Page 74 of Some Like It Fox

I nod, bewildered.

Paul leans toward Moira. “Should we tell him about the rent money?” he murmurs.

“What do you mean?”

Moira ducks her head. “The money you insisted on giving us for rent, we’ve been saving for you.”

“What?” Shock knocks me back in my seat.

Paul points at me. “We told you we didn’t need that money.”

They did, but I didn’t listen. I wanted to give more than I took because I didn’t know how else to repay them.

Moira leans forward, her eyes earnest. “You’re doing us a favor, watching the house for us while we travel, that’s payment enough.”

Paul gives a decisive nod. “Besides, we’re family.”

“The only reason we took your money was because you were so insistent, and we just want you to be happy.” Moira worries her bottom lip, watching my reaction.

I have been more worried about their happiness than my own. I thought if I did enough, if I made the weight of my presence light enough, they wouldn’t... what, die and leave me with the same feelings of guilt I had after my parents passed?

Meanwhile, they’ve been trying to respect my boundaries and it’s all resulted in this chasm of misunderstanding.

“I’m sorry.”

Moira shakes her head. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You just have to be yourself. You’re a good person, you don’t have to sell yourself to us. Jillian and Patrick would be so proud of the man you’ve become.”

My throat tightens. “Thank you.” The words are thick.

Moira stands up and rounds the table, leaning over to hug me.

I pat her on the back.

She clutches me a little tighter. “We’ll work on it together. You can always tell us how you feel.”

Paul lumbers to his feet too, wrapping an arm around each of us. “You can talk to us about your parents too. Only if you want. And you can go golfing with us, but you have to let me help you pick out your clubs.” His eyes gleam.

Moira laughs, the sound choked with emotion. “Shopping for golf supplies has become his favorite pastime. You might regret what you’ve started.”

I swallow past the lump building in my throat, blinking through the stinging in my eyes. “I don’t think I will.”

ChapterTwenty-One

Taylor

Getting all my siblings together in one place, without telling them exactly why we need to be together, is trickier than lassoing a wet noodle with dental floss.

“So, you want me to come to Whitby this weekend to watch some show at Veronica’s?” Piper’s voice is a mixture of confusion and distraction.

I rub a finger over the spot in my childhood desk where Jake carved his name when he was seven. He used theAto also etch in Aria, her name running perpendicular to his.

I need to go into Veronica’s soon to get some work done, but first I wanted to set the ball in motion to get my family all together so I can come clean about Mom.

“It’s not just any music people, it’s Discontinued Barbies. They are one of Mindy’s new clients.”

There is a weighted pause. “Does that mean you and Mindy are good then? You made up?”

“We haven’t. But I’m working on it and this is part of that.” Sort of. Maybe.

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