With a quick up and down look, she mimics her father’s tense eyebrows and narrowing features. “I thought you said she was Antonella’s cousin.”
“I am.” I pull my long blonde hair over my shoulder and then stand exactly the same way Antonella is, with my elbows bent and off to the side, demonstrating the similarities we share.
The little girl, Kerrianne Cavanagh, that Antonella called the truce over... is not impressed.I want her to like me.
I try to quickly come up with something a child might like to talk about, but I resort to my default for any conversation starter. “I like your outfit.”
“Thanks! Tortoises are my favorite.” Kerrianne holds out the corners of her T-shirt to show me better.
It’s adorable with little tortoises mixed into the paisley print.
“I heard there’s a tortoise here. Is he yours?” I set my beer down on the counter, hoping to see this mysterious tortoise for myself.
Kerrianne nods excitedly. “Let me introduce you to Captain! He’s amazing.”
With my hand snatched into hers, she leads me through the house. On one long wall in the hallway are dozens of family photos. The gallery-style wall features one big photo in the center.
I stop, consequently stopping Kerrianne on her path too.
She explains the picture. “That’s Grandma and Grandpa and then Royal, he’s my favorite uncle, and then me and Dad. We took that picture at Easter before our run. Grandma says it’s her most favorite one we’ve ever taken.”
Run? As in marathons? That hardly seems worth hiding.
I recognize all the faces but somehow get stuck looking at Royal’s a bit longer. He’s handsome with brown hair, and in the sunlight of the photo, it has a slight red tinge to it. It’s a little lighter in color than Valor’s, and he has striking greenish-brown eyes. He’s tall and of medium build. In this picture, I can see how thick his arms and shoulders are.
Kerrianne pulls on my hand but lets me walk slowly so I can take in the photos. There are a lot of Kerrianne and Royal together. It’s clear he’s a big part of their lives and really is a bright spot. He’s smiling in every photo, and it looks so genuine, not the forced smiles of a family playing nice.
Why can’t I have that?My soul craves that light and positivity.If Antonella can have it, why can’t I? Why can’t it be this way?
I force my attention off the photographs and happy families and back to Kerrianne. She chatters about the tortoise, and I try to keep up with the facts as they come hurtling at me at a million miles an hour.
We get to a large glass door with what looks like a tropical oasis on the inside. A distinct reptile smell hits my nose as Kerrianne pushes the door open.
She drops my hand and walks over to her tortoise. I follow her, watching my step for anything unsavory.
Captain is as adorable as a tortoise might be. He takes a big bite out of some romaine lettuce, looking at me slowly as if he’s judging me.
“Captain is old, like super old. Like double how old you are.” Kerrianne explains, crouching down and running a delicate hand over Captain’s shell. “Wait, how old are you?”
“Twenty-three,” I reply automatically.
“Yeah, so at least one times twenty-three.” She shakes her head. “But I don’t know two times twenty-three. I’ll have to ask Antonella later.”
“That’s a good plan.” I nod. I’m incredibly out of my depth looking at the little creature, realizing maybe I’m not a pet person. And as nice as this expedition is, it’s not why I’m here. “Captain is very nice, but it looks like he’s enjoying his dinner. I bet our dinner is done. Want to go see?”
Kerrianne leads the way back to the kitchen, where Valor and Antonella are standing a little closer together than you’d expect from near strangers. They’ve only been married for nearly two weeks.
Valor’s arm is wrapped around Antonella, and his hand is definitely down below her low back, their chests pressed together. I can feel the sexual tension from here. That sort of connection isn’tsomething I’ve seen outside of movies. I’m not sure they want Kerrianne to see such ‘love’ in the air. Maybe she wouldn’t understand it, but better safe than sorry? Quickly, I move to try to put my hands in front of Kerrianne’s eyes to block her view.
“Ope! Looks like I was wrong and dinner isn’t ready yet,” I call out loudly before us. My offhanded inner thought slips out. “Though your dad might eat Antonella if it isn’t done soon.”
Kerrianne stops walking, and I nearly run into her. She looks up at me with a giggle. “We don’t eat people.”
No one addresses that statement, and that doesn’t sit well with me.Pup? Eating people? What. The. Fuck.Something isn’t right here.I want to ask again, but I shook with Valor. This keeps getting weirder.Are they some sort of cannibals? No, she said they don’t eat people. Maybe it’s a kid thing? No. I can’t see any of our cousins... No, Donovan would totally say something like that.
“Kerrianne, do you want to set the table?” Valor is waving Kerrianne over in what feels like a distraction.
“Okay.” Kerrianne holds her arms out in front of her in a dramatically begrudging way.
