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I laugh and hand him his coffee. “No idea.”
“I need a cake pop,” Oliver grumbles, rolling down his window.
Thankfully Hazel does stop. Only because she moves onto singing songs fromThe Little Mermaid. “Daddy?” she yells, pausing her elaborate performance that’s left Oliver hanging his head out the window. He claims he’d rather eat bugs than hear his sister sing.
Noah tilts his head back and hands me his wrapper. “Yes, Hazel?”
“If you could be any animal, what would you be?”
“Something without ears,” he mumbles.
I smack his chest. “Stop it.”
“I’d be a bull,” he says, smiling at me.
“I’d be a unicorn,” she tells us. “Because then I could poop rainbows.”
“What’s that smell?” Oliver groans, sticking his head further out the window.
“What you say?” Sevi screams over Hazel singing again.
Twisting in my seat, I notice Fin with a weird look on her face. I turn back to Noah. “Remember that time we had to stop in the desert?”
His eyes snap to mine. “Did she shit herself again?”
I nod.
The next few hours are spent cleaning the car seat and Fin for the second time this trip and ends with us driving four hours out of the way and taking a family picture with a purple and pink sunset in the Grand Canyon. We’re creating new memories.
Noah squeezes me into his shoulder, Fin in his arms, and the rest of the kids playing with rocks at our feet. “I think she’s with us now,” he whispers, his breath hitting my temple.
I fight back the tears and rest my head against his chest. “She’s always with us.”
Thirty-Three
The Help
(Don’t let Bonner promote your business.)
Once we return homefrom Austin, I swear I will never go on another road trip with kids. Ever. I also trade Kelly’s Expedition in for a new one for her. We can’t necessarily afford a new car, but you get a good deal on it when your brother is trying to get on your good side.
He tells me Xianna left him and I say, “Good. She deserves better than you.”
“You can have your job back,” he adds, just before I leave with the new car.
Turning to face him, I catch sight of the shop, Ryker, and the madness in there. “No, thanks.”
And then I leave. I don’t like my brother or his decisions, but he’s still my brother. It pays to have connections in the car business. And in porn, apparently.
I should have known when Bonner said, “I’ll help you out.” Just like I should have listened when he said, “Here, try this pill,” or even, “Make a sex tape.” I also didn’t listen when he said, “Let’s torch HOA lady’s lawn.” Which, by the way, I ended up cutting our grass when we returned because we lost Fin in it. I guess two-foot-tall grass is a little much, but it’s the principle behind it, damn it.
Back to Bonner. I let him advertise for me. You can imagine his connections, right?
It’s worse than you’re thinking. Believe me. Or don’t.
It starts when I return from picking up Kelly’s new car. Pulling into the shop, I’m met with Bonner leaning against a Cadillac. He’s smiling, and that’s never a good sign in my experience.
Cautiously, I get out of the car. “What are you doing here?”