I gave him an “are you crazy” look. “Jenny gave me strict instructions to follow this exactly.”
Before I knew what was happening, he reached over and crinkled the list into a ball. “You will make yourself crazy trying to do everythingJennywants you to.”He readied his arm for a free throw and launched the ball across the room, straight into the trash. “Nothin’ but net.”
I couldn’t believe he just did that. “B-but?—”
“Sophie didn’t ask my mom to raise Anna. She asked us. And we get to decide what’s best for her.”
I stood there, frozen. It wasn’t that easy. I already felt like I was in a tight spot with Jenny. If I ignored her wishes…
I walked to the trash and pulled the papers out.
Si caught me by the wrist. “Drop it.” His laugh was light, but there was an edge to it.
I yanked my arm away and side-stepped into the living room with the paper behind my back. “I just want to see what it says.”
He reached around me, smiling, but his eyes held an hint of seriousness. “I know how to deal with my mom. We don’t need a list.” His deep voice was soft, his arm around my waist was snug, and his bubblegum scented breath made my heart twitch a little. Weird, but I chalked it up to nerves. He peeled my fingers open and took the list back, looking down into my eyes. “Trust me.” As soon as he had the paper in his grasp, he backed away.
I folded my arms. “You don’t get it.”
He stood all the way up, rolling his shoulders back, taller and more imposing than ever. “Try me.”
I sat on the couch, leaned my elbows onto my knees, and dropped my head in my hands. “Your mom is going to hate me.”
He plunked down on the opposite end of the couch and stretched his ridiculously long legs out in front of him. “Nah. She could never do that.”
I leaned against the cushion and turned to face him. “Yes, she could. I’m taking her granddaughter away from her.”
He shrugged. “So am I.”
“But you’re her son.”
He sat up and leaned toward me. “She doesn’t have it in her to hate you. I know my mom. She doesn’t hate. Period.” That was probably true. But I’d seen situations like this bring out the worst in people.
“Fine. Strongly dislike, then.”
He shook his head. “Not possible. I don’t think you know how much she adores you.”
Jenny adored me? I mean, she’d always been kind and included me anytime I wanted it. And she’d never fussed or gotten annoyed even when I was younger and practically lived at their house. But adored?
“Even if that is true?—”
“It is.” He raised one eyebrow, daring me not to believe him. Then he lowered it, his gaze intense. “That girl is going through the worst trial of her life. I’m not going to run around making sure she’s following a bunch of rules. If anything, we need to chill. Her life is going to be hard enough. We don’t need to make it harder following some list we didn’t even agree to. Sometimes my mom thinks she’s helping when she’s doing the opposite.”
He was right. But I still didn’t want to step on Jenny’s toes. Anna wasn’t the only one who’d lost Sophie. Jenny had too. We all had. “Don’t you think it might be smart to try to uphold at least some of her wishes?”
“Fine.” He unwrinkled the papers and smoothed them against his thigh. “Let me take a look.”
Finally, he was seeing reason.
“I’ll read my three favorites and you get to pick one.” He scanned the first page.
He wasn’t taking this seriously. At all. “One?”
“Yep. Just one.” He rubbed his chiseled jaw, trying to decide. After a few seconds, his eyes lit up. “We’ve got a couple of winners here. You ready?” I could already tell from the way his lips were twitching that these were going to be the mostridiculous things he could find. “Remind Anna to do her laundry every Saturday morning. If you let her wait, she’ll put it off until Sunday night right before it’s bedtime and then her wet clothes will sit in the washer all night long.” He lowered the paper and added sarcastically, “Because the world is going to end if her clothes aren’t dried immediately. Nobody ever dried clothes in the morning before school.” His jaw dropped and his eyes widened in mock horror.
I rolled my eyes, but a giggle bubbled up my throat. I didn’t know what had gotten into him, but this was Fun Silas. And I liked it. “Next.”
He looked back at the list. “Oh, maybe this one.Please do not let her monopolize Buford. I don’t think Lisa likes that she kidnaps her dog every time she comes over. Plus, he drools everywhere. It’s gross.”
