and grabbed the sprayer. “Sorry, baby, but you stink.”
Katie went after a garbage bag, and everything that had gotten soaked or soiled went straight inside.
“I might feel bad about ruining their stuff,” Brian said later, “If they weren’t so damn rich.”
Katie laughed and elbowed his side. “You can’t swear in front of kids.”
“They like it,” Brian argued, and it seemed he might be right.
Brian had used the better part of a brand-new bottle of baby wash to get Avery clean. He also managed to soak his shirt, and it went into the trash bag along with the other things. Katie couldn’t help but admire the firm chest and sculpted abs.
The girls looked like they were getting tired, and they had just started to watch something on Disney Jr. snuggled up together. It wasn’t long before Katie fell asleep with Evie on her chest, and Brian’s arm wrapped around her, keeping them both safe. He had Avery cradled in the other arm, and he felt like he could hardly breathe.
Never before had he allowed himself to imagine this kind of future. He was always certain that he was meant to be alone, and he was okay with that. Some people weren’t meant to have a family; some were born when they shouldn’t have been.
His father’s words pricked at him.
“What are you thinking?” Katie’s sleepy whisper startled him.
Brian shook his head, “Nothing really, I guess. I was thinking about my father.”
Katie nodded, “You and Mark have the same dad, right?”
Brian let out a short laugh. “Biologically yes, but in every other sense, no. He made it clear that I was no son of his. In fact, he tried to pay me off several times just so that he could prove he wasn’t unfaithful to his wife. And this was after they did paternity tests that were 98% sure I was his child. The man was, I suppose still is, delusional.”
Katie swallowed hard, “I am sorry, Brian, I can’t imagine living like that.”
He had a lump in his throat the size of Nebraska.
“Tell me about your mom,” Katie encouraged.
Brian closed his eyes and thought about his mom. “She worked so hard. She wanted the best things for me and would have done anything to ensure that I was safe. She had two jobs, and there were times when I would get upset with her because I wanted her home with me.”
Katie felt her heart squeeze painfully.
“Brian, that is normal. All kids want that.”
He nodded woodenly, “I know, I just… now that she’s gone. I wish that I could go back and tell her how much I appreciated everything she did for me. That I know every time she put on that apron or hair net that it was really for me. I didn’t get it back then, but I certainly do now.”
Katie reached out and took his larger hand into her own.
“She knew,” Katie said, laying her head against Brian’s large shoulder.
“I don’t know that she did,” Brian argued.
Katie shook her head, “You may not say it, but you can’t help but go out of the way for those you love. You did my gardening in the middle of the night. You dropped everything to move to Otterville Falls to help your brother. You relocated your business just to be closer to them. And now you are babysitting your nieces so that Sutton can be at the hospital with Alice. You can’t tell me that your mom didn’t know how much you loved her, appreciated her. Brian, you were still you.”
They sat there in silence for a long moment as Brian drank in her words, considering the truthfulness and then hoping that just maybe this girl might be right.
The sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted their conversation, and Brian got to his feet.
“Hey, any news? Oh, yeah, no man, I understand. I am sorry. Yeah, we will be here. Okay, night.”
He turned to Katie with a shake of his head. “Reena has taken a turn for the worse. They have put her on a ventilator.”
33
Natalie and Julio arrived back in town in time to attend Reena’s funeral. The entire town turned out at the old church. The old pews were filled to bursting, and folding chairs had been added to the cultural hall for the overflow.
Sutton and the new pastor both spoke, and then Alice got up to say a few words.
“Reena Pots was my best friend,” her voice wobbled, and she clutched the well-used handkerchief. “We did almost everything together, some