Page 21 of Wanting a Family Man

“Can I ask a weird question?” Cloe asked as she slid the blade down the skin.

They both paused to look at her.

“Why does Logan have nights with Storm?”

“They all do.” Sophie pointed at a chart on the side of the fridge. “Logan’s mom, Glenda, put those knuckleheads on a caregiver rotation. Three days on, three days off, then three nights on.”

“Really?”

“You better believe it. That’s why we revere her. She doesnotput up with their shit.”

“All hail Glenda,” Emma agreed, then confided, “We actually bicker over who gets her.”

“Storm or Glenda?” Sophie interjected.

“Ha ha. Both, right? I meant Storm. We let the schedule decide if there’s a conflict. Then Trystan shows up and says, ‘It’s my only day off,’ and we all cave.”

“Because he’s thebaby,” Sophie said. “He thinks he wasn’t spoiled for being the youngest, but he totally was.”

“I know, right? Logan and Reid take Storm into work, but Trys takes her for a hike and no one gives him grief for it. They’re like, ‘That’s just Trystan. He does whatever he wants.’ But I usually get to go with him so I don’t say anything, either.” Emma grinned.

“You go into the woods with him?” Cloe asked with fangirl envy.

She was coveting this relationship between the two of them, cracking jokes that revealed how familiar they were with each other and Storm’s brothers. Cloe was also in awe that they were sonotgirlie. As Ivan’s girlfriend, Cloe had been surrounded by absolute trophies. That’s why she had been at the gym every day and had dyed her hair and kept herself manicured and made up. Ivan had been pressuring her to get a boob job and lip filler.

“We only do day hikes,” Emma said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”

“You’ve seen Trys’s show?” Sophie asked.

“Oh, yeah.”Oops.Did that come out too heavily inflected?

Sophie slid a look to Emma.

Cloe pretended she didn’t notice. “Tiffany sent me a link when she moved in with Wilf, so I knew he had three grown sons, that one lived in Florida and…where does Reid live?”

“Alberta. Calgary,” Emma provided.

“I looked at all their socials a few times after the crash, hoping for photos of Storm, but they stopped posting, not that Reid ever really posted much in the first place.”

“Speaking of the Three Stooges, are they still in the crawl space?” Sophie asked. “Do you think they need resuscitating? Wejusthad a refresher on entering confined spaces.”

“I heard hammering,” Biyen provided helpfully from the living room.

“Yeah? Do you want to go see if they’re all right?” Sophie prompted.

“They’re grown-ups. I’m pretty sure they’re fine.” He was propped on an elbow, reading a cloth book to Storm while she tried to pull it out from under her own foot. “A cow says ‘Moo.’ Can you say that? ‘Moo.’”

“I guess I’ll go check myself, then,” Sophie said, rolling her eyes.

“They’re grown-ups, Sophie,” Emma mocked. “I’m pretty sure they’re fine.”

“That’s what they want you to think.Weknow that Biyen is ten times more mature than the three of them put together.”

*

Trystan was standingwith his elbow propped on the hot water tank, stewing in temper, when Sophie came into the utility room.

“Are we allowed to start the barbecue without any testosterone present? What are you guys doing anyway?” She peered into the open hole where a single bare bulb glowed in a distant corner.

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