“Praying for a new face?”
Alex.
Their quip made me grin though, and I faced them. “Nice one.”
“Thanks, actually just thought of it.” Their lips almost smiled before they nodded toward the bag in my hand. “Tell me those aren’t for you.”
“We all get one.”
“Thank Christ. My roommate ate my stuff again, and I need carbs.” Alex opened the door to the bar, and I followed them inside. Charlie and Elle sat at a booth, both of them looking at her phone as he wrote stuff down.
Alex didn’t even say a word before plopping on the other side of the table, but Elle smiled at them. She didnotsmile at me.
“I brought food.” I tossed the bag in the center, tensing and waiting for her to take one. She didn’tseemhungry, but what if she was daydreaming about killing me all morning?
“Gimme.” Alex shoved napkins to everyone and reached for one of the raspberry ones. Elle waited for Charlie to take one, and she hesitated.
“Go ahead. That one is blueberry and the other is chocolate.”
She narrowed her eyes at me for a beat, then reached for the chocolate one. Her middle finger had a small silver ring on it with a red gem. That little ring charmed me. I wondered if someone gave it to her or if she’d bought it for herself. She grabbed a napkin and bit in, letting out the littlest of moans.
No one else heard, but they weren’t paying attention to her like I was.
“You eat breakfast?” I asked.
Her gaze turned to a glare, and she ignored me. I got a little zing of pleasure at knowing I was right and able to feed her.
“I was just showing a list of what Charlie should buy if his daughter comes home with him. We’re almost done, then we can get started.” She leaned closer to Charlie and pointed to her phone. “You’ll need a toddler bed. Four is out of a crib, I know, but she might have a twin bed too?”
“Cal.”
I met my uncle’s eyes. “Hm?”
“I’ll send all this stuff to your place. I might need your help getting it ready so when I get back it won’t be all in boxes. The guest room is a hot mess and needs…kid-proofing.” He rubbed his forehead so hard there were indents from his nails.
“You wantmeto set it up?” I asked, the blood leaving my face because I knew just as much about four-year-olds as I did about nuclear energy. Nothing.
“We’ll pitch in. All of us.” Elle flashed an evil look at me, daring me to disagree.
“That would be great. Actually makes me feel better knowing you’ll pitch in. You seem…prepared.”
“Because I identify as a female? Wear pink and yellow?”
“Yes.”
We all laughed at Charlie’s blatant honesty, and I wasn’t even a little offended that he didn’t trust me. Hell, I could open boxes, but getting a room ready for a child? I’d probably ruin it somehow. Elle looked pleased, and that made my chest feel a bit weird. She could totally handle a little girl.
“Okay. Sending all this shit to Cal’s place. Elle, Alex, you’ll help Cal get the guest room ready and put it all together.” He swallowed hard and looked at Alex, then me. “Thank you both. This is a lot, and I appreciate you willing to help.”
“Don’t mention it. Just know, if I’m decorating, there will be something black in her room.”
His lips twitched, and he nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Scheduling. I have a life outside of this shithole, no offense, so I want to know the hours.” Alex got right to it, and I choked back a laugh.
They were so full of shit. They acted so tough, but they loved Charlie and had even spent Christmas with us last year. But, like me, they rarely said nice things. I wasn’t the only one emotionally stunted.
“I’ll adjust the hours from four until ten Sunday through Wednesdays. Thursdays through Saturday, you’ll stay open until two.” He paused and looked at all of us. I nodded, then Elle and Alex followed.
