Page 22 of Can't Help Falling

“Traitor,” he said, pointing a finger at Via and making Kylie laugh again. But still, there were no cracks in her guard, even when she was laughing.

“Don’t you have a turkey to baste, sister?” Fin asked Via.

The timer dinged just then and Via slanted Fin a knowing look. “Thanks. Take over for the relish, will you?”

Fin smoothly stepped in beside Kylie, not bothering to reintroduce herself. She guessed that Kylie was the sort of person who absorbed everyone’s names on the first go-round. Serafine made an educated guess that on her first night in NYC, Kylie had most likely spent a great deal of time looking at Google Maps, attempting to figure out the lay of the land.

“You know,” Fin said, eyeing the cranberries that Kylie was mincing, “I always liked cranberry relish from the can better than homemade.”

Both Kylie and Muriel spoke up at the same exact moment. “Me too.”

Fin laughed at the shocked expression on Via’s face. Via made absolutely everything from scratch. Even peanut butter.

“Muriel! I’m shocked!”

“What?” Muriel shrugged one shoulder, sniffing regally as she adjusted her perfectly clean apron. “Everyone just puts a small scoop on their turkey to offset the flavor. And you always end up throwing most of it away after turkey sandwiches the next day.”

“Mmm,” Matty said in a blissed-out voice. “Turkey sandwiches.” He grinned up at the ladies around him. “Nothing better than stuffing on a sandwich.”

“That is the gospel truth, nephew,” Fin said, reaching out for a high five.

“But cranberry relish from the can is so sweet!” Via insisted.

“You just have to mix in some horseradish,” Kylie said. “It cuts the sweetness and makes it really good.”

“That’s how our dad used to make it,” Tyler said quietly from the doorway, a tray of sliced vegetables in his hands.

Kylie froze and Fin caught the bright burst of emotion from her. It was a flash of lightning that the girl couldn’t control. There was a streak of camaraderie in there, but it wasn’t welcome. Almost like Kylie didn’t want to be feeling it for Tyler. All this in a flash before Kylie firmly fixed her guard back over herself and her light was dimmed unrecognizably.

“Your dad cooked Thanksgiving dinner?” Matty asked, oblivious to Tyler’s subdued sadness and Kylie’s discomfort. “Dad never cooks around here anymore. Not since Via moved in.”

Fin watched Tyler set the vegetables aside and stride over to swing Matty up so that his little butt was perched on Tyler’s shoulder like a prince on a throne. “And you’re a lucky duck for that, aren’t you?”

He deftly ignored Matty’s question about their father.

“Muriel, is Matty an indispensable part of the pumpkin pie operation or could he be spared for a little backyard football?”

“Go, go,” Muriel said, waving her hand. “Burn off some energy and get nice and hungry before dinner.”

The boys were out the door in a flash and it was only when Tyler was gone that Fin saw Kylie relax again.

As she helped her dump the cranberries into the simmering water, a thought occurred to Fin. She wanted to get to know Kylie better. There was something about the girl that waved a little colorful flag at Fin. It was a feeling that Fin generally acknowledged when it came around. The universe was telling her that there was something special about Kylie and that they were meant to know one another.

Right before dinner, Kylie disappeared to wash her hands and a few minutes later, Fin found her lingering in the front hallway, looking at the myriad photos of Matty’s life that Via and Sebastian kept there.

Matty sandwiched between his parents as a baby. Matty and Via’s backs as they sprinted, holding hands, into the water at Coney Island. Matty and Sebastian snoozing together on the couch.

Fin could guess what Kylie was thinking without any effort.

“Lucky kid, huh?” Fin asked quietly where she leaned against the far wall of the hallway.

Kylie twisted her head, a wry look on her face. “Yeah. I thought this kind of stuff only happened on TV.” She nodded her head toward a photo of Tyler teaching a four-year-old Matty to swing a fat T-ball bat.

Fin chuckled and nodded. “My guess is that this is the kind of childhood a kid has when the people who love him know how to love him. Know how to take care of him.”

Kylie cocked her head and turned back to Fin. “Your guess?”

Fin shrugged. “Not a ton of pictures on my wall growing up.”

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