Livvie answers my knock with a bright smile. She wraps me in a hug and squeals. “I know it’s a bad situation,” she says, “but I can’t hide that I’m happy you’re here.”
“Thanks for making dinner,” I tell her. I’m probably squeezing her too hard, but I have to admit, it’s good to see her, too. Good to see anyone who can look at me without a tinge of disappointment.
“Of course. I can’t wait to see your brothers. I haven’t seen them in ages. How are they doing with everything?”
“They’re outside,” I roll my eyes.
Livvie nods slowly. “I see. That good, huh?”
“They’re probably just waiting to see if you still have dessert.”
“I have plenty of dessert,” she says, raising her voice. “I made double fudge brownies.”
“Subtle.”
She winks at me and smiles when the herd of elephants bounds up the porch steps.
The boys pause, seemingly remembering their manners.
“Livvie, these are my brothers Donnie and Rafe. Guys, this is my best friend, Livvie.”
They start to speak, but a godawful sound grows louder and closer. We all turn to find Ben chasing a cackling Cole down the front hall. He’s naked except for a pair of training underwear.
Cole, that is, not Ben.
“Excuse us,” Livvie says. “We’re protesting pants this week.”
I smirk. “Don’t worry, I protest proper pants every week.”
“That’s called laziness, babe.”
I stick out my tongue at her.
I don’t know how she manages it, but I feel immediately at ease as Livvie ushers us inside while Ben reigns in his son. The cabin used to belong to her father. After his death, Ben bought the house for her. I avert my eyes as he kisses her softly on the lips, Cole still racing around them like a maniac. If anyone deserved warmth and love, it’s Livvie.
“Why don’t you guys come with us and let the ladies do their thing?” Ben throws a squealing Cole over his shoulder. “If you’re lucky, maybe we can sneak out and I’ll let you take a ride on my Harley.”
“Don’t you dare,” Livvie shouts at Ben’s retreating back. “Ben!” She turns back to me smiling. “Well, that would be one way to take care of your problem.”
For the first time since moving back to Nassau, I laugh. “Thank you for having us. How did you know I didn’t want to spend tonight alone?”
She tugs my arm toward the kitchen. “It’s a gift. Now c’mon, we can lick the batter mix while the boys play with their toys and you can fill me in on what’s going on.”
A couple minutes—and more than a couple spoonful’s of chocolate—later, Livvie hands me a beer and orders, “Spill.”
I take a huge sip, okay gulp, from the bottle and enjoy its coolness as I consider my response. “I don’t really know what else there is to say. It all happened so fast. A few weeks ago, I was living my life and it wasn’t anything special, but it was mine. And now I have these two humans depending on me. I know it sounds all woe is me, but, shit, what if I screw them up? I’m no paragon of virtue here. Who would actually want me to take care of their kids?”
Livvie offers me another spoon caked in fudge. “You are way too hard on yourself. You’re going to be fine.”
“They’ve survived so far and that’s with my cooking so I guess I can consider it a good sign.”
“Still,” Livvie says, “you did the right thing, taking them. They need you.”
I chug half of my beer to chase down the chocolate and lift one shoulder.
“How are they taking it?”
“I don’t know if I’m qualified in teenager-speak to answer you, but I think they’re doing as well as can be expected, considering. Donnie more so than Rafe. Rafe hates my guts, that’s clear, but Donnie is willing to forgive and forget.”
Livvie sets her beer down carefully and chews on her lip before squaring her shoulders. “I’m going to say one thing, and then we won’t talk about it again. You did the right thing. I know kids weren’t in your plans, and you’ve never explained to me why you had to leave, but I assume coming back to Nassau wasn’t in your plan either.” She looks out the window for a few seconds, then back at me. “I would have given anything to have someone like you so that I didn’t have to go into foster care. I was lucky, the James’ adopted me, even though I was a teenager. I was lucky they were a great family. Your brothers may not have been so lucky.”
“I don’t know anything about having a family, Liv.”
“You can learn,” she says, eyes shining. “You can learn together. I promise you, taking on those boys is going to be the best decision you’ve ever made.”
That statement is punctuated by screams from outside. I throw Livvie a sardonic look. “You were saying?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m going to go check on them. Wait here and I’ll refill our appetizers.”
“I don’t think brownie mix and beer can be considered an appetizer.”