Nathaniel grinned at the old nickname.“I will remind you all I want to,” he said.“It’s my job.”
The brothers smiled at each other, and for the first time in longer than he could remember, Nathaniel felt hope that he could restore his relationship with his last remaining family member.
“Roan...I missed you,” he said as they stood and looked at each other.
“I missed you, too,” Roan admitted.“I’ll see you for dinner tomorrow.”
“Dinner tomorrow,” Nathaniel agreed.
Nathaniel walked away to join Beth and take her back home.As she slipped her hand into his, he turned back, looking over his shoulder to see his brother also heading back toward town, taking a slightly different route.
He nodded in farewell before following Beth back to the orphanage.
This reconciliation had been a long time coming.
And for the first time, he was excited to have dinner with his brother.
Nathaniel watched as Beth began to shape the dough into a rough square.With dinner finished, they were helping Agnes prep the bagels for tomorrow.
“Now, what do we need?”he asked.
“The wingleplucker!”she shouted joyfully.
“I don’t know where you get your nonsense from,” Agnes said, clicking her tongue as she handed the dough scraper to Nathaniel, who handed it to the girl.
“Oh, it’s an inside joke,” he said.“I don’t know where I got it, either.”
He knew exactly where he’d gotten it…but Agnes and Beth didn’t need to know it.
The kitchen door opened, and Eugenia stepped through.
“Miss Genie!”the girl shrieked joyfully, hurrying over to give her a hug.
“I don’t suppose you are baking that for me?”Eugenia asked playfully.
“Do you want some?”the girl asked.“Mr.Nat said we had to share.I can share with you.”
“I would love some when it’s ready,” Eugenia said with a smile.“Now I need you to skedaddle so I can talk to Mr.Nat.”
“This is ready for the oven, Agnes,” Nathaniel called over his shoulder as Eugenia grabbed his arm and towed him out of the kitchen.
“Ow!”he complained, even though it didn’t really hurt.
“Oh, stop your foolishness,” Eugenia admonished.
“You’re the one who pulled me out of there, Aunt Genie.”
Eugenia smiled at the memory of what he had called her as a child.“I miss your mother,” she said softly.
“I do, too,” Nathaniel said, his throat tight.
“But she’s the reason I’m here,” Eugenia said firmly.“So you have to listen to me.”
“Have I ever not listened to you?”Nathaniel asked.
“That’s a good point,” she said, her tone as sprightly as her steps as she led him to his office.“Unlike your brother.You always did listen better than he did.
“I do a lot of things better than Roan,” Nathaniel muttered, but Eugenia shook her head at him.
