Theo lets out an excited little yelp, his disappointment over Kiki already forgotten.
Six-year-old attention span. Hell of a thing.
About twenty minutes later, I pull up to Ori and Ash’s house. Ash is outside, tinkering on his bike.
Per my sister, he’s always messing with the damn thing. Ori claims that’s his one true love, no matter what Ash says.
But we all know that’s a lie.
That man worships the ground she walks on.
I kill the engine and glance at the sky. It was clear earlier, but now the clouds have rolled in and I get the distinct impression Mother Nature is about to be a pain in the ass.
“You going for a ride? Looks like a storm is rolling in.”
Ash straightens, wiping his hands on a rag. “Maybe, if it’s not too bad.”
“Ha!” Ori’s voice carries through the cracked front door. “As if a little rain would stop him. That man had me on that thing during a blizzard.”
Ash rolls his eyes. “I got her home safely and warmed her up properly.”
I grimace. “Too much information, man.Waytoo much.”
After helping Theo out of his booster seat, I steer him toward the door. “All right, little man. Aunt Ori’s inside.”
“I wanna go with you and Uncle Ash.”
“Not yet. The house is still kind of dangerous in spots, so let me check things out first. Once I know it’s all good, you can come see the place, okay?”
Before he can argue, Ori appears at the door, Iris on her hip. “I made cookies.”
Theo’s attention span pivots on a dime. “Cookies?”
Magic words.
My son disappears into the carriage house and Ash jerks his chin toward the main estate. “Come on. Let’s have a look.”
The Dean house looms over the property like something out of another lifetime. I’ve been through it a few times, and while it’s got good bones, it’ll take a fortune to bring it back to life. Ash and Ori have money, sure, but not burn-it-all-in-one-shot-on-a-house-this-size kind of money.
So we’re doing it piecemeal.
We spend the next twenty minutes discussing plans and crunching numbers. Usually, this kind of talk settles me down, but today, my head isn’t in the game.
Because even as I’m talking about replacement windows and crown molding, my brain remains in Deirdre’s kitchen, replaying every caustic, ugly insult she tossed at Kiki.
Ash and I finish up and start back toward the carriage house, the sky more menacing with each passing minute.
“Where’s your better half?” Ash asks.
It’s an innocent question, but one without a simple answer.
“I’m not seeing her tonight.” I scrub a hand over my brow, the damn headache once again making an appearance. “My ex is giving me shit. She found out who Kiki is.”
Ash’s expression shifts immediately. “Ah.”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “It’s a mess.”
For a second, I think Ash is going to drop it. But he crosses his arms over his chest and sighs, his jaw tight. “I blame myself for this whole fucking situation.”
