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“Fury said he’ll come over and help you clear the gutters. I was just wondering if you’d be home this weekend, and since you will be, I figure Saturday might be as good as any day to do it.”
I try not to laugh. Mum’s always trying to boss King around. Even after living with him for years and knowing he wears all the pants in this family.
King’s brows arch and he turns to Fury who simply looks at him like he’s caught in the middle with no hope of being saved. King then looks at Mum and says, “It’ll have to wait. We’ve got the Brisbane boys coming down on Saturday.”
Mum’s eyes widen and she places her utensils down. “It’s Thursday, King. When were you planning on breaking this news to me? I’m guessing we’re putting on a barbeque at the clubhouse Saturday night?”
“I’m telling you now. And yeah, if you’re up to it, I need you to organise something for Saturday night. If you’re not, I’ll get Monroe on to it.
“I can help,” I say.
Mum’s face fills with gratitude. “Thanks, baby.” She then eyes King again. “I can do it, but seriously, a little more notice next time would be appreciated.”
My phone rings and I quickly reach into my bag that’s hanging on my chair and reject the call. It immediately starts ringing again so I pull it out and silence it after seeing Marissa is the caller. She’ll just keep calling and that will piss King off; he has this thing about phone calls at the dinner table.
When I rejoin the conversation, Mum and King are going on about his lack of keeping her in the loop about Saturday, Meredith is babbling to herself in the high chair next to me, Cade is trying to get Mum’s attention, and Fury is watching me with his irritated expression again. It’s a freaking madhouse and way too much for me to deal with. Or maybe it’s just Fury who is way too much for me to deal with. Either way, this meal needs an intervention.
“Who owns the cat with a thing for ducks?”
All sets of eyes land on me.
“What?” Mum asks, perplexed. “What cat?”
“There was a cat walking down your street this afternoon with a duck. The cat picked the duck up like it would a kitten. Who owns it?”
Mum and King live in the kind of neighbourhood where neighbours still knock on each other’s door looking for sugar when they run out. People know each other here, so I expect one of them to know who owns this cat.
“That’s John’s cat,” King says. “He’s the homesteader a few doors down. Makes the cheese you like.”
“Ooh.” I grin. “I’m gonna drop in next time I visit and see him. I wanna meet that cat.”
Mum is still confused. “The cat picks the duck up by its neck?”
“Yeah,” I say, looking at Fury, “Fury saw them this afternoon and told me about it. I wanna see it for myself.”
Meredith starts bashing on her high chair table and Mum pushes her chair out to stand. As she does, a sharp pain hits her and she doubles over in agony, a loud cry escaping her lips.
King moves fast, standing and rushing to her. The pain is so intense that she is unable to hold herself up. She clings to him and he ends up scooping her into his arms. Eyeing me, he says, “Can you take care of the kids?”
I nod. “Yes.”
His eyes say thanks but he doesn’t voice it; he leaves us to take Mum to their bedroom.
Meredith begins crying as she watches her parents go. “Hey, baby,” I coo, standing and unstrapping her from the chair. Lifting her, I say, “I’ve got you.”
She fights me, wanting nothing less than one of her parents. Holding her close, I eye Fury. “How are you with kids? Like, can you look after Cade and help him finish up his dinner while I go take care of Meredith?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, you go, I’ve got this.”
“Thanks.”
I take Meredith, with her flailing arms and kicking legs, to the lounge room and settle us on a couch. Cuddling her, I softly sing her favourite lullabies, the ones that Mum sings to her over and over. I spend a good twenty minutes in here with her, soothing her until she’s gurgling happily up at me with that dimpled smile I adore.
“You wanna go see Cade?” I ask as I stand.
Her smile grows as she nods. “Cay!” A whole lot of excited babbling occurs after that; Meredith loves her big brother. I’m relieved to have taken her mind off Mum and King. Judging by the fact I haven’t heard either of them come back out of their bedroom, I think Mum’s pain is probably too great for her to take care of the kids tonight.
Shifting Meredith to my hip, I walk us out to the kitchen table to find Cade, but neither he nor Fury are there.
