“Uncle Tre!” Harper and Hazel bolt from their seats, taking hold of each of Trevor’s legs as he slips a black, snow-covered cowboy hat off his head.
“Who’s Uncle Tre?” he teases, lowering his neck gaiter and beaming down at them, then smiling at me as if I’m the only other person in the room. He makes a show of hauling the twins across the floor while they giggle and squeal, trying to hang on as his boots shuffle across the hardwood. His dark brown sherpa-lined coat is unzipped, exposing a gray US Coast Guard hoodie underneath.Where has this damn cowboy been hiding? Shit. Now I’m having dirty thoughts of him, me, and that hat at the breakfast table.
Bringing the twins right up to my chair, he places a hand on the back of it. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. We’re about to head south, and I?—”
“Yes, T.She’s fine.” Maya rolls her eyes. “You think we’re gonna vaporize her?”
“More like talk her to death,” he says.
“Is he always like this?” Lainey asks me.
I nod, squinting playfully at him. “Usually, it’s worse.”
“Hey! I came home this year and everything. Be nice to me,” he says to his sisters. He squeezes my shoulder, leaving his hand there for a few lingering seconds.
“We won’t lose her, Trevor. Might even feed her while you’re gone,” Adele teases.
His head shakes in exasperation, but the smile remains on his face. “Okay, I’m going. I’ll have my phone, so if any?—”
“We got it!”
“Boy, get out of my kitchen!”
“Chill, bro.”
All three voices ring out at the same time, and I don’t even try to hide the giggle bubbling from my throat.
“Look, I know how to take care of her better than anyonehere. I will personally make sure she only rides one horse,” Maya says.
“Ooh, that sounds fun!” I say with a teasing smile. “Baby’s first horseback ride.”
He sucks his teeth, shaking his head at the collective laughter from his mom and sisters. “Yeah. You’ll fit right in here, Gem.” Trevor presses a kiss on the top of my head and stoops to peel the nieces off his ankles. He grabs a pancake from the table, smiles at the protest from his mom, and leaves the way he came.
“Aw, he calls youGem? That’s so sweet!” Lainey makes a puppy dog face, complete with a puffed out lower lip. “It’s nice to see him so happy.”
“He’s not usually like this?”
Maya snorts. “We wouldn’t know. He’s never brought anyone home before. Looks like you’re doing a great job keeping him on his toes though.”
Luckily, the room is so busy no one seems to notice how speechless I am.Never? Trevor’sneverbrought anyone home before now? I’m the first one? How is that even possible?
Lainey scarfs down her breakfast and is out the door before I’ve added blueberry syrup to my pancakes. Adele finishes up at the stove and joins us at the table, sitting directly across from me, right in between Hazel and Harper. “Alright girls, it’s just us today. We got a fresh blanket of snow last night, so I’m thinking it’s a snowman day.”
Harper dances in her seat, hyped up by Hazel’s cheering, accented by little Holland giving her best attempt at sayingsnowman. Maya nudges me with her elbow. “Perfect. She can tire them out while we stay warm and cozy in here. Do you like cross-stitch?”
“I’ve never done it before.” I shrug. “Photography’s my go-to hobby, but I’ll try it.”
Her eyes flash with amusement. “I’m not the best, but it keeps my fingers nimble for surgery. We can both ride the struggle bus today.”
We finish up in the kitchen, and Adele takes the girls outside, leaving me and Maya tocraft the day away, as she put it. I wait in the family room, admiring the thick, white beams checkered across the ceiling as the matching carved column fireplace crackles on the far wall. From here, we can watch the girls and Adele playing in the snow through the picture window. My feet sink into the plush beige carpet as I settle on one couch with a sigh.It’s so peaceful here. My phone buzzes.
Trevor
Ready for a nap yet?
Me
It’s only been an hour.
