Page 15 of Gravity

“Hmm. I don’t want to intrude—”

“You won’t be,” I add. “Dad would love to see you. Having breakfast will be like old times.”

This time, his eyes finally find mine, and I can see that he’s fighting—what I don’t know. He is soon outnumbered, though, when both Mom and Asher tell him to come in. With a reluctant nod, he follows us.

“Hey, Pop,” I shout, heading into the kitchen where Dad is still doing his jigsaw puzzle. “Look who I found lurking outside.”

The smile on Dad’s face when he sees Asher and Grayson behind me is priceless. Dad, too, looks tired after having a restless night. Since his stroke, he can often get bad headaches as one of the side effects.

“Boys.” Dad beams, now abandoning his puzzle and turning his chair around.

“Hey, Pop.” Asher clasps Dad’s shoulder and kisses him on the head like he has always done, but it’s not long before Dad’s attention is shifted to the man standing behind my brother, and I swear his eyes glass.

“Gray.”

“Hey, Pete. How are you doing?” Grayson takes hold of Dad’s hand and leans in toward him. Their heads are almost touching, and I notice Gray’s demeanor change as the two of them share a moment.

“Miss… You.”

“Missed you, too,” he whispers. “I’m sorry I’ve not been around much.”

“Pete, are you wanting pancakes?” Mom asks. “I need to know how many to make as Wade will be here soon.”

“Who’s Wade?” Asher questions.

“He’s Dad’s new carer. He was here last night to help out while Mom was at work.”

The look in my brother’s eyes is predictable, and I wait for the torrent of questions as I see the scenarios racing his mind.

He was here with you?

How old is he? Is he single?

Does he know you have an older brother who likes to play with guns?

“And you were here, too?”

“Yeah. We all hung out for a bit.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s a few years older than me. He’s nice.” And he is. Wade has the ability and the equipment to take Dad out so he’s not always stuck in the house. He’s a handsome guy and incredibly friendly, but that’s as far as it goes for me.

“When is he here? I might stick around and meet him.”

“Do you want me to get the pen and paper out so we can start writing down the questions you want to ask him?” I joke, but I just receive a glare from him. It’s the same every time there is a new male in my life. He just doesn’t know when to give up.

“Is he Married?”

And there’s another one.

“No. We are going to talk dates when he arrives later. I’ll let you know so you can have your suit tailored.”

Grayson and Dad snort.

“Very funny, Nora.”

“Then stop asking so many questions. The guy is here to care for Dad and nothing else.”