanced at Nat, who’d lowered herself onto the floor to corral Owen. She offered me an encouraging smile, giving me the reassurance I needed. “We’d appreciate it if you had a referral for a therapist who works with young children dealing with grief.”
“Of course,” Sheila said without hesitation. “And this most certainly doesn’t make you appear incompetent or anything other than a loving uncle. There’s really nothing wrong with finding someone for your niece to talk to. In fact, it speaks volumes that you reached out to get the help y’all feel she needs.”
I blew out a sigh of relief and met Nat’s smile. Despite having next to no experience with kids, she’d made the right call on this, and we’d passed this small test.
I only hoped we fared as well when it really counted.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
NAT
“If this is an attempted kidnappin’,your methods need a little work. I’m not even tied up,” I said from the passenger’s seat as Asher drove us to a destination unknown.
That morning, he’d greeted me with a kiss, an orgasm, and the news that we were playing hooky from all our responsibilities today. Which meant, thanks to Rory, we were child-free for the first time in weeks. Maybe I owed my sister something a little more than a verbal beatdown…
