Free B008DKAYYQ EBOK by Joyce Lamb Page B

sandwich?”
    “Nope. Chocolate chips.”
    “She’s quite the lawbreaker, isn’t she?”
    Austin grinned. “Uh huh.” He gestured at the cabinet to Cole’s left. “They’re up there.”
    After he’d retrieved the bag, Cole shook some into his palm. “You said you used to live with your Aunt Bailey?”
    “Yep. For as long as I can remember. She was my mom for a long time. But she’s not my mom. My mom is dead. Then my dad came back, and everyone said I had to come live with him. I miss living with Bailey. She’s a lot more fun.” He paused as Cole carefully patted chocolate chips into the peanut butter spread across the bread. “She doesn’t yell at me.”
    Cole winced inwardly. Poor kid. “Where was your dad?”
    Austin shrugged. “He lived somewhere else. We visited him sometimes. You sure are slow at that.”  
    Cole looked into Austin’s expectant gaze and felt himself falling fast. Kids did that to him, starting with his own niece and nephew. Unguarded, uncomplicated and not the least bit judgmental. He loved that about kids. If he’d had his way, he would have had a slew of his own by now. But his ex-wife had had other ideas.  
    “Guess I’m out of practice,” he said.
    “You have to practice?”
    Cole grinned as he sawed the sandwich in half diagonally.
    “You do that like Bailey,” Austin observed.
    “Yeah?”
    “She doesn’t like it when they’re cut straight across. She says that’s boring. But they both taste the same to me. Do you play Wii?”
    “No, but I’ve always wanted to try.”
    Austin’s face lit up. “Want to right now?”
    Cole pretended to consider his options. “I suppose I have some time.” He really didn’t, but he wasn’t about to take off without seeing Bailey eat her sandwich. Hanging out with Austin while he waited would be an excellent bonus.
    Austin beamed. “Cool.”

Chapter 11
    Bailey eased open the door to her brother’s bedroom and hesitated. James was sprawled face-down across the bed in gray gym shorts and a white T-shirt, as if he had fallen there drunk and stayed in one position all night.  
    The bedroom was as disordered as the rest of the apartment, dirty clothes dropped on the floor, the hamper in the corner overflowing. The air was stale despite the ceiling fan that revolved slowly above her head.  
    She berated herself for not stopping by for more than long enough to pick up Austin and go in the past month or so. James had been doing so well that it hadn’t occurred to her to check the state of the fridge or … God forbid, the bathrooms.  
    “Jamie?”
    He didn’t rouse.
    “Jamie,” she said more firmly. “Wake up.”
    He groaned as he rolled heavily onto his back, his forearm across his eyes. “What time is it?” he mumbled.
    “It’s time to wake up.” She picked her way across the debris to the window, where she opened the blinds. Harsh sunshine poured in, and she took a moment to focus on the lone palm tree outside her brother’s window. It looked as if its narrow trunk had been bent so often by hurricane-force winds that it could no longer snap straight again.  
    “What are you doing here?” James asked. “I was planning to come get you later.”
    She turned to see that his eyes, green like hers, had opened to slits. The sun on his face made his skin look too white and the circles under his eyes too dark. “Cole brought me over. Did Austin ever go to bed last night?”
    James pushed himself up on well-defined arms, working his tongue as if sand filled the inside of his mouth. A sheet crease bisected his cheek, looking like a scar. Though he was pale and tired, he didn’t look hung over or strung out.  
    “Of course he went to bed.”
    “He looks like he never put on his jams.”
    James ran a hand through his messy, dark blond hair and squinted at the clock. “What time did you say it is?”
    “Jamie.” She couldn’t help but speak through her teeth. The urge to grab him by the front of the shirt and shake