Page 19 of One and Only

“You have a big family.”

She nodded. “The biggest.”

“He told me a little bit about them.”

“Sort of a Brady Bunch situation,” Greer said absently. “My mom had three—me, Erik and Adaline. Tim had three—Cameron, Parker and Ian. They added Poppy into the mix after they got married, and now it’s just chaos all the time.”

It was impossible for me to imagine. I was an only child, and now I also had an only child.

Quiet ruled our days, and I couldn’t wrap my head around the concept of chaos in a house.

Through the glass, I watched Parker deposit Olive onto the turf and snag a football from one of the racks next to the edge of the field. He knew her well enough to stay a bit removed from the crowds of people. She took the football out of his outstretched hands and waited until he jogged about ten yards away.

She cocked her arm back and tossed the ball, an ugly, wobbling throw that he caught with ease, rolling onto the turf as he did and pulling a delighted laugh from my daughter.

When I glanced over at Greer, she looked … sad.

I didn’t want to ask. And maybe I shouldn’t have, but the words came out all the same.

“Why didn’t he want you here?”

She blinked, then swallowed hard. “He’s a bit upset with our dad right now. Well, Tim is my stepdad,” she corrected. “But he’s Parker’s dad.”

I nodded because I’d known that too.

“Why’s he mad? I thought your whole family was really close.”

“We are,” she said quietly. Her eyes held mine. “He hasn’t told you anything about Tim’s health?”

I shook my head.

“He’s sick.” She paused, her eyes glossing over while she waited to speak again. “Really sick. It’s not the first time. It’s not even the second,” she added quietly. “But he doesn’t want treatment for this round. He wants to enjoy what’s left of his life, and even though that’s really hard for us”—she paused, clearing her throat—“Parker is struggling with that decision more than the rest of us.”

Parker’s mood—darker, grumpier than normal for the past few months—made a lot more sense.

“I’m sorry,” I told her. “That’s gotta be hard for all of you.”

Greer managed a nod, and when she swiped a finger under her eye, I looked back out on the field.

My brow furrowed.

“Is that why…?” My voice trailed off because it wasn’t any of my business. “Never mind.”

She exhaled a laugh. “Is that why I was trying to hire a husband?” she finished lightly.

My gaze darted to hers. “Yeah.”

Greer inhaled slowly, then blew it out with puffed-out cheeks. “Yeah.”

“Because of Tim,” I said.

“I can’t believe I’m telling you this,” she muttered. Her eyes were intense, her mouth firm. “And Iwouldn’tbe, if you hadn’t walked back in last night. This goes nowhere, do you understand?”

I nodded.

She turned back toward the field, watching her brother play with Olive. “Last week, I was about to walk in the house and heard Tim talking to my mom.” She swallowed. “Believe me, we’ve had a lot of hard conversations as a family since he made this decision, but I think there are some things he just doesn’t want us to know. And I get why. I really do.”

“What did he say?”

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