Page 5 of Roman
“I’m not going to push,” Philip said as he looked up at me. “You have your reasons, and whatever they are, they are yours.” Philip offered a smile before he took a step back and then nodded toward the house. “Why don’t we go in? Knox has been marinating steaks all day, and I know Phineas is just as excited to see you as I am. There is so much to get caught up on, and we want to hear all about how teaching has been going for you.”
“Teaching is not new,” I told him as we started walking toward the door. “This is my second semester with the college, and we have talked about this already.”
“Yes, but we all thought that something else must have been going on with as busy as you have been lately.”
I slowly shook my head and gave Philip a sad smile. How did I tell my brother that I had purposely pulled away from both of them?
“What?” Philip asked with concern written all over his face.
I shook my head again. “It’s nothing important. How are the twins?” I asked, hoping to change the subject. It might have worked because Philip’s face suddenly lit up.
“They are growing like weeds. All of them. I know you asked about Otis and Madelyn, but Hazel is growing as well. They’re all walking and talking gibberish, and they have their own language, and we don’t understand it, but they love each other, and it’s amazing to see.”
My heart suddenly ached. I had missed all of that, and there truly was no reason for it aside from my own foolishness. I looked down at my brother, and before he could reach for the door, I stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“I will be better about spending time with all of you. The last thing I want to do is overstep, but I can see and admit that I have taken things too far in the opposite direction. For that, I apologize.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Roman. We know how busy you have been. We also know that the entire family dynamic has changed, and because of that, we can’t expect you to always be there for us like you were before.”
“This is a me issue, Philip. I am incredibly happy for you and Phineas. Don’t ever think that I’m not. But there has been some struggle on my side with suddenly no longer needing to be on alert all the time.” I shook my head. “That doesn’t mean that Idon’t love the two of you still. I do, very much. And I adore my nieces and nephew. I need to get over my issues and be there for the two of you. That’s what family is for. I know that our parents would be disappointed in me with how I have been acting for the past several months. The reason our dad called me home was because he knew I would protect the two of you at all costs.” I shrugged. “Now that’s Knox and Ramsey’s jobs, and I had to adjust to that.”
“I’m sorry, Roman. We never met for you to feel like you had no place in our lives anymore.”
“I don’t,” I told him. “I just didn’t want to upset your mates more than I already had when they first scented the two of you. I’ll be better at being involved with the little ones. I know just how much help can mean.” I’d often longed for even a half hour to take a hot shower, but I’d never gotten it.
“We’ll talk more later. Knox is wondering where we are because he knows I came rushing out here to greet you.” Philip pushed the door open. “He also said the steaks are ready.”
With that, Philip disappeared into the house. I followed him in, giving my eyes a moment to adjust to the darker interior. It wasn’t that it was dark, just that the sun outside was still quite bright.
“Did you get new furniture?” I asked as we walked farther into the house.
“No. We did have to rearrange things, though, because of the twins.” Philip looked left, then right before he turned completely around and glanced up at me. “Maybe? I think Knox might have added a few more pieces since you were here last, but we haven’t gotten rid of anything.”
I nodded slowly. “The place looks good. I guess it’s been too long since I’ve been here last.”
“Yes, it has.”
I looked up at the sound of Knox’s voice. He was carrying a plate of food in one hand and had a toddler on his hip on the other side. Philip rushed over to him and took who I realized was Madelyn.
Phineas came in, followed by Ramsey. Phineas was holding his daughter, Hazel, and that meant Ramsey had Otis, Philip and Knox’s son. I smiled at Phineas, who walked right over and stood in front of me. I held out my arm and pulled him close for a hug.
“It’s good to see you again,” I whispered to him.
Phineas pulled away, looking up at me with a sad smile that mirrored Philip’s from earlier. “It’s good to see you too. I’m glad you finally agreed to come for a family dinner.”
I looked around at the others in shock. Family dinner? I gazed at Philip first, but he was busy fussing over placing the babies in high chairs. Ramsey was glaring at me over Philip’s head, but Knox offered a friend smile. “We can talk later,” Knox said. He turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
I glanced down at Phineas and tried to smile. “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize you were having family dinners. I’ve been busy, and I didn’t want to interrupt your time with your mates.” I said it loud enough so it could be heard by the others in the room though. Ramsey continued to glare at me, and now that his arms were empty, he stood there with his arms crossed in front of him. Knox sat another plate down on the table and a bowl from the other hand and then whacked Ramsey with the back of his hand.
“Stop. We’re going to be nice,” Knox told him. The gargoyle looked over at Knox, and after the two stared at one another for a moment, Ramsey finally uncrossed his arms and nodded.
I offered an apologetic smile to Phineas. “I’m sorry, Phineas. I have a lot to make up for because apparently, I’ve messed up, just as I have been doing for the last decade or so.” I reached out and gently patted my brother on the shoulder before I walkedaround him, taking my box of treats to the table and placing it among the various other plates and bowls.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to put the donuts out for everyone or continue holding them all evening,” Philip said.
I smiled at him before I glanced around the room. “I’m happy to have them here, although not something I made myself, obviously. I couldn’t come empty-handed, and I know how much you and Phineas love donuts.”
“The bakery reopening cannot happen fast enough,” Phineas said as he moved to my side. Just moments ago, he was upset, and rightly so. But now, he offered a huge smile as he reached into the box and pulled out a powdered donut. “Please tell me it’s raspberry-filled.”
