“I don’t want eggs,” Bo said, unfazed by the break in conversation.
Penelope wrapped her arms around Everett’s neck. He lifted her from her car seat and made sure she was settled on his hip. Everett kissed her on the top of her head. For now, there was no point in worrying about what he couldn’t change. He’d talk with Caleb, and they’d find a way forward. No problem had ever been too big for them to conquer—with a little patience and some thought, they’d find a way to reshape their lives so they could keep growing together. Until then, Everett wouldn’t let fear of what could be bring him down. There was too much good going on in the moment to let what might be bother him.
“Alright, bud.” Everett closed the car door and dangled his keys in front of Bo. “You don’t have to eat any eggs if you don’t want to, but I think I’ve got something you won’t be able to resist.”
Bo looked at the keys suspiciously. “What?”
“We’ve got to lock Uncle Caleb’s car. You want to press the button for me?” Everett jingled the keys, and Bo’s eyes went wide. He wrapped his hand around the key fob to steady it, then very carefully pressed the large lock button. The car beeped as the locks engaged. Bo looked like he might burst with happiness.
“Great job.” Task completed, Everett pocketed the keys and held out his hand to Bo. “You ready to get going?”
Bo nodded enthusiastically and took Everett’s hand. With his niece in his arm and his nephew at his side, Everett left the parking garage behind, and with it, his fears of the future.
* * *
“So,you’re Alex’s cousin, huh? TD’s brother?” Shep crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chair back until it was balanced on its back two legs. He looked at Everett from down the bridge of his nose, then almost lost balance. Flailing wildly, he slammed the chair back onto four legs and braced himself on the table. Bo, who’d been ferrying a pre-cut slice of omelet to his mouth, jumped and dropped his fork. The piece of omelet fell on the floor.
“My omelet,” Bo murmured, distraught, as he looked at the fallen piece. “My… my omelet, Uncle Ev-rhett… it’s on the floor.”
“It’s okay, bud.” Everett portioned off a piece of his omelet, speared it, and held it out to Bo. “It’s just a little piece, and if you want, you can have some of mine.”
Everett may as well have offered him a fresh cat turd—Bo glared at the omelet, then turned his ire on Everett. “Yours is made of egg!”
“Oh.” Everett set his fork back on his plate. “You’re right. How could I have forgotten?”
“I wantmyomelet,” Bo insisted. “Noeggs.”
Bo’s omelet was, most assuredly, made of eggs.
“You know, I learned something not all that long ago,” Jayne said to Bo from across the table. Jayne glanced from Bo to Everett and arched a brow only slightly as if to say, “I’ve got this.” Everett didn’t doubt it. From what little Everett had seen of Jayne’s parenting skills, he had a way with kids. “When you eat other people’s food, it tastes way better. You’re still too little to make food of your own, but one day you’ll grow up and you’ll see what I mean.”
Bo didn’t look comforted.
“And you wanna know why I’m telling you this?” Jayne leaned forward like what he was about to say was a secret. “It’s because it doesn’t just work like that when someone makes you food—it works when someone offers you some of their food, too. That piece of omelet your Uncle Everett just offered you? If you eat it, it’s going to taste delicious.”
“Says who?” Bo asked, his bottom lip pushed out in an exaggerated pout.
Jayne pointed at himself. “Me. And you know why you should believe me?”
“No.”
“Because,” Jayne leaned closer still and whispered, “I’m a doctor.”
The statement caught Bo off guard—he cocked his head to the side and frowned, looking troubled. “You’re sure it’ll taste ’licious?”
Jayne nodded. “Yes.”
Bo looked thoughtfully at the piece of omelet crowning Everett’s fork. “How ’licious?”
“Very delicious.”
Bo spent another moment in consideration, then fixed Everett with what had to be the most pitiful look he could muster. “Uncle Ev-rhett?”
Everett smiled. “Yes?”
“Can I please have that?”
Everett picked the fork back up. He extended it toward Bo, who leaned forward and ate the omelet piece directly off the fork. In that moment, it became clear to Everett that Jayne wasnot,in fact, a doctor—he had to be a witch.
