Page 67 of Shattering

Tomos frowned, his little face screwing up in thought. "Did I do something wrong? To make thingscompwic-wated?" he asked, his voice lisping slightly on the long word.

Cadi had to stop a minute before answering that. Her heart hurt to hear her child even consider that. She reached out, running a gentle hand over his head. "No, sweetheart. It wasn't anything you did."

Tomos squinted at her. "Was he angry with me?"

"No, puppy."

Tomos pursed his lips, considering. "Was it because I ate all his special cookies?"

Cadi laughed. "No, that wasn't it. Though, you can ask him next time. You know how important his cookies are to Da."

Tomos gave a slow, sleepy nod. "Yeah... okay."

He seemed satisfied for a moment, then his little face turned serious again. "But Mrs. Hughes says you should always shake hands and make up if you have a fight. Talk it out."

Cadi tilted her head. "She's right."

Tomos nodded sagely. "You know, when James's elbow hit me on the nose last game and my nosebled and bled, I was so angry."

"I bet," Cadi murmured.

"But then he said sorry, and I shook his hand. Mrs. Hughes said that's what big boys do."

"She's right," Cadi agreed gently. "But sometimes grown-ups forget."

As she spoke, she heard the faintest creak of the stairs—so soft that she almost missed it.

But she knew.

Gray was coming down.

For such a large man, he was surprisingly light-footed, his movements instinctively quiet.

For a moment, Cadi wondered if that was a hangover from his childhood, when he had to be quiet , not boisterous like a normal kid.

But he didn't enter the kitchen.

He lingered just out of sight, staying hidden, listening.

Cadi could feel him there, could almost picture the way he stood, arms crossed or maybe hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable. She didn't turn to look, didn't call him out.

Instead, she focused on Tomos.

The little boy was still deep in thought, lips pursed. "Is it because Nana went to heaven?" he asked suddenly. "Because James said his mummy was sad when his gran went to heaven."

Cadi inhaled softly. She hadn't expected that.

"Yes," she admitted after a moment. "He's sad. He's sad about a lot of things. And sometimes, when people are sad, they behave badly."

Tomos nodded thoughtfully, kicking his little legs under the chair. Then he puffed up his chest slightly. "Well, I'm gonna give him atelling off."

Cadi chuckled. "Or..." she nudged his arm playfully, "you could tell him how you feel."

Tomos mulled it over, then sighed dramatically. "Yeah... butalsoa telling off. He missed my last game."

Then, his expression shifted. His lips pressed into a pout, brows knitting together as something else surfaced in his sleepy little mind.

Cadi tilted her head. "What's wrong, love?"

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