Page 38 of One Small Spark
I heft him onto my hip. “Oof, you’re getting big, kiddo.”
“I ate a lot for dinner.”
His big blue eyes are so earnest and full of innocent, boundless love. Hugging him makes everything better.
“That must be it.” I set him back down and walk inside but have to stop short.
Charlie’s here. Everything in my life’s coming up Callahan lately.
She waves at me from Tess’s couch. I wave back with a shaky hand, sure she can tell just from looking that I kissed her brother yesterday. Maybe he left imperceptible flannel particles on me. Or…what if Ismelllike him now?
I wouldn’t hate it, but she might recognize the scent.
Ignore the woman having a mental breakdown, please.
“We’re sort of having a casual work meeting,” Tess explains. “Wedding stuff.”
Charlie’s in the process of converting one of the buildings at her family’s lodge into a dedicated wedding venue. Her offer to have Tess be their primary wedding cake vendor is part of what spurred my sister to finally go all-in with custom cakes at Blackbird’s.
I’m grateful to her. I like her. I just kind of wish she was anywhere else right now. If my evening with Rhett is any indication, I’m going to bring up Callahan in about three-point-five seconds. I don’t think my current audience will be quite so chill about a mistake like that.
“I just came over for some nephew time. I thought maybe I could read stories and put him to bed.” Weird how those sweet little routines you don’t even think about leave such a hole when they’re gone.
“I don’t mind giving up my privileges.”
I spin around to find Ian standing in the short hallway that leads to the two bedrooms. He’s wearing a long-sleeve henley and athletic shorts that reveal his prosthetic leg. Just like randomly finding Daniel in my house, it’s still a little strange to discover a vision of manliness in a space that I expect to be mostly feminine.
Also, I’m continually impressed that Tess pulled in the burly redheaded pirate hottie. Go, sis.
“You can both read me stories,” August offers. Always finding solutions, this one.
Ian grins down at him. “How about you read to Wren tonight, and read to me and Dutch tomorrow?”
August beams his gap-toothed approval.
“I just want to point out that it takes a man and a dog to replace me,” I say to the room at large.
“I’ll tell you goodnight now, though.” Ian drops to one knee and holds out his arms. August trots over to hug him tight.
Seeing a guy with a man bun and thick beard hold a child like he’s precious to him makes my heart turn to goo. No wonder Tess fell so freaking hard for the man.
After, August leads me into his bedroom. Tess does his nightly blood sugar checks, kisses his cheek, and tells him goodnight, too. Then, it’s just me and my little man.
We read about cars and trucks having adventures. Pigs and worms with the worst luck. Chickens staging a revolt against their farmer. All the while, his head rests against my shoulder, getting heavier and heavier. He’s got the stuffy I made for him tucked under one arm, its dual tails peeking out from beneath the coverlet.
“Are we going to have Wren Wednesday this week?” he asks in his sleepy voice.
I smile over that. “You bet.”
His school has early release on Wednesdays. Sometimes he goes to daycare early, but other weeks, we cycle through who gets to pick him up and have special time with him. This week’s mine. And I can’t wait.
“Can we go to the park?”
“Sure.”
“Can I ride my bike?”
“Of course.”
