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An hour later, I’m twisted around doing my best to repair this alone, when Edward ventures into the room.
He stands for a few minutes listening to me grunt, before he says, “Do you need help?”
My back is in knots, and I slide out, wondering why I’ve had my brains in my back pocket. “Yeah, are you free right now?”
“I’m always free.” He pushes his long, blond bangs behind his ear studying me curiously.
Because he’s only twelve and generally quiet, I tend to forget how smart he is.
“See this?” I show him the rack of handles and curved faucet. “Hold it straight while I tighten the screws.”
He nods, and I crawl under the sink again, moving much quicker now that I have an extra pair of hands to hold things steady.
I’ve just tightened the screws, and I’m testing for leaks as he watches. “How do you know how to do this? Did you watch YouTube?”
“No.” I exhale a laugh, as I move to my knees. “Don’t get me wrong, you can learn a lot on YouTube.”
“I learned to change the battery in Gran’s key fob on YouTube.”
“That’s good.” I stack my tools in the bag. “My dad was always handy, and he showed Jack and me a lot of his old tricks.”
My thoughts drift briefly to the satisfaction on my dad’s face when he’d complete a small job. I smile, feeling the same sense of accomplishment—this drain is repaired.
“I don’t know much about my dad.” Edward looks down, and I grab a towel to clean the rubber adhesive off my hands.
His dad isn’t someone he needs to know, but it’s not my place to make that call. “Rachel can talk to you about him.”
“You’re in love with her.” He says it flatly, catching me off guard.
“What?”
“I saw you kissing her.” He shrugs. “I’m almost thirteen. I notice things.”
My chest tightens, and he’s got me stumped again. “What have you noticed?”
“She watches you a lot.” He frowns, looking up as if he’s sorting through a catalog of facts in his brain, trying to find the best ones to make his case. “You watch her a lot, too, butshe looks away fast when your eyes meet. Then her face turns all red, and she starts talking too fast. Or massaging Miss Gina too hard.”
I swallow a chuckle. That happened.
“How would you feel about your sister having a boyfriend?”
Not that it would be me, of course. I’m simply curious about what he would say.
“Rachel has always taken care of me.” He says it like he’s repeating what someone told him, and from what Rachel has said, I expect it was his grandmother. “It’s time for her to live her own life.”
Walking over, I sit beside him on the deck. “How does that make you feel?”
A tuxedo kitten hops out, holding its little paws up like it’ll attack us. Edward reaches over and scoops it up like a giant.They Might Be Giants.
He slides his hand down the kitten’s head, and the tiny cat submits at once, lowering its ears and snuggling closer to his chest. “It feels like she wants her own family—not a little brother family.”
I look down, studying my dirty hands. “Your sister loves you very much. She wants what’s best for you all the time, because you’ll always be her family.”
He pets the black-and-white kitten some more. “You’re in love with her.”
Clearing my throat, I scrub a hand over my forehead. “I barely know her. It’s too soon for anyone to be talking about love.”
One side of his nose curls, and he looks up at me. “Mothers say they love their babies the moment they see them.”
