"I always regretted not seeing Gio do this," I murmured.
"You didn't see him walking?"
I shook my head. "Not his first steps," I admitted. "I was doing a deal somewhere… I don't even remember where. How sad is that?" I asked. "It was a deal I thought worth missing so many of my son’s firsts, but obviously it wasn't even important enough for me to remember where it took place. I don't even recall if the deal got made. All I remember is that I saw my son take his first steps on video."
I eased my hold on Violet when she seemed ready to take off again. Her little legs stomped across the grass as she tried to walk more quickly to Remy. His face lit up with joy when she practically threw herself into his arms. But it was short-lived.
"King and Con will be here in a few minutes," I said. My brothers had each volunteered to go and pick up Marilyn from the airport. Rather than choosing between them, I'd asked them to go together. Since they still weren't on speaking terms, they hadn't exactly been excited at the prospect, but I knew they’d work it out between them. They always did. King still hadn't told any of us what was up with Lex, but at Con's insistence, he’d once again reassured everyone that our youngest brother was safe.
"Your brothers are… interesting," Remy said softly.
I laughed at his observation. "My brothers are kind of nuts," I said. I saw Remy smile briefly but then it was gone just as quickly.
"How did you and Vaughn meet them?" Remy asked. "Aleks said King, Con, and Lex grew up in foster care."
I opened my arms so Violet would have a target as she began walking back to me. "We met on the basketball court. Our mom used to volunteer for this group home. King, Con, and Lex had all ended up there at one point or another. A lot of the families that took in foster kids were just in it for the money, so when the kids became too much to handle and were no longer worth the money they were getting, the parents would just bring them back to the group home. King practically lived there for the first few years. Lex too, but mostly because he had so many medical issues. Con was more in and out because he had a more laid-back temperament. But even he would get pushed too far on occasion. They were all together playing ball one day when my brother and I asked if we could play with them. King and Vaughn actually ended up in a fistfight because King knew who we were. He was never fond of rich kids. Con played peacemaker, and Lex… he just stood by the sidelines and waited until the drama was over. All he ever wanted to do was play ball because he was usually too sick to do even that."
"But he's all right now?" Remy asked.
I shook my head. "Not sure. He's been kind of MIA for a while now. King knows where he is and says he's okay, but…"
"But?" Remy prodded.
"It has to be pretty bad if it's keeping him from seeing his nephew. All of my brothers helped in the search for Gio because they all felt like they helped raise him. So for Lex to not show up when we found him…" I didn't finish the statement because I didn't want to consider all the possibilities that were keeping my youngest brother in hiding.
"I'm sorry, Luca," Remy said.
"He's strong, like you," I found myself saying.
Remy dropped his head and I swore I saw something in his eyes before he did. If I hadn't known better, it seemed like the remark had angered him in some way. But I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why it would, so I convinced myself I was mistaken.
"Remy, we haven't really talked about Violet—"
"I know you'll make sure her great-aunt is the right person to take care of her," Remy interjected.
"I will, but that isn't what I meant—"
Remy began shifting his body before I even finished getting the words out, and he interrupted me yet again by saying, "Can you watch her while I go get cleaned up?"
Violet had made it to my arms and was keenly intent on returning to Remy's when he suddenly stood up, not even waiting to hear my reply. He wiped at his pants nervously and then turned and headed back for the house.
"Me-me," Violet called. I could sense her confusion.
"He'll be back in a bit, sweetheart," I said to her as I turned her to face me. It was then that I noticed she had my keychain attached to one of her little belt loops on the pink denim pants she was wearing.