“Yes.” Davey’s tone was sullen.

“Any particular kind?”

“No.”

“Like... I don’t know. I like the song from the Avengers. You know?”

“That’s too scary.”

“Right. Um, maybe...”

“‘Spirit in the Sky.’ That’s a good one.”

Connor nodded, then got up and wrote it down. “Thanks, Dave.”

“Everyone calls me Davey.” His tone was back to normal.

“I just thought Dave sounded a little older. Like someone who was old enough to have a girlfriend.”

Davey looked down at the table and smiled.

“Here,” Connor said, handing him an egg. “Let’s try it again.”

By the time Gerard came back from the bakery with cupcakes, Davey had successfully cracked three eggs out of fifteen attempts. The kitchen table was slimy, but Connor didn’t care.

“What’ve you been up to, big guy?” Gerard asked, slinging his arm around Davey.

“It’s a secret,” Davey answered. “So I can surprise Jess. And Miranda!”

Lady Fluffy—that name, God—barked to be let out. At least she was trained.

“Can I go outside with her?” Davey asked, cupping his hands around his eyes to peer out the back door. “It’s so pretty out there!”

“Sure.” The backyard was fenced in. And, yeah, it was pretty. Landscaped with hostas and ferns, a big linden tree in the back, huge vegetable garden that he tended like it was a child. Hey. Connor was Irish. Gardening was a thing.

Davey let the dog out and ran outside with her, the two of them chasing each other.

So this is what it would be like to have a little brother. Or brother-in-law.

“Does Jessica know you’re doing this?” Gerard asked.

“No,” Connor said. “I’m trying to teach him to cook some basic things. And I’d appreciate it if Jess didn’t know. We’re gonna surprise her.”

“Gotcha. Totally whipped, are you?”

“Yep. Here’s your money, pal. Thanks for your time.” He took two twenties out of his wallet and handed them to Gerard.

“You could just feed me for free this month,” Gerard suggested.

“This will cost less. Thanks again, man.” They shook hands, and Gerard left, calling for Davey. Connor got to work scraping up the egg mess, Lady Fluffy amiably licking whatever had fallen to the floor.

“Think this is gonna work, Fluff?” he asked the tiny dog. “Yeah? Me, too.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

ON SATURDAY, JESS watched from the window as Connor pulled up in his truck. She jumped back, but he saw her, and a smile spread across his handsome face as he came up the walk.

“Spying on me?” he asked, giving her a quick kiss.

He was way too good-looking. She smiled, then turned and called over her shoulder. “Come on, people! The cows await!”

Connor was taking her and Davey to a 4-H fair up in Penn Yan, part of his attempt to win the heart and mind of her brother. Another guest—her father.

Keith had been solid and steady, coming to drum circle every week, not asking for more, accepting every invitation to dinner. He never had other plans. If she had to cancel, he didn’t protest. He practically let her sniff him down like a bloodhound. He never balked at her rules and regulations and left the minute she hinted that he should.

On these visits, Keith spent more time with Davey than with her; Davey had no baggage, so she understood. But sometimes, her father would look at her and she’d see the sadness and regret there, and she’d have to turn away.

Too many times, her father had gotten her hopes up, and she’d believed. That he’d stop drinking. Keep his job. Save money. Stay.

He’d never managed any of those things.

Until now. These past two months were the longest she’d known him to be sober. He did seem different. She wanted to believe. But believing had been bred out of her long ago.

Still, when Connor suggested the 4-H fair, and Davey asked if their father could come, she said yes.

A family outing...that was new.

“Guess what movie I saw last night, Dave?” Connor asked. “Iron Man.”

“I love Iron Man!” Davey said. “‘Iron Man. That’s kind of catchy. It’s got a nice ring to it. I mean, it’s not technically accurate. The suit’s a gold...’ Jess, what’s the rest?”

“‘A gold titanium alloy, but it’s kind of provocative, the imagery, anyway.’” Jess finished the quote for him, and Connor glanced over, a smile in his blue eyes. For a second, Jess thought about holding his hand, but didn’t. It might be too much for Davey.

And her.

“A carriage! Look, Dad! A horse!” Though Mennonite horse and carriages were nothing new for the area, Davey always went a little nuts when he saw one, and there were plenty out today. The sky was heart-wrenching blue, fat white clouds sliding by like thoughts, and a breeze ruffled her brother’s downy hair.

There were the expected pens of calves and alpacas, as well as sheep, goats, chickens and even a herding demonstration from one of the Mennonite farmers, whose border collies were legendary. “We should’ve brought Chico!” Davey said, running off to see the dogs.

“Wait, Davey,” Jess called.

“I’ll go with him,” Keith said. “You kids wander around. It’s not big enough to get lost.” He met her eyes, and she knew what he meant—if I’m screwing up, you’ll be able to see it.

“Okay,” she said. “Um...thanks.”

“Alone with my woman and all this livestock,” Connor said. “Think of the possibilities. Which first? Beef cattle or dairy?”

“How about some food?” she suggested, and they followed the enticing scent of meat being cooked over an open fire.

“Seems kind of insensitive,” Connor murmured as he paid for their meals. “The barns, the barbecue pit. The cows must be doing head counts every fifteen minutes.”

Jess laughed. And this time, when they started walking again, she took his hand. It made her heart beat a little erratically, but she didn’t let go, either.

Vendors had set up booths, selling everything from sweaters made from different types of wool, to wooden bowls and spoons, to silver jewelry made from old cutlery. Jess stopped in front of a table that sold pictures from long ago. Solemn-faced people with stiff postures, unsmiling. “Who’d give up pictures of their family?” Jess wondered aloud. People who died alone, that was who. People with no kids to want the photos, no cousins, no grandchildren.

People who ended up like she might. If she outlived Davey...

That was a thought she never could follow to the end.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Connor said, and the endearment tugged at her insides. “Let me win you something and prove my manhood.”

“I can’t wait,” she said.

“I’d prefer to prove it later, if Ned would be so kind as to watch Davey tonight,” he murmured, pulling her in for a kiss.

This was what normal people did. They kissed at fairs and held hands. He pulled back and kissed her forehead and grinned down at her.

It was hard to look at him. There was so much in her heart, it was almost impossible to let him see all that happiness. Almost.