Page 51 of A Simple Life

I couldn’t bring myself to finish the thought or the consequences it would have brought.

Cody unwittingly saved the day. “Oh—ha-ha-ha,” he laughed. “Uncle John does that. He sometimes tucks me in and falls asleep too! Remember last time, Uncle J? You rolled off my bed, and you never even woke up.”

Everyone laughed, the relief on Quinn’s face evident.

Cody leaned his elbows on the table. “When Uncle J took me to Toronto last year for my birthday, there was only one bed in the room, and we shared it. He didn’t fall off ’cause it was, like, the biggest bed I’ve ever seen, but he snored.”

I shook my head. “I was tired, bud. You wore me out.”

“What did you do there?” Quinn asked.

“We went to a baseball game and the aquarium,” Cody told her. “And the coolest restaurant where I could see everything. It was the best day ever!”

“The CN Tower,” I explained. “He wanted to see a game. I thought the aquarium would be cool. We looked around in the morning, had lunch at the CN Tower, the aquarium in the afternoon, and a baseball game in the evening. We were both exhausted.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Did you ever go? Since you lived there?” Laura asked.

Quinn looked sad. “No.” She glanced at Abby, who was busy chatting with Cody. “My, ah, ex didn’t do ‘fun’ things. Our schedule was pretty set.”

“Well, maybe you can one day.” Laura looked at me meaningfully, and I nodded slightly in her direction. It was a good idea I would have to think about. I was grateful, though, that Cody’s story had shifted the focus off Quinn and me and our “sleepover.”

“Maybe,” Quinn said with a smile.

Laura and Quinn insisted on clearing the table. Bob fell asleep on the sofa, and I headed outside, hearing the kids laughing. I crossed the yard, going to the back. Cody was pushing Abby in the old tire swing I had put up for him years before. She was laughing as she soared, but my heart hit my throat when I saw how high. I hurried forward, waving at him to stop.

“What, Uncle J? She’s having fun.”

“I know. I haven’t checked the rope lately.”

“Oh, okay.” He stopped pushing her and the wide arc of the swing stopped, but Abby kept pumping her legs. It kept her going, but not as high.

“She’s a girl,” I explained quietly. “Smaller than you. Younger. You have to look out for her.”

“I know. I was watching. I didn’t think about the rope, though.” He peered up. “Looks okay.”

I followed his line of vision. The rope was thick and still strong. “Still, you gotta be careful.”

He snorted. “Abby is tough. She’s not like other girls. She fell earlier and didn’t even whine about it. Just brushed off her pants and kept going. I like her.” He paused. “Is she my cousin?”

I scratched my chin. “Pardon?”

“When you marry her mom, will she be my cousin? ’Cause I gotta stand up for her and all if she is family.”

“You should, even as a friend.”

He gave me a look. “I will. But family is even more important.”

“I just started dating her mom. We’re not talking marriage yet.”

Even as the words were out of my mouth, I found my gaze straying over to the kitchen window, where I could see Quinn and Laura working in the kitchen. I wondered what it would be like to come home to Quinn daily. To sit across from her and Abby and listen to them tell me about their days. To be able to tell them about mine.

How it would feel to end the day lying beside Quinn in our bed.

There definitely would be sleepovers of the adult variety.

I shook my head to clear it of the strange thoughts. It was way too soon for that.