Catch - Deborah Bladon Page 0,18
them close.
It never dawned on me that Berk would use the money he inherited from our grandfather to buy a townhouse a few blocks away. Layna had a dream to decorate her own home, so Berk made it happen. He moved his family out of the cramped two-bedroom apartment they were renting.
They made memories in the five-bedroom home that Berk and Stevie live in now.
Living on the Upper West Side in a house that’s way too fucking big for me was never on my life’s plan list, but I like it here.
Stevie drops her gaze to the Hemingway book in her hands. I stocked up on short stories about zombies and curious kid detectives, but Stevie always goes for the classics when she visits me.
I have no idea if she’s reading the book or admiring the dust jacket.
“Your dad said no to a phone because he thinks you’re too young,” I remind her. “Give it a few months and then ask him again.”
She turns to face me. “If you asked him for me, he might say yes.”
“In what universe would Berk say yes to me and not you?” I lean back into the soft leather of the couch I’m sitting on.
“He said yes when you wanted to buy me a piano.”
This kid has an answer to everything, and in this instance, she’s right.
“I wanted to teach you how to play,” I point out. “Your dad was pissed that you snuck out and came here to practice, so I had to buy you a piano, Stevie.”
“You swore.” A smile brightens her face. “You owe a hundred to our charity.”
Our charity.
There isn’t an eight-year-old kid on this earth who should be as invested in raising money for an organization as Stevie is. The Layna Morgan Foundation is co-run by Layna’s parents and my brother. It offers financial help to women battling cancer.
I have no doubt that Stevie will be at the helm as soon as she’s legally old enough.
“I’m good for it.” I smile.
She bounces her foot in the air. “Do you think I’ll always remember her?”
My gaze wanders to a framed picture of Berk, Layna, and Stevie on the mantle. It was taken a year before Layna died. “You’ll always remember her.”
“Do you think daddy will fall in love again one day?”
The word no almost leaves my mouth, but miracles happen, so I shrug. “You never know.”
Berk refuses to talk about dating, so I stopped bringing it up. Stevie asked once, and her dad avoided the question. She took the hint that it was a topic he won’t discuss. I’m the one she looks to for answers about her dad’s future.
“I’m getting married when I’m thirty, so I can’t live with him forever. I don’t want him to be lonely when I move out.”
“Who the heck are you marrying?” I question with a perk of both brows.
She tugs on one of the sleeves of the pink sweatshirt she’s wearing. “A doctor. I haven’t met him yet, but I will. We’ll work together. I’ll take care of the pet patients, and he’ll take care of the people patients.”
This kid’s life plan is next level.
“Your dad will get you a phone by then so you can check in on him.” I grin. “There’s hope on the horizon, Stevie. You’ll get that phone eventually.”
She rolls her big blue eyes. “I can’t wait that long.”
My gaze drops to my phone when it buzzes. I read a quick text from my brother asking how Stevie is. I punch out a reply telling him that her fever is gone.
“Will you ever get married?”
I drop the phone on my lap. “Me?”
“You’re the only one here.” Stevie tucks a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. “Why don’t you get married, Keats?”
“Why don’t you read that book?” I try to change the subject.
I’m rewarded with another exaggerated eye roll from my niece. “You’re going to be thirty soon. Isn’t part of your plan to be married by then?”
At one point in the not-too-distant past, I thought it was part of my plan, but life has a way of knocking you off course. In my case, reality slapped me across the face and kicked my ass at the same time.
“I only plan short-term, and right now, I’m planning on a piano lesson before your dad comes home from work.”
Stevie bounces to her feet. “I’ll race you to the piano.”
Before I’m standing, she’s on her way down the hallway, headed toward the corner of the living room where the piano