Whenever Mona slept in the house, Bucky would watch over her instead, because he was Theo’s dog and slept wherever Theo did. These days, Theo slept with Lake in his bedroom, because they were in that stage of their relationship.
I was pretty sure that if River and Ben hadn’t taken over the second cabin, Lake and Theo would still be in Theo’s cabin instead of in the house. But I guessed they chose otherwise because it could become awkward or something, given that the cabins were in hearing distance of each other.
Not that I knew anything about erm…getting loud like that. All I’d ever had was my hand and one awkward make-out session with a friend from school. We were fifteen, tipsy on something we shouldn’t have touched, and one thing led to another.
I was pretty sure that now, with a kid in the house, the people who had regular sex lives here were going to have to get creative.
Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about that. I grunted at myself. I wished I had that problem.
* * * *
One afternoon, Mona was napping on the couch and I was helping Jack with dinner prep, when it hit me.
There was something that I’d worried about excessively lately. I was pretty sure Jack had told someone he had another job lined up in September, and now that it was closing in on the end of said month, I started to feel itchy.
So, being the mature young adult I was, I pretended that I just remembered it.
“Wait, weren’t you going to leave for another job soon?” I asked, handing over the package of chicken he’d requested I get from the fridge.
“I was going to, yeah, but now that we have Mona and Madden is moving in soon, I don’t think it’s such a good idea.” He glanced at me in a way that I knew meant he was also thinking about me. Which was…I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
Attempting a casual tone, I asked, “So when do you think you’ll go, then?”
“Not before New Year’s at least.”
“Oh, okay.”Good. I wasn’t ready to let him leave yet.
We went back to our tasks, and I tried to push away the feeling of how empty the house would feel without him in it.
* * * *
Lake and Ben started to give Mona some school type lessons, which she absolutely loved. River said it was clear that Mona was incredibly smart and filled with untapped potential. He also mentioned that while being on the streets, Madden had somehow managed to teach Mona a lot more than any of them expected.
When Ben checked it out, he realized she could read and do math at second grade level.
I was reading one of the veterinary sciences books I’d borrowed from Seb one morning, when Mona bounced to me.
“It’s raining and Theo’s doing boring stuff. Can you teach me about horses?”
I smiled at her dramatic little pout. “Sure. What is everyone else doing?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t really paid any attention in the last half hour at least.
“Ben’s working at the cabin and River is at work. Theo’s at the stable and Lake went to help him out there. Dunno where Jack went.”
I loved that she’d started to call him Jack. “Maybe to get groceries?”
“Oh, that’s right!”
“Well, we should check Lake’s office to see if there are any horsey books there you can read yourself. This one—” I tapped at the cover of the book I was reading, “—is a bit hard to understand.”
Her eyes widened. “Even for you?”
I laughed. “Yes, even for me. Remember, I’m only your brother’s age.”
“Oh, you’re not anadultadult.” She smacked her forehead. Then she grinned at me, looking mischievous as fuck.
“Meanie.”
She giggled.
