Something Real (Whiskey Men, #2)(39)

Ollie’s eyes go round. “You do?”

Lily nods and looks over at me. “Do you know that your dad is sad sometimes and misses Granny? He cries too, Ollie.”

Ollie doesn’t believe her and looks at me. “No way. Do you, Dad?”

I nod and walk closer to them, putting one hand on Ollie’s back and the other on Lily’s back. “Yeah, I do, son. I miss Granny too. But you know what helps me when I miss her?”

He shakes his head. “No, what?”

“Talking about her. Looking at pictures of her. Baking cupcakes that she always liked to make for you. That’s how we can keep her with us, Oll. That’s how we can remember her. She loved you so much, and I’m sure she’s looking down on you right now, wishing she could hug you and tell you that everything’s going to be okay.”

He looks at Lily. “You believe that, Lily?”

She nods instantly. “Oh, definitely. There’s no doubt about it. I’d say she’s happy that you wanted to continue the tradition of making cupcakes for your birthday. And she’ll be happy tomorrow to know that your dad is bringing them to your school party.”

He nods, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Now's not the time to get on him about hygiene, so I let it go. “That’s right, buddy. And from now on, any time you feel sad or you want to talk about Granny, we can. I know Uncle Lucas, Beau, Huddy, and Austin would love to too. Anytime you want to talk about Granny, I’ll listen, okay?”

“Okay.”

I run my hand through Ollie’s hair. “We have to let the cupcakes cool before we ice them. What do you think about going to get that present we got for Lily?”

His eyes light up. “I thought we had to wait.”

I shake my head. “Nope. I think we should give it to her now.”

“No, you guys shouldn’t have gotten me anything. It’s Ollie’s birthday.”

Ollie jumps off the counter, and I help him to the ground. He runs out of the room and is back, holding a big, wrapped box, his face happy again.

I lean over to Lily. “Look at that face. Can you really tell him no?”

She swats at me and then wipes at her own wet eyes. “You know I can’t.”

I walk with her over to the table and hold the seat out for her. Ollie puts the box in front of her and claps his hands together. “Open it. Open it. Dad said you’re going to love it.”

She has her hands on the box and looks at Ollie. “You could draw me a picture, and I’d love it, Ollie. I don’t need you and your dad to buy me gifts.”

Ollie barks out a laugh. “Dad said you’d say that, but he thought this would make you really happy. Please open it, Lily.”

She laughs and musses his hair. “Okay, you win. I’ll open it.”

She takes her time removing the wrapping paper, and when she sees the box, her mouth drops. “Ford… what did you do?”

She’s quicker to open it, and when she gets the box open, she takes out the professional grade camera and looks at it in awe. “Ford,” she admonishes, shaking her head.

I reach over and wrap my hand around her forearm. I can see how much this gift means to her, “I want you to have it. Ollie and I wanted to get something for you because you’re so special to us.”

What was meant to soothe her actually has the opposite effect. She starts to sob, and Ollie goes to hug her. “Don’t cry, Lily.”

She sniffs and looks at him. “I’m crying because I’m happy. This is the best gift anyone had ever given me. Thank you, Ollie.” She lifts her eyes to mine. “Thank you, Ford. I love… it.”

For just a second there, I thought she was going to say she loves me. I felt my heart expand in my chest and just as quickly, it dropped. “You’re welcome. I know you want to try it out. You want me and Ollie to finish the cupcakes?”

She shakes her head. “No way. I’ve heard all about you burning water. How is that even possible? But yeah, I’d like for you to kindly stay away from the cupcakes.”

I hold my hands up with a laugh. “Fine. No problem.”

She carefully sets the camera back in the box, and she and Ollie go back to the counter. I sit and watch as they ice the cupcakes, and when they’re all done, she goes over to the bags she brought with her. “All right, Ollie. One more thing and then we’ll be done.”

He shakes his head. “They look perfect, Lily. What are they missing?”

She grabs something from the bag, holds it behind her back, and walks back over to him. She brings it around with a flourish. “These!”

He gets excited, jumping up and down in the chair he’s standing on. She hooks one arm around his waist so he doesn’t fall and laughs with him. “I saw these soccer balls and I thought these would look perfect on the top of your cupcakes. I mean, since you’re such a good soccer player, you need to have soccer balls on your cupcakes, right?”

He’s nodding his head as she opens the package. They put a soccer ball on the top of each cupcake, and then I help them pack it all in the carrying tray that she brought with her.

I pat Ollie on the back. “Tell Lily thank you and go on up to get ready for bed.”

He turns to Lily. “Will you come to my party?”

She nods her head. “Sunday? You know I wouldn’t miss it.”