“You mean you don’t want any right now,” she corrected. “My best friend, Kate—you met her that night at the Bitter & Sweet—feels the same way. She says she’ll be ready when she’s thirty-five.”
“That’s how old I am now, and I mean never. I’d make a lousy father.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Trust me, I raised my younger brother, and I know what I’m talking about. Me having a kid would be irresponsible.”
“I’d call raising your brother the opposite of that.” Lana was beyond curious now. “Do you mind my asking what happened?”
“It’s no secret. I was eleven when my mom died. Two years later, my father followed her. The child protection people managed to find an uncle who agreed to take in Seth and me. Let’s just say our uncle didn’t want us around. That’s how I ended up raising Seth.” Sly shrugged. “That didn’t turn out so great.”
“What do you mean?”
“For starters, he did a few stupid things that got attention from the law. Uncle George had a problem controlling his temper, so I stepped in—or tried.” Sly let out a self-derisive laugh. “No matter what I said or what I did, I couldn’t get Seth to straighten up or take responsibility for the trouble he caused. Not even moving back to Prosperity helped. Then he dropped out of high school.”
That sounded like a tough situation. Lana bit her lip. “Where is Seth now?”
“I have no idea. When he was seventeen, he split. A few weeks later, he sent a postcard to let Dani and me know he was okay. He hasn’t been in touch since.” Sly glanced down at his empty coffee cup, then spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “Now you know what a great job I did.”
Lana pictured a very young Sly struggling to raise his brother when he was so young himself. “You were under very challenging conditions, Sly. You were an orphan and a child yourself. Under those circumstances, no one would do well.”
He seemed unconvinced. “Because of the situation, I grew up fast. At fourteen, I was more mature than most eighteen-year-olds. I should’ve done a better job. Instead, I screwed up mybrother and also blew any chance of a tight relationship with him.”
Lana thought he was too hard on himself and felt terrible for him and his brother. “I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago. I’m over it now. But I won’t ever screw up a kid that way again.”
“Isn’t Dani your sister? She seems to have turned out well.”
“No thanks to me. Our uncle didn’t want any girls around, so Dani went into foster care. She was lucky enough to get Big Mama as her foster mom. A couple of years later, Big Mama adopted her. So yeah, I’m all for adoption.”
Dani slid Sly’s burger and a soda in front of him. “Here’s your burger, Sly. Are you telling Lana about my adoption?” After waiting for his nod, she went on. “I’m so lucky to have Big Mama as my mom, even if we are both hardheaded.” She flashed a truly happy grin. “How about a piece of coconut cream pie, Lana?”
As hungry as she was now, and as tempted as she was to order the pie, she didn’t plan on sitting here long enough to eat it. “No, thanks. I’m leaving in a few minutes. We’re talking about adoption because I’m planning to adopt.”
“Is that why you were buying that pregnant teen brunch? I wondered. How exciting!”
“Cross your fingers. Sophie has a meeting with a married couple who also want her baby, and I’m worried she’ll choose them.”
“Because they’re a couple and you’re single?” When Lana nodded, Dani scoffed. “Big Mama was a single mom, and she did a super job raising me. Wish I had more time to talk, but as you can see, we’re slammed. Sly will give you my number. Call me, and let’s get together.”
“That’d be great.” Dani smiled and left. “I really like your sister,” Lana said.
“She’s good people.” Sly took a bite of his burger.
His food smelled great. He caught her staring at his potato chips, which were homemade and out of this world. “Have one.”
“I couldn’t,” Lana said. But she took one anyway. “I really should leave.”
“I haven’t had a chance to explain about the lawsuit. I get that you’re upset about it, but I’d like to give you my side.”
She wanted to hear it, and Big Mama’s chips were impossible to resist. As was Sly. And so she stayed.
Chapter
Seven
Despite Lana’s protests,Sly ordered more chips. He waited to discuss the lawsuit until Dani set a fresh plate on the table and left.
