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Her lips twist, and I nod. “Logan’s a puss–y cat.”
I quickly edit myself when I see my little niece is at his side looking worried.
“I don’t think cats like hot peppers either, Uncle Zee.” She looks warily at Logan’s burger, which Rachel is polishing off in a way that shouldn’t be sexy.
She takes a big bite of the thick burger and lets out a groan. “It’s so good, Thomas!”
I swallow hard, redirecting my attention to my own plate.
“This one’s for you, Peanut.” Allie puts a burger with a toothpick bearing a little green flag in front of her. “Green means safe. Red means danger.”
“We need to get that to go.” Jack’s voice is low, and he smooths his hand over his daughter’s curly brown head. “School tomorrow.”
“Of course.” Allie smiles up at him, quickly grabbing paper boxes. “I’ll add some fries and a cookie.”
“Thanks, Miss Allie!” Kimmie puts her arm around Allie’s waist and gives her a hug. “You’re the best!”
Jack clears his throat and for the first time, I see the smallest crack in his wall. “Yeah, thanks, Allie.”
“It’s no problem at all.” She smiles brightly, patting his daughter’s arms. “You two have a good night.”
Edward walks in at that point, and Kimmie skips over to him. “Night, Ed! See you on the flippity flop!”
“Night, Kim. Stay gold.”
Rachel puts her hands on her cheeks.
Dylan presses her lips together, and Jack’s eyebrow cocks. “See y’all tomorrow.”
“We should probably head on back as well.” Rachel walks over to where her brother is standing beside me. “Thank you so much for dinner.”
“Did Edward get something to eat?” Dylan asks.
“He had a hamburger when we got here this afternoon. Are you hungry?” She looks at her brother.
“Not really.” He seems sincere.
“Have a cookie.” Allie wraps a large chocolate chip cookie in a napkin. “Have it with some milk, and you’ll sleep better.”
“There’s little scientific evidence that warm milk helps you sleep.” Edward takes the cookie from her.
“Still, everyone loves a cookie.”
He nods. “Thank you.”
We say our goodnights and walk to the house in comfortable silence. My phone vibrates in my pocket, but I’m not about to take it out and see what the brothers are saying at this point. If Logan’s adding fuel to the fire, I’m more than ready to call his ass out for being a pussy who can’t even eat a spicy burger.
“Bunch of old ladies,” I say under my breath.
“What?” Rachel’s voice is soft, and she glances up at me.
“Ah… just thinking about something from earlier.”
We enter through the kitchen, and I linger as they head upstairs. I’ll give them time to get out of the way. Pulling down the box of saltines, I take out a sleeve then grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator.
It seems quiet, and I slowly make my way upstairs. Myshoulders are tight, and I try rolling my head side to side when I get to my bedroom.
Of course, Rachel is lurking around and sees me.
