Page 18 of Unmade

That made her smirk, and it was such a Beckett smirk. A little crooked and full of hell.

“You don’t have homework, Uncle Bo. You’re saying that so I don’t wanna come with you.”

She was way too fucking smart too.

I’m doing my best, big brother.

Alex had our messy, brownish, dirty blond-ish hair—and our eyes that couldn’t decide if they were blue or green. But the freckles came from her mother, and so did the button nose.

I released a breath and saw our exit up ahead.

This child… Fuck. She’d been dealt the worst goddamn hand in life. Her mom had died giving birth to her, and now her dad was gone too. It wasn’t fair. And to make matters worse, her uncle was useless with kids.

A few minutes later, I pulled up outside my sister’s picturesque house, and Alex jumped out of the truck right away. Perfectly maintained front yard with flower beds and a tire swing in the old tree. Red-painted door, a new porch built by me. Middle-class families up and down the street.

Thank fuck we had Kat. For now. The “For Sale” sign in the front yard haunted me.

I dreaded the day my brother-in-law came home from his last deployment—only because they were relocating to the West Coast. He’d landed a cushy civilian job with more money and comfortable hours. They deserved it and all that shit.

Alex knocked on the door as I jogged up the porch steps.

Kat opened the door soon enough, and she greeted Alex with a big smile while rocking a screaming toddler on her hip.

“Hey, sweetie! Let me guess, Uncle Bo already pumped you full of sugar.”

“Yeah, he’s the best!”

See? I was the best.

Kat snorted softly and ushered the girl inside. “Head on back to the others—there’s proper breakfast on the terrace. Can you maybe take this little monster with you?” She lowered my tantrum-throwing nephew to the floor, and Alex jumped into babysitter mode.

“I’ll pick you up around five, mouse,” I told her.

“Yeah, okay!” She was already gone, and my nephew’s cries faded.

I was horrible with names, but I was fairly sure that was Brian. In my defense, there were five of them, and the two youngest were only eleven months apart. It was much easier with EJ, because he’d been around for fourteen years.

“You can’t keep giving her donuts for breakfast.” Kat put her hands on her hips and stared up at me with her momma look.

I didn’t bite. I just, once again, cursed my brother for making me the godparent when it should’ve been Kat and Eric.

“Adopt her,” I offered. “You know she’ll be better off with you.”

She sighed heavily, and I instantly felt like a dick. It wasn’t as if we hadn’t discussed it already. Alex was dealing with enough crap, and she didn’t want to move. She loved her school, and she had friends here. Whatever.

“We need to sit down with Mom,” Kat murmured. “She has to come out of her grieving.”

Easier said than done. Ma was a wreck. It was why Alex and I were currently living in her house, so I could make sure she ate at least twice a day. When Alex and I came home at the end of the day, Ma retreated to her room so Alex wouldn’t see Grandma sad.

News flash, Alex saw it anyway, and it wasn’t a great environment for her.

“Do you want me to talk to her?” Kat offered.

I shook my head. “I’ll do it.” At some point. Kat had enough on her plate with five kids, a husband on deployment, and said husband’s aging parents.

I rubbed my jaw, thinking back on my own childhood. Vince, Kat, and I had grown up as Army brats, and my brother and I had loved it when Dad brought us along to work. He’d been one hell of a disciplinarian, so Vince and I had behaved when it really mattered.

“Do you think it’s the worst idea for me to bring Alex with me to work here and there?” I asked. “Say I’m not done working when she gets off school, so I pick her up and we return to Hillcroft for a couple of hours. After you move to San Diego, I mean. Vince used to do it all the time.”

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