Page 145 of Mr. Broody

“He’ll be fine, and if not, I’m going to tell everyone he’s yours, and I’m the manny.”

She shakes her head with a laugh.

“Kissing again?” Bodhi asks, skidding to a stop in the doorway.

I shake my head and abandon Jade to pick up Bodhi, putting him over my shoulder. “You like us kissing. You spied on us kissing, remember?” His belly laugh keeps me going.

“Let him go.” Jade comes up and holds out her arms. I let her take Bodhi, and he wraps his arms and legs around her as she turns her back to me. “I’ll protect you.”

I reach around them and tickle Bodhi. We all laugh, then a knock sounds on our door.

“Saved by one of your uncles,” I say to Bodhi.

Jade releases him, and he slides to his feet, dodging me to go to the door.

I decided to tell Bodhi to call Rowan, Conor, and Tweetie uncles and give them the respect they deserve as important men in his life. After Reed talked to me, I realized how important it is to surround yourself with all kinds of different role models. Even Tweetie has qualities I’d love for Bodhi to replicate.

Bodhi opens the door with me right behind him.

“Ready?” Conor asks.

Finally, the Chicago weather has turned warm. All the guys stand on the other side of the door, along with Kyleigh. Jade grabs her purse, and I follow her out the door.

We arrive at Reed and Victoria’s twenty minutes later, and I’m thankful they were all able to keep their mouths shut. I was worried Tweetie wouldn’t be able to resist using some coded language that would make Jade dig into what he was talking about.

As soon as we get there, Bodhi runs off to the basement with Owen and Waylon. The rest of the gang settles around the island, eating some of the appetizers Victoria’s placed there. I’d asked Eloise to be here, but she said something came up. I think that might disappoint Jade, but I’m still continuing on with my plan.

Victoria comes over to us. “Can I talk to you both for a minute?”

She sounds serious, and I wonder what this could be about. Jade and I exchange a look before we nod.

“Sure,” I say.

“We’ll be back, Reed,” she says.

Jade and I each give each other a questioning look. Victoria walks to the front door and keeps it open for us to follow.

“Mom, the party is…”

“I know. Just humor me.” She walks down the stairs, and I take Jade’s hand, following.

Victoria turns left on the sidewalk and heads up the walkway to Jade’s grandma’s house, where she inserts a key into the lock.

“What are we doing here?” Jade asks.

“You okay?” I place my hand on her back, leaning in to make sure seeing all her grandma’s things isn’t going to upset her.

She nods.

There isn’t any furniture in the house though. Still, it’s like a time warp. I think of all the times her grandma watched us while Reed and Victoria went out. The sleepovers on the family room floor, the late snacks at the dining room table. Jade steps a little closer to me, and I wrap her in my arms because I’m sure she’s remembering our time here as well.

“Your grandma left me this house when she passed. It took me about a year until I was ready to go through everything, then I got to thinking about whether I wanted to sell the property. And I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t sell it to some developer who would gut it—or worse, demolish it to build a multi-unit property. I know it’s old, and you guys would probably want to do the same, but at least you’d cry doing it.” She laughs, although it sounds empty.

Victoria steps forward, holding out the key.

“Mom,” Jade says.

“It’s yours. We’d love to have you next to us, but we also know the family you’ve made at the…” She rolls her eyes. “The Nest is important to you.”

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