Page 319 of Forged in the Fire
“I get Mommy.” He kicked his feet in a bid to get down.
“Oh, fine, I see how it is. Ditch Auntie Lena the second your mommy is in the room,” she teased, setting him onto his little feet then poking at his belly.
He squealed with laughter, giggling and running in place on his little sneakers. “IwovemyWena. Inoditch.”
Warmth swelled from her being, and she peeked over at me before she smiled down at him. “We all get to love each other so much, don’t we? No favorites.”
My chest squeezed in that unending affection Meems shared with everyone. The way she’d taught her grandchildren to be.
And they’d accepted me right into that fold as if I’d been there all along.
I never dared to imagine having this kind of love in my life again, terrified of it for fear of a broken heart.
But I realized the walls I’d built might have shielded me from the threat of pain and tragedy, but they were also shielding me from thegood.
And I wanted that good.
I wanted it all.
Kai came scampering around the counter, pure grin on his face, eyes the color of Silas’s shining with joy and mirth.
I scooped him up and kissed the crown of his head. “Did you have a good morning with Meems and Auntie Lena?”
“Ipway mowercycle!” He zoomed his hand through the air. “I go Daddy’smowercycle?” He pointed in the direction of the shop.
“After lunch I’ll take you for a ride,” Silas promised.
Kai turned back to me. “I eat right now!”
Light laughter rippled, and Elena stepped forward and set the big, insulated lunch box onto the counter. “Someone is eager, and it’s a good thing because I made spaghetti and meatballs. Silas and Kai’s favorite.”
She peeked over at her brother when she said it.
He arched a brow. “That seems like a lot of effort for lunch.”
She shrugged an innocent shoulder. “Nothing is too much effort if it makes my big brother happy.”
Speculation filled his expression, and I bit down on my bottom lip.
I knew this was coming.
Elena and I had stayed up all night three nights ago talking about it.
Weighing the pros and cons.
Her dreams against her fears.
Her need against what her brother wanted.
“Really?” He wasn’t buying it.
She paused then sighed, then she pulled the folded piece of paper from her back pocket.
She’d printed out the listing.
Had stared at it in secret for days.
Had contemplated and strategized and visualized herself within its walls.
