I drove to the Food Lion in South Hill and grabbed a cart, taking my time and filling it with all the stuff we needed. I added a couple things for Grace, figuring the guys wouldn’t mind. I mean, technically they counted as necessities. What four-year-olddidn’tneed unicorn hair clips and a bright pink scrunchie? I also grabbed some beer on sale, and even with the coupons the total at the checkout pretty much cleared out the contents of my wallet, but that was nothing new.
When I got home, Wilder’s beat-up old car was there. I unpacked the groceries, then followed the sound of giggling to the living room where I found everyone squished up on the couch. They were watchingBlueyand the guys weren’t even pretending they weren’t invested, which, fair, because that shit was hilarious. Grace was sitting on Wilder’s lap, but she scrambled down when she saw me. “Uncle Danny!”
I crouched down and held my arms open. “Hey, sweet pea.”
She came and gave me a hug, and when she let go, I said, “Hey, wanna help me with something?”
She nodded, eyes wide.
I pulled out the hair clips and the scrunchie from the back pocket of my shorts. “These fell in my grocery bag. Can you think of anyone who might like these?”
“Me!” she said, giggling and making grabby hands. I handed them over and she ran back to Wilder. “Daddy, look!”
Wilder’s expression turned soft, and he oohed and aahed over the pink and purple clips with her, shooting me a grateful look. Then he slid the clips expertly into place and told her how pretty she looked. Gracie beamed at me, and I grinned back. She really was cute, and I was glad Wilder got to spend time with her.
After a dinner of hot dogs, a wave of tiredness hit me, so I had a shower and turned in for the night. But once I was in bed, I found myself thinking about Miller, my thoughts drawn toward him like a compass finding true north. I buried my face in the spare pillow on my bed and inhaled the scent of his shampoo, which brought back memories of a drunken Miller petting my stomach and calling me pretty, right before he fell asleep next to me.
I found myself replaying how he’d bent me over the couch and railed my ass, and how amazing it had felt being held down and bossed around like that. My libido decided that this was the perfect time to join the party, even though it was a party of one, and my dick stiffened in my sleep pants.
I tried ignoring it, but all I could think about was Miller’s breath hot on my neck as he whispered filth, and the ghost of his hands on my hips when he fucked me. In the end I wrapped a hand around my dick and jerked myself off to the memory. But even though I came fast and messy, it wasn’t the same without Miller there.
On Sunday morningI slept late. When I wandered into the dining room, Cash and Chase were sitting at the battered table. Cash was pushing his spoon through a bowl of Lucky Charms. His mouth was turned down at the corners and he was sitting hunched over, so I knew he was stressed about something.
Grace was sitting with them, chattering away. There were Lucky Charms and splashes of milk all over the table underneath her bowl. “Uncle Danny!”
“Hey, sweet pea. Is your dad still in bed?”
“He’s snoring,” she said. “I was hungry, so Uncle Chase got me Lucky Charms. After this, we’re going to fill up my pool.”
Her pool was one of those cheap-as-shit plastic sandpit things from Walmart. We’d had it about a year, and it was so brittle from sun exposure that it was probably going to crack any day now, but Grace still loved getting in it and splashing around. So did Chase, because scratch the surface of that snarky asshole and there was a four-year-old just underneath.
He’d punch me if I ever said that, of course.
“That sounds great,” I said, glancing at Cash, who still looked stressed as hell.
“Yeah,” Chase said. “Did your mom pack your bathing suit?”
Grace dropped her spoon with a clatter. “I’ll go see!”
She raced out of the room, and I took a seat. “What’s up, Cash?”
Chase shot me a grateful look. “He’s in his head. Tell him to stop guilt-tripping over you and Miller.”
I wasn’t awake enough for this. “What about me and Miller?”
Chase sat back and folded his arms. “He thinks he broke you up.”
Cash glared at his brother, then dropped his gaze and stared at his plate as he mumbled, “I freaked Miller out.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he thinks Miller’s avoiding you,” Chase said.
“Why would you think that? Miller’s fine.”
“Then where is he?” Cash ground out, prodding at his cereal like it had offended him.
“He’s out of town for the weekend.”
