Page 82 of Housebroke

“I see.” Maybe that was her issue. Not that she didn’t love children. She did. But maybe she had harbored a little jealousy toward Nat and her perfect life and her beautiful children, so it had held her back from forming a bond with Cammie and Christopher. If so, shame on her. Children shouldn’t have to suffer a lack of affection just because the adult had some screwed-up personal issues. She was going to fix that immediately.

She’d put her swimsuit on as soon as they arrived home because the kids had been so excited about swimming in Auntie Hazel’s pool. So she slid off the side and into the pool, the coolness of the water refreshing her heated body. She swam over to Christopher.

“What’s up, buddy?”

“I’m swimming, Auntie Hazel. See my feets?”

“I do. You’re so good. Want me to take you around the pool?”

His smile brightened. “Yeah.”

She leaned back and grabbed hold of his floatie, sailing him around toward the deep end.

“Paddle with your arms, too, baby.”

He slapped his little chubby arms into the water—okay, mostly into her face. But he was so cute and excited she didn’t care.

She glanced across the pool area to see Linc tossing a ball back and forth with Cammie, the two of them engaged in animated conversation. She swore that Linc—and Cammie, for that matter—could have a conversation with a wall and talk for hours.

After another thirty minutes of splashing around, Hazel made the kids get out. They wrapped up in towels and sat at the table having a drink. Then she took them upstairs to change into dry clothes while Linc started the grill. He made hot dogs and burgers, and Hazel fixed a fruit salad and corn on the cob.

They feasted, and the kids ate really well. She remembered from her own childhood how swimming in the pool always worked up an appetite.

After they ate, they took all the dogs for a walk, though Christopher got tired out halfway through and Linc had to carry him the rest of the way home. It was a good thing Linc was a strong guy, because Christopher was a tiny chunk.

When they got home, Linc took Christopher upstairs and laid him in her bed. Cammie went up there, too, and lay down to watch a kids’ show on Hazel’s iPad, exclaiming that she was going to watch three of her favorite shows. Hazel was certain Cammie would be asleep in five minutes based on her yawns and drooping eyelids.

She went downstairs, found Linc outside in the dark sitting in the chair with a beer in his hand. She noticed he’d put another cold beer on the table.

“Is that one for me or did the kids terrorize you into two fisting those beers?”

His smile was warm and gentle as he motioned to the chairnext to his. “The kids didn’t terrorize me. They were awesome. The beer’s for you.”

She grabbed the beer and opened the top, took a long swallow of the cold brew, and sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Needed that.”

“How’s your sister?”

“She’s okay. She had a spa day and that helped. I told her we’d keep the kids here overnight, so she got a room at a hotel for the night to clear her head—and get some distance from Sean. He’s totally freaking out that she and the kids aren’t there.”

“Good. Maybe that’s what he needs. Though to be honest, I don’t have any idea what’s going on between them, so I probably shouldn’t comment at all.”

“That’s okay. And you’re right. It’s exactly what he needs. He’s always treated Nat more like a babysitter slash cook slash personal errand person than a wife and equal partner in their relationship.”

Linc frowned. “Not okay. Marriage is between two people—a partnership.” His lips curved. “My dad never made a decision without talking to Mom about it. They were a team, ya know?”

Hazel felt his sadness in that moment. “You miss him.”

“All the time. I wanted him to be around longer. I wasn’t always... When I was younger...” He shook his head. “It’s not important.”

She scooted her chair closer and wrapped her arm around his. “They’re your feelings. They are important. Tell me.”

He dragged his fingers through his hair, letting out a sigh as he did. “I was a shithead teenager, always testing my boundaries,talking back to my parents. I wanted to do what I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it. I wasn’t much for rules, and my dad and I butted heads all the time. I refused to back down, and it drove my mom crazy. My dad was always calm, trying to get me to see reason. The things I said to him—I wish I hadn’t.”

“You were a kid. I’m sure he understood that.”

“He did. I apologized to him over and over again when I became an adult and smartened up, but I still put him—and my mom—through hell. Even got arrested once.”

Her brows shot up. “You got arrested?”

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