“He’s doing that training thing he was talking about,” Trev answered, rubbing his knuckles over my head before moving to sit next to Kate on the couch. “He won’t be back for another week.”
“Oh, right.” I snapped my fingers, then looked down at my hand in disgust. When had I started picking up mannerisms from Uncle Mike of all people? He was the only person who snapped like that.
“Yep,” Trev said, nodding his head as he snapped his fingers.
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t say a word.”
“Children,” Kate scolded, “let’s focus on what’s important here, me holding my new niece. Take a picture for Arielle’s baby book, Ani.”
I looked at her in horror. “What the fuck is a baby book?”
“It’s a little book that you put all their milestones in, like when their favorite aunt held them for the first time,” Kate said slowly, like I was an idiot.
“What?” I was so confused.
Trevor started laughing hard, his deep voice filling the room until both Kate and I were laughing, too. I wasn’t even sure what was so funny, but his laughter was ridiculously contagious.
“We’ll go to the store and buy you one tomorrow,” Kate assured me, wiping tears off her face.
“Where’s my favorite sister?” a voice called from the front door, making me freeze.
I’d barely seen Bram since he left my house two weeks earlier. He monopolized Arielle when we went to family dinners, but he barely said a word to me. I knew I’d been a bitch to him, but I couldn’t make myself apologize. If he was going to be butt-hurt over one comment I’d made, that was fine. It wasn’t like he hadn’t said much worse things to me over the years.
“Abraham,” Kate sang, coming to her feet.
“Hey,” he said, stepping into the living room with a sweet smile. He walked toward Katie and hugged her with Arielle between them, leaning down to give my daughter a quick kiss on her forehead. “Where’s Mom?”
“What?” Kate asked, pulling away.
“Mom said we were doing dinner here. I’ve got groceries in the back of the truck,” Bram said in confusion, his eyes meeting mine.
“That’s news to me,” I said drily.
“Shit,” he mumbled, reaching up to run his hand through his beard.
“It’s fine. Trev, get off your ass and help him unload,” I ordered.
“When did you get bossy?” Trevor bitched with a smile, pushing himself to his feet.
“When I became a mother,” I replied snottily, raising one eyebrow.
Trevor and Katie both laughed at that, but when I glanced at Bram, he was giving me a soft look, his lips tipped up in a small smile.
That night, my house was filled with noise. Ellie, Mike, Liz, and Dan showed up about a half an hour after Bram, and the women immediately got to work making dinner. They passed around the baby and refused to give her back until I’d finished my meal, then finally let me cuddle her as they ate their own. Everyone stayed late, laughing and joking as Ellie and Liz cleaned the house despite my protests. They even gave Arielle a bath in the kitchen sink, taking a thousand pictures of her disgruntled face.
After everyone had gone, Katie and I curled up on my bed with Arielle between us.
“How’s everything going?” Kate asked seriously, playing with Arielle’s little hands.
“It’s good,” I said with a little nod. “I’m tired pretty much all the time, and I usually smell like ass because I haven’t showered—but I wouldn’t change it.”
“I know how that goes,” Kate replied, rolling her eyes. “Shane will come up behind me all ‘let’s get it on’ and I’m like, ‘Dude, this is day three of not showering. You don’t want anywhere near my downstairs.’”
I snickered, my giggles shaking the bed and making Arielle startle with her hands and feet straight up in the air. “Well, I don’t have to deal with that, at least.”
“Still nothing with Bram?” Kate asked quietly.
“Why do you keep harping on this?” I asked.
“Because I watched him watching you all damn night,” she replied. “And when he wasn’t watching you, he was watching whoever was holding Arielle like he was going to tear their head off if they made any wrong move.”
“You’re delusional.”
Kate sighed. “I’ll drop it.”
“Thank you.”
“But—”
“Oh fantastic, you have more to say,” I said drily, lying down flat on my back.
“Just…don’t give up on him yet.”
“Kate”—I shook my head—“it’s been over a month. That horse is dead, yet you continue to beat it.”
“That saying is ridiculous. Why would anyone beat a dead horse?” Kate said in disgust.
“Exactly.”
* * *
The next morning, Ellie and Liz showed up bright and early, their hands full of donuts and coffee. Then they shooed Kate and me out of the house with gift certificates to a movie theater and a salon. They kept Arielle all day so Kate and I could get out for a while.