Page 24 of Absinthe Minded

Drunk and exhausted, I should have fallen asleep the moment I closed my eyes. Instead, I stared at the ceiling and tried to think about anything but the man in the room across the hall.

9

Gabe

Fire shot close enoughto my hand to singe the hair on my knuckles. Cursing, I grabbed the tongs and moved the steaks away from the flare up. No matter what I did, I couldn’t put out the flames.

“Son of a bitch.” I eased back from the fire. “Hey Leo, I could use a spray bottle out here.”

“Don’t use water. It’ll extinguish the coals or get ash on the meat.” My brother pushed me out of the way and placed the cover on the grill.

“I’ve never had a problem with it before.”

He smirked. “Carbon seals in the juices. Don’t be afraid of a little fire.”

“I can handle the heat.” I downed half my beer.

My mother would probably call it a sin, but Leo was my favorite brother. Joe, the eldest and the golden child, had treated me more like an underling than an equal. Leo, born ten months after me, was more like a best friend than a sibling. I trusted him to give it to me straight.

“You look like shit.” He opened the grill to check on the steaks.

I glanced over his rooftop patio. He lived in quintessential French Quarter apartment, an old mansion that was later turned into a multifamily home. I envied his rooftop oasis, but I had almost twice the square footage. “Have you spoken to Ma?”

“She called the other day. Something about a family dinner.”

“Figures.” I made a mental note to speak with the rest of my brothers soon, or I’d have to face them as a group. The three of them, plus my parents, would be a verbal blood bath.

“You gonna tell me or do I have to call Ma?”

“Could you keep an eye on the steaks? I need another beer for this.” I shook my empty bottle.

“Uh uh, bro. Spill it.”

I looked him square in the eye. “I have a kid.”

He froze for a couple of seconds and laughed. “Holy shit, man. Congrats, but you know they make condoms to prevent this sort of thing.”

“As it turns out, condoms are only ninety-nine percent effective.”

Leo plopped down on a lounge chair. “What are you going to do with a kid?”

“Raise her.” I turned back to the grill, but my thoughts drifted to Maggie.I should call to let her know I’ll be late.

“Not for nothing, but do you even know how to change a diaper?” Leo shuddered.

“Yeah, smart ass, I do.” Never mind that a thirteen year old had taught me how.

“How often do you see her?” He’d spoken as if from experience but turned his attention to the rooftops of the French Quarter.

I nudged his shoulder. “Somethingyouwant to tellme?”

Leo startled, but tried to cover it with a dumbass smile. “Don’t put your shit on me. This is all you.”

Right.“Ella lives with me.”

“Where’s her mother?” He cocked his head. “Who’sher mother?”

“She works on a cruise ship…” I told him the rest of the story while I pulled the steaks off the grill, but I left out one tiny detail—Chantal’s name. I needed to get through theI-have-a-kidpart before I dropped another bomb on him.

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