Page 113 of Jesse's Girl

“Wow, all the colors?”

“Draw him rainbow,” Hazel instructs.

“Oh, nice. He’s gonna be the most beautiful and scariest dragon with all these colors.”

Hazel settles in on the slant of Ada’s lap and Sam drifts toward her, working on his drawing close by her side.

Claire stands and motions for me to step aside so we can talk. I push off the edge of the table, still smiling at how quickly Ada worked her charm with the kids.

Behind me, I hear Sam ask, “Why do you have blue hair?”

Ada responds simply, “Because I like having blue hair.”

In the kitchen, Claire puts on a pot of coffee and pulls down three mugs from the cupboard. While it brews, she gets out some snacks for the kids, and I busy myself by peering at the photo collage on her refrigerator.

“So, just the two of you?” she asks, slicing an apple. “What happened to Marcus?”

I wrinkle my nose. “He and his girlfriend got food poisoning. Ada had some stuff to pick up in the city so she tagged along. It was kind of a last-minute thing.”

Claire lifts her chin in a slow nod, something I can’t quite decipher flitting across her expression.

“What?”

She gives me a knowing look and turns to pour the coffee. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Your face did.”

She hands me my mug, wisely choosing not to pry. “So, have you talked to Dad?”

The question lands with a thud. Though I cut that asshole out of my life a long time ago, Claire hasn’t. She’s never understood my hard boundary about him.

“Uh, no,” I say. “And I’m not planning to.”

“Really? You’ve come all this way.”

“So? Doesn’t change what he did to Mom.”

“But he’s our father,” Claire says. “He’s family.”

“All the more reason he shouldn’t have fucked her over in the divorce.”

For my sister, family is everything—an unbreakable bond, for better or for worse. But for me? Well, let’s just say, whatever mixed feelings I may have about my time in Australia, cutting ties with toxic people has never been something I regretted.

“Okay,” she relents. “Sorry I brought it up. I just thought… nevermind. Forget I said anything.”

“Happily,” I say, taking a sip of coffee.

Claire seems to study me for a moment before changing the subject. “So, do you two need a place to crash tonight? Or are you heading back?”

“Nah, we’re just here for the day.”

“You sure? You could stay here. We’ve got an air mattress I could set up. Though, fair warning: the kids get up at six and they aren’t exactly quiet about it.”

“Six, huh?” I chuckle and rub my chin. “Well, wouldn’t bother me, but Ada isn’t a morning person.”

“Yeah. I wish I could say you get used to it, but I’d be lying.” She takes a sip of her coffee. “Let that be your reminder to use birth control.”

“Claire!”

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