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Faith’s ears perked up, and she hustled on over to him.
“Yep, a car ride. We’re going to go see your aunt CiCi. What do you think about that?”
Woof.
Woof.
CiCi flung open the door.
“Brax!”
His baby sister threw herself into his arms. She weighed practically nothing, and he didn’t even have to take a step backward. Feeling the strength of her hug was the sweetest feeling in the world.
“CiCi, you look beautiful.”
“Bullshit.” She smiled as she looked up at him. “I look like a woman who has been cleaning house for the last four hours. Hardly my best look.” She peeked around him and squealed.
“You brought Faith.” His sister struggled to get out of his arms, but Brax held on.
“Oh, no you don’t. Faith is a handful these days, I’ll bring her in so you can play. Where’s dad? Why isn’t he helping you clean?”
“We’re past the point of me needing help to clean a toilet. I’ve been given the all clear. I’m gaining weight, and, and, and… Guess who’s been lifting weights? Guess who has actually discovered the joy of jogging? Not fast mind you, but still, I’m jogging.”
Her grin was incandescent.
“Are you sure you’re not confusing jogging with speed walking? You know, where you waddle? They do it in the malls in the morning.”
CiCi hit him in the chest. Harder than he anticipated. It made him happy.
“I’m sure. I’m not a waddler.”
“Is waddler a word?”
“Just shut the hell up and get Faith. I want to play with her. You, I’m not so sure about.”
“Do you have anything to eat? I’m hungry.”
“When aren’t you? Hurry and get your butt inside.”
“And when did you develop such a potty mouth?” Brax threw the question over his shoulder as he headed for the driveway.
“Every bad word I use, I’ve learned from you,” she yelled after him.
Brax grunted.
He let Faith out of the truck, and before he could get a leash on her, she was bounding her way up to the door to greet CiCi. The one good thing was that she stopped and waited to be petted. She always went in gentle with his little sister. At least she remembered something. Brax sighed. He followed his two girls into his dad’s house. He could smell lemon wax, but there was something else. Was that chocolate?
“Did you know I was coming?”
“It’s the weekend. I had a good idea.” CiCi grinned at him as she led him into the sparkling kitchen. He saw the chocolate cake on the covered cake stand. There wasn’t even a piece taken out of it. He’d be the first person to get a slice.
“Do you have—”
“Of course I have cherry sauce to go with it,” she said with an indulgent smile.
She turned to the refrigerator as Brax took the top off the glass plate and inhaled.
“I’m forever in Mrs. Baumgartner’s debt for teaching you how to cook.”
