Page 33 of Say Uncle

“I can’t stand fishing,” Mattie said.

“That’s because you don’t know the fish song. It helps, trust me.”

Cass caught my eyes, and we snickered. I tugged on his arm to slow him, pulling him in for a kiss. It was quick, but it was enough to remind us both of the days we used to come to this island together, before the boys.

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Mattie asked. “That singing will make the fish bite?”

“Hey, I bought into it when I was little. Cass taught it to me.”

“Of course he did,” Mattie laughed.

I squeezed Cass’s hand and he squeezed back. We were both still getting used to the boys arguing with each other, like real brothers. But when Nicky looked sad, or upset, like he did now, I was tempted to put a stop to it. I smacked Mattie upside the head.

“Would it kill you to learn the fucking song?”

Mattie huffed. “Fine. How does it go?”

“Forget it, you’re just gonna laugh at me,” Nicky pouted.

“Of course I am. It’s ridiculous.” He caught my warning glare. “What? Am I supposed to stand here and lie and pretend that I’m not gonna laugh at him?”

I raised my hand to hit him again, and he ducked. “Look,” he sighed, “if you teach it to me, I can sing it, and then you can laugh at me too. Deal?”

Nicky thought it over for a moment and then smiled brightly. The kid was likeTeflon, nothing stuck to him for long. “Deal,” he said, and started to hum the song.

We walked around to all the street vendors and performers, with Mattie snapping pictures of each one. He also took plenty of selfies of him and Nicky. When Nicky and Cass were distracted watching the fire eater, I pulled Mattie aside.

“I’m proud of you.”

“Why is that?” he asked.

“The way you turned your attitude around and handled Nicky today. First with the island and then with the song.”

“You realize it’s a stupid fucking song, right?”

“Of course it is, that’s not what matters,” I laughed. “What matters is that it’s sentimental to him, and your rejection stung. Don’t you realize how much he thinks of you? Maybe even looks up to you?”

“Me?” he asked, sounding surprised. “Why would he look up to me?”

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him? He’s pretty candid. But he’s also pretty sensitive, and I need you to remember that.”

“Look, you might call him my cousin or my brother or whatever makes your dick hard, but to me, he’s just mine. I may call him a nerd, but I wouldn’t let anyone else get away with it. He annoys the fuck out of me, but I’d rather be annoyed than not have him at all.”

My heart squeezed, but I’d die before I admitted it to him. “Nowyou’re making my dick hard.” I ran my fingers through his windblown hair. “I didn’t know bratty boys could be good boys. Good boys deserve rewards.”

Mattie scoffed. “Let me guess, I get to suck your dick?”

I couldn’t hold my laugh inside, even though I didn’t want to show it to him. My fingers trailed from his hair down his cheek, and I grasped his jaw, rubbing my thumb over his bottom lip. “Such a smart, clever boy, too. I never said that was on the table, but I’m thinking that smart mouth needs training and adjustment just as much as your attitude does.”

His eyes grow round like saucers. “How would you train my mouth?”

“How do you think?” I challenged. I turned away, re-joining Cass and Nicky. Let him think on that for a minute. When he joined us, I could feel his side glances centered on me. I definitely had Mattie’s attention now.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

With our guests back on board, we made our way back up the East Coast with a planned stop in Ft. Lauderdale overnight. We arrived the following afternoon, docking at the marina, and our guests debarked.

“Does anyone want to go ashore?” Cass asked.

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