Soaring (Magdalene #2)(184)

“I—” Conrad started.

“Con, please. Go,” Lawr said low. “I can understand you don’t want to leave it as it is but quite honestly, it’s the kindest thing you can do at this juncture.”

My ex-husband stared at my brother and he wasn’t angry or nasty. He seemed dazed.

Then he looked to me. “We’ll talk?”

I nodded. “We will, Con,” I said quietly.

His eyes went to Olympia and came back to me.

“I f*cked things up again, MeeMee,” he whispered.

Conrad calling me MeeMee?

Yes, completely dazed.

I pressed my lips together.

“Dad, Uncle Lawrie asked you to go,” Auden declared, moving to the door and opening it.

Conrad jerked and looked to his son. It took him a moment but he nodded and moved to the door. He gave Auden another look but Auden just scowled up at him.

He turned to us all and mumbled, “Enjoy your Thanksgiving.”

Then he walked out the door.

Auden slammed it behind him.

And I was shaking. Shaking uncontrollably.

Finally, I couldn’t hold it back anymore and I burst out laughing.

It was hysterical.

I didn’t care.

“En-en-en-enjoy your…” I gulped then cried out, “Thanksgiving!” and I kept holding on to my girl and giggling.

“Yeah, right,” my daughter said, her voice shaking too. “Maybe next the bird will have salmonella and we’ll all get food poisoning.”

I held her tighter and laughed harder and louder.

“It really sucks what my sister did to you, Ash,” Auden said tersely, and I tried to control my laughter as Pippa and I turned eyes to him. “And it sucks more your mom has a problem. But as you can see, our dad’s a real peach.”

“Our dad would so never cheat,” Cillian declared. “I was with him when he was playing poker with his crew. A jack had fallen on the floor in a suit he could totally use and he saw it and he totally coulda scooped that up but he didn’t. He called for a re-deal.”

At Cillian’s words, I kept laughing.

“I think, Cill, they mean—” Ash started.

“Same thing, Ash, just a different game, baby,” Mickey said gently to his daughter.

At his voice, I sobered and looked to my guy.

I wiped under my eyes and kept hold of my girl, starting to announce, “Okay, Mickey, Ash and—”

“Are freaking hungry,” Cillian interrupted me. “You got any of those horse do-overs?”

I blinked at Mickey’s son.

Mickey started chuckling.

I swung my gaze his way and blinked at him.

“Can I…Ash, would you come to my bedroom with me so we can talk?” Pippa asked.

I tensed.

Ash regarded her and then she nodded.

Pip gave me a squeeze and whispered, “I’m good, Mom.”

I looked to my girl. “You sure?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

“Fix that.” I kept whispering, referring to Aisling.

She knew what I meant and nodded again.

I let her go.

“This way,” she said to Ash and she moved.

Ash followed.

“Right, kid, you like cheeseballs?” Lawr asked Cillian.

“The puffy kind or the crunchy kind?” Cillian asked Lawr.

“The stick a knife and spread it on a cracker kind,” Lawr told Cillian.

Cillian’s eyes got big. “With the nuts on the outside? Like, on Christmas?”

“Christmas has come early this year,” Lawr replied.

“Right on!” Cillian cried.

“Let’s go lay it out,” Lawr suggested. “Kitchen.”

They moved.

I looked to Mickey.

He was watching his son and my brother.

I licked my lips and pressed them together, so deep in watching him watching his boy with Lawrie, I jumped when, from close, Auden said, “Mom.”

I looked to him.

“Need to take a walk.”

I turned fully to him. “Auden—”

“Just to blow off some steam. Get my head straight. I know we haven’t helped at all but—”

“Go. Walk,” I said. “But don’t be long, kiddo.” I lifted my hand and cupped his jaw. “And we’ll talk more later about all that’s been happening. Okay?”

Something I didn’t like but couldn’t quite read flashed through his eyes before he asked, “I gotta know now, you’ll let us stay with you?”

I told him the straight up truth that would never change from that day until eternity.

“My home is your home until the day I die, honey. You don’t even have to ask.”

He looked like his face was about to crumble before his jaw went hard, he nodded, looked beyond me then he turned and walked toward the hall, probably to get his coat.

“Amy.”

I jumped again and turned the other way.

Mickey was there.

He was staring down at me.

And again, I could get no read.

“I’m so sorry that—”

“Baby.” He grinned and my heart leaped. Then he gathered me in his arms and my heart melted. “You give good date. You give f*ckin’ awesome holiday.”