Page 34 of Solitary Man

Cash stared pointedly at my fork, waiting for me to put it in my mouth. Only when I was chewing did he answer.

“Usually once a month.”

I nodded, chewing. “And this is all the family you have left, right? I mean, besides all your distant cousins scattered all over the place?”

He nodded but frowned, head tilting to the side, looking confused.

“You told me in one of your emails,” I reminded him and scooped up more mashed potato.

“I did?”

“You did. So you guys are pretty close? I like seeing this side of you.”

“Come on, Uncle Cash,” Emmy said, grabbing his hand.

He turned to her and smiled, and it was so full of warmth and love, it stole my breath. He let her pull him out of his seat, and he joined the wrestling match on the living room floor. I couldn’t contain my laughter.

“Here, let me top off your glass,” Freya said, sitting down beside me.

“Thanks.”

Birdie walked over as well and sat down. “With any luck, they’ll wear my brood out and I’ll get a few hours’ sleep tonight.”

Freya shook her head. “Either that or they’ll be so overexcited they won’t sleep at all.”

Birdie groaned.

Cash’s deep, rumbling laugh reached me, and I turned to see him “fighting off” Jake and Oliver.

“He’s so good with them,” Freya said, a soft smile curling her lips. “They love when he visits.”

“So how are things going?” Birdie asked. “Cash isn’t the most, um…talkative guy. I guess he’s similar to Hank in that way. It can be…frustrating.”

“Ah, yes. Let’s just say I’ve been working hard on my mind-reading skills, and I’m not sure how accurate they are.”

Cash glanced at me, his eyes locking on mine for a moment. Memories of the night before flashed through my mind, and I pulled in a sharp breath.

“But then, who needs to talk?” Freya said and laughed softly.

She hadn’t missed my new husband’s heated look, but then it wasn’t very subtle. I tried to fight my grin and failed. “There are definitely other aspects of our relationship that are progressing…very well.”

Freya took a sip of her wine. “With these guys, that’s how they show affection, how they communicate their feelings.”

Birdie nodded sagely. “Being physical comes naturally to them. They use their bodies, their hands, all day. They’ve been isolated, Hank and Cash especially, their whole lives. A verbal response comes second to a physical one more often than not. I learned quickly that Hank needs a lot of physical contact from me, even if it is just a hug. I mean, we’re an old married couple now, but in the beginning, it was a language he understood and stopped him from feeling…insecure or unsure, I guess.”

That made sense, and it definitely helped confirm my experience. I’d never met a man like Cash, and I felt out of my depth more often than not. “When we emailed each other, he was a lot more open. It’s been hard to merge that Cash with this one, but I think we’re getting there slowly.”

Freya rested her hand on mine. “It was hard at the beginning for Beau and me, too, and he’s the chatty one. Then again, some of that might have been my fault, just a tiny bit.”

Birdie giggled.

Freya scowled at her sister-in-law, then rolled her eyes. “You may as well know, since you’re one of us now, and they love to tease me relentlessly about it. When I met Beau online, I pretended I knew more than I did about living in a place like this. But in my defense, I took one look at his picture and fell instantly in love with him. Then and there, I decided to make myself into the woman he’d advertised for…by watching Bear Grylls in action on the Discovery Channel.” She narrowed her eyes at her husband. “Yes, I know. I was an idiot. He figured it out pretty quick, and yes, things were a little rocky for us at the beginning, but we worked it out. Now I can fish like a pro, but Beau still loves to tease me, hence the nickname ‘Bear.’”

Birdie cracked up, and I did as well. Then we kept on laughing as Freya regaled us with tales of her exploits pretending she was an outdoors woman, while Beau let her squirm.

When the laughing died down, I glanced back at Cash. He was watching me, warmth in his eyes, and I gave him a knowing smile.

“It won’t be easy,” Birdie said, drawing my attention back to her. “I didn’t find Hank the same way you and Freya met Beau and Cash, but I know what it’s like to try to connect with these guys. I felt insecure a lot because I had no idea what Hank was thinking. I had to change my mindset. You can’t compare these guys with any other man you’ve been with. They don’t play games. What you see is what you get.”