Page 84 of The Re-Proposal

Joel gulps when he sees my brother. I’m not surprised by his reaction. Clay’s a giant and, with that scary face that never smiles, he makes an intimidating first impression.

“You must be Joel.” Clay musters a small, welcoming nod. “Nice to meet you, son.”

“Y-yes, sir.” Joel wipes his hands on his pants before shaking Clay’s hand.

I seethe in the corner. Where’s the smack-talking kid who’s always running his mouth?

“Abe! Your cousin’s here!” Island gives Clay a smack on the butt when she passes him and heads up the stairs.

My brother’s expression melts into a love-sick smirk but, when he walks over to me, his eyes turn dark.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” I nod when he thumps me on the back.

“Any more weird letters in the mail?” Clay asks.

“No. It was just the one.”

“I’ve been thinking. Do you want a detail on Joel?” Clay glances over his shoulder at where Regan is talking Joel’s ear off.

“Do you think he needs one?”

“At the very least, we can put a tracker on his phone.” He surveys me. “Give him a tail.”

“Do you have a tracker on Regan and Abe’s phones?” I ask.

Clay just gives me a blank stare.

“Talk about helicopter parenting.” I laugh. “Abe better not find out, bro.”

“He won’t.” Clay gives me a pointed look.

Just then, Abe and Island descend the stairs. My nephew is wearing his favorite black hoodie and a pair of jeans. He takes one look at Joel in the wheelchair and tips his chin up as if he’s a cool kid in the cafeteria recognizing another cool kid across the room.

“Hey.”

“‘Sup,” Joel answers, tilting his chin in the same way.

“It’s time to eat!” Island motions us to the kitchen table. It’s buckling from all the food.

Joel licks his lips. “This looks amazing.”

“Island, when did you have time to cook all this? I thought we were just doing pizza?”

“Who said she cooked this?” Clay mumbles.

Island elbows him in the side. “What matters is that we have good food and family to share it with. Right, Joel?”

The kid blushes hard.

I better tell Clay to watch out before Joel starts setting his sights on Island next.

The food is amazing and the conversation flows. I notice Island intentionally baiting Joel to talk about himself. I’m surprised by how much he shares. I guess that’s the power of a pretty woman with a teenaged boy.

I learn a lot about my foster son.

Apparently, I’m sharing a roof with a kid who likes anime (no surprise there) but who also listens to Latin music and regularly produces audio tracks from his iPad.

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