Page 17 of Whatever Will Be

He breathes out and hangs his head. “You’re right.”

“I guess our first act of irresponsible guardianship is saddling Trent Cassini with babysitting duties.”

“That old accusation against him was a crock of shit.”

Liam Cassini swore that he found Trent trying to smother their bedridden father with a couch pillow.

A painful pulse begins to grind against my right temple. I press my tongue to the roof of my mouth for few seconds and feel the threat of the migraine recede slightly.

“I know. But he’s probably also not equipped to entertain children indefinitely.”

The allegation against Trent was never believable, even to someone who disliked him. For starters, Trent’s relationship with his father always appeared to be comfortable. After the elder Mr. Cassini began to succumb to his physical and mental ailments, Trent could be seen pushing his father’s wheelchair slowly down to the lakefront boardwalk. Despite all the gossip about him, Trent could show humanity when he chose to.

In the end, there were no formal charges filed but Trent got sent away to some reform school on the other side of the country and no one heard from him for two years. He was never seen again in Lake Stuart. Danny has always said that when Trent finally did get out, he wasn’t the same guy. There’s no telling what he’s really like now. Trent doesn’t visit and I was caught off guard by his sudden presence. His good looks have sharpened into a broad-shouldered, smoldering sexiness. He is exactly the kind of man I would drool over.

That is, if I’d ever known him as something other than my brother’s oversexed, insufferable best friend.

Frankly, it doesn’t mean much to me that he’s here but I’m sure Danny feels differently.

The soda spill on the area rug taunts me. I can’t stand looking at it for another second.

After retrieving a stack of napkins from the dining room, I drop them on the floor and press with the tip of my shoe to blot the liquid. “Did you know Trent was coming today?”

“No, but I also didn’t know he’d moved back into his old house.”

I nearly lose my balance. “What are you talking about?”

Danny glances down the hall to the den. The girls are singing again. “Kind of threw me for a loop too. Yeah, he’s back here in Lake Stuart. He lives down the street again.”

“He must have pulled some strings to keep that news quiet in a town like this.”

Danny shrugs.

My efforts with the napkins are not worth much and I give up.

Danny decides it’s time to rescue Trent from the world of ice princesses and sing alongs in the den.

“Everyone’s gone,” Caitlin observes as she looks at the empty living room.

“Not everyone.” I crouch down to her level and speak gently. “I’m here. Uncle Danny’s here.”

Mara slides close and puts her arms around my neck. “I’m tired, Aunt Gretch.”

I kiss her cheek. “You were both up early this morning.” I reach for Caitlin but she holds back. She’s by far the more independent twin. And the more willful.

Caitlin raises her chin. “I don’t want to leave my house.”

“We’re not going anywhere, sweetie.”

“I heard this lady say we would have to leave.”

“What lady?”

“She had very long orange nails.”

“Then she suffers from bad taste along with ignorance.”

“What’s ignorance?” Mara asks.

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