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“I miss her,” CiCi said with a sad smile. “She was good to all of us.”

Brax nodded. He watched as his sister cut him a large slice, then drizzled cherry sauce on top. She cut a much smaller slice for herself, but it was still much bigger than it used to be, and that warmed his heart. That experimental treatment had been the best thing that had ever happened to their family.

“Where’s Dad?” Brax asked after he swallowed two bites of heaven.

“He’s with Jerry and John. They’re playing pool.”

“Oh yeah, he was pretty pissed he lost two dollars the last time they played,” Brax remembered.

“That was three weekends ago. Now he’s up four dollars.”

“Still can’t buy a mocha.”

“Like he’d ever step foot in a fancy coffee shop,” CiCi countered.

They both laughed. The idea of Henry Walker buying anything other than a black coffee at some diner or gas station was unthinkable.

“I’m glad you stopped by. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Brax didn’t like hearing the hesitation in his sister’s voice. Anything other than happy and positive always scared him. It reminded him too much of all those times she’d been in and out of hospitals. Those times when he and his dad were holding out for the next miracle.

“Stop it.” CiCi hit him on his chest, and he grabbed her hand.

“Tell me.”

“Seriously, stop it. I can’t stand it when you immediately go to the dark side. That’s why I’m coming to you first. Dad is even worse. I need to be able to have a normal conversation with you without the specter of my death hanging over us. I’m good. I’m well. The doctors all think that the cancer isn’t coming back. Now let’s all move on.”

He wished he heard just exasperation in his sister’s voice. But underneath it, he could hear her pleading to be treated normally. Who could blame her? Who in the world could fucking blame her? She’d been living life on the edge for as long as he could remember. Goddamn right it was time for him to be treating her normally.

“Hit me with it.” He grinned.

“You mean it?”

“Absolutely. Anything you want to talk about, aside from feminine products, I’m up for.”

CiCi giggled. “How about my sex life?”

“Shit, Dad hasn’t had the ‘talk’ with you? I suppose if you need to know what’s what, I can tell you what Ryker was like before meeting Amy and you’ll know that you need to stay a virgin until you get married at the ripe old age of forty-five.”

CiCi lifted an eyebrow. “What makes you think I’m still a virgin?”

Brax stopped mid-thought.

What?

“Well, of course you’re a virgin. I mean⁠—”

“Yes?”

He stared at his baby sister.

“Ummm. What did you want to talk about?” he asked cautiously.

“I want to move out. I’ve sent in my application to Virginia Peninsula Community College in Hampton and I’ve found the cutest little place to rent. This older couple has converted their old carriage garage into an apartment. The rent isn’t all that much because I’ll be looking in on them some of the time.”

“College and caretaking?” He frowned.

“Brax!”