Page 12 of Mended Hearts

And while nothing could replace an actual mother raising them, at least Alice, Leighton, and my cousin Emmaline showed them what it was to be nurtured.

I probably didn’t thank any of them enough for that.

For being that for them.

For us.

“No way.Halloween is my favorite too,” Leighton proclaimed as Beau did a little dance in hisMickey Mousepajamas.

My little man was the spitting image of my late brother—ironically, his namesake—with his dark, tousled curls over light blue eyes.

His chubby little hands were just at that stage where I knew he’d stop looking like my baby soon.

Before long, he’d trade that tubby toddler tummy for a lanky, never-still Hart frame, and stop needing interpretation on every third sentence.

I wasn’t fucking ready.

“Mine as well,” I said from the entryway, not entirely sure why I was interjecting myself into her moment.

“Really?!” she squeaked, danger flashing in her eyes.

Oh boy.

“Always liked the masks.”

Before I could explain, she waggled her eyebrows, and I glared skyward.

This woman would be the death of me.

Clearing my throat, I continued, “All the anonymity—nobody’s better than anybody else. Just a bunch of kids running around like hellions getting free candy from strangers.”

“Wholesome,” she teased, following the kids toward the sectional.

“But it is,” I laughed.

At least compared to what Beaumont and I used to get into. Greyson was too busy pleasing—or pissing off—our father to keep his focus away from us. Not that he thought I knew.

But we knew.

Or at least, suspected.

Not sure when he stopped prioritizing protecting family in favor of throwing us all on the chopping block.

“Look, look, look!” Beau squeaked animatedly as he clambered onto his sister’s lap, pointing at the screen.

Mattie was holding the iPad in her cast arm—covered in band stickers and signatures from the ‘non-douchey’ kids at school—and while she’d made the most of it, I couldn’t wait to get the damn thing off my baby girl.

He was already too big to sit with her, but she didn’t shove him off this time.

Small mercies.

She’d been uncharacteristically affectionate the last few weeks, and while that was sweet, it also had me concerned about what she wasn’t saying.

Curious, I wandered into our expansive living room and around the back of the leather couch they were piled on.

“I’m looking, I’m looking!Ooooooh, very nice. Your Aunt Alice would approve, little man,” Leighton said.

I bent over the couch to see theCaptain Americacostume he was excitedly showing her. He tapped on the image to swipe through the carousel.

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