Free Prejudice Meets Pride by Rachael Anderson

gripping the little girl’s arms lightly. “Adi, remember when you got to use the blue towel yesterday even though Kajsa wanted it?”
    Adelynn nodded, still not looking happy.
    “How did Kajsa behave when I said that you could have it?”
    With a frown, Adelynn muttered, “She said okay.”
    “That’s right. Even though she wanted it, she still let you have it, didn’t she?”
    Adelynn didn’t nod this time. A pout formed on her lips, and she looked away.
    “How do you think you should behave now?”
    Still frowning, Adelynn lifted her chin and stomped toward the table. “Fine. I don’t want to pinch the chicken anyways.”
    Kevin’s lips twitched, and his eyes met Emma’s. He noticed she was trying not to smile either. He felt a camaraderie with her that hit him a lot harder than it should have, making him realize just how much he wanted to be Emma’s friend—the kind of friend the girls called Uncle Kevin and who Emma turned to for help or support. He wanted what Becky and Sam seemed to have with her.
    Emma broke eye contact and moved to help Adelynn.
    “Aunt Emma, I need help,” said Adelynn as she tried to juggle the cups in one hand and the plates in another.
    Emma took the cups from her, and Kevin shot her a confused look. “ Aunt Emma?”
    “That’s my name,” she said.
    “I’m confused. I thought you were their—” He stopped, not sure what to think anymore. Had he jumped to the wrong conclusion again? Was Emma their aunt and not their mom? Or was it some strange family custom to put the word Aunt or Uncle in front of everyone’s name?
    The corner of Emma’s mouth tugged up. “I’m their aunt, Kevin. My brother is their father.”
    Kevin had no response. Emma was their aunt—not mother—aunt. Emma wasn’t married. She didn’t have any kids. But she was taking care of someone else’s kids. Why? And where was her brother and their real mother?
    “Is this done yet?” Kajsa asked, bringing him back to his senses. Kevin forced his eyes from Emma and back to the grill, where the chicken sizzled, probably overdone.
    He grabbed a plate and held it out. “Looks like it. Why don’t you transfer the chicken to this so we can eat?”
    “Okay.”
    Once Adelynn had finished with the table, they all gathered around it. Kevin purposefully kept the conversation light as the girls picked at their asparagus and wrinkled their nose more than once. Emma tried to get them to at least taste it, but they both refused, saying it looked and smelled yucky. But they did eat their chicken and rolls, so that was something.
    “Becky was right, this tastes amazing,” said Emma. “Do you cook like this every night?”
    “Only when I have special company over.” Kevin left it at that. Emma would probably have a conniption if she found out he’d cancelled a date, and he wasn’t about to say anything that might incite her wrath again. Things had been going well, and he wanted to keep it that way. Besides, he did consider them special company. The girls were adorable and Emma was a lot more interesting and fun to be with than he’d expected. Kevin was having a great time.
    Once the girls finished with their dinner, they ran off to try to climb the tree in the far back corner of Kevin’s yard.
    “Please be careful,” Emma called out as they ran away.
    “We will,” they chorused.
    From the corner of his eyes, Kevin studied her profile. “You’re really good with them.”
    “Thanks, but I have no idea what I’m doing. Most of the time I feel like I’ve been given this complex problem with no instructions on how to solve it.”
    “Well, you’re solving it well.” Kevin paused, surprised to find he meant it. “Do you mind if I ask what happened to their parents and why you have custody?”
    Emma continued to watch the girls, but her eyes took on a faraway look, as though her thoughts strayed far from Kevin’s backyard. “About a month ago, their mom died in a car accident. They had no savings, and