The doorbell rings again and in walks a statuesque redhead and a beautiful brunette. Lexi grabs my hand and pulls me over to them. “Murphy Cavenaugh, I’d like you to meet my sisters-in-law, Charlie and Mallory Stone.”

“Nice to meet you,” says Charlie, the tall redhead as she pulls me into a hug. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

I sneak a look at Lexi who shrugs and says, “One big happy family.”

Mallory hugs me next. “Any friend of Lexi’s is a friend of mine.”

“Thank you. It’s so nice to meet both of you.”

“Come on,” Lexi says, leading us all to the kitchen. “Let’s get some drinks. I have a feeling Murphy has a great story to tell us about a ball and a window.”

Chapter Nineteen

Caden

Lexi is still in her robe when she answers the door. “I didn’t wake you, did I?” I ask.

I couldn’t wait any longer to come over. I have to know if she’s seen him. Our dad. Is he stalking her, too? Lexi has a picture of him that she’s kept ever since he left. Our mother threw all his photos in the trash, but my not even three-year-old sister fished one of them out and tucked it in the back of her closet where Mom wouldn’t see it. That picture is the only reason I knew who the man was last night.

“No,” she says, yawning. “I’ve been up since Kyle brought the kids back from Jan’s earlier.”

I laugh, eyeing the remnants of ‘girls’ night’ on her kitchen counter. “Looks like you might need to go back to bed.”

She winces. “Do I look that bad?”

I kiss her on the cheek. “Beautiful as always, Lex.”

“Now I know you’re full of it.” She walks into the kitchen, clearing a bunch of glasses away before she pulls a bowl out of a cabinet. “I was about to make pancakes. Want some?”

“I could eat. Thanks.”

I see tiny eyes peek around the corner and I smile. Two-year-old Ellie darts over to me and I pick her up and swing her around in circles. She squeals. I love to hear her make noises like that. I keep it up until I’m too dizzy to continue.

“If you make my kid puke on the floor, you’re cleaning it up,” Kyle says, coming from the back hallway with his other daughter in his arms.

“Hey, bro,” I greet him, leaning down to plant a kiss on three-month-old Beth.

Lexi stops mixing the batter and looks at someone coming down the hallway. “Sorry,” she says. “We didn’t mean to wake you. It can get pretty loud in here.”

I watch Murphy walk into the kitchen, surprised to see her here. She’s wearing yoga pants and a tank top. Her hair is tousled and there is a smudge of black crap down one cheek. She sees me and her eyes bug out. Her hand immediately comes up to cover the scar under her eye, like she’s ashamed of anyone seeing her without makeup.

I get up and walk over to her, pulling her hand away from her face before I give her a kiss on the cheek. “Morning, sunshine.” I laugh, looking between the two hungover women in the room. “I guess I don’t have to ask if you had fun last night. A sleepover?”

“Don’t ask,” Murphy says. Then she turns to Lexi. “Please tell me you have coffee.”

Kyle puts the baby down and fetches her a cup. Then Ellie comes up behind me and clings to my leg. She’s curious about Murphy, but still a bit wary of strangers so she’s hiding from her.

I get down on my knees as I say and sign to Ellie, “This is our friend, Murphy. She looks good in Uncle Caden’s baseball caps, just like you do.”

“Hello, Ellie,” Murphy says behind me. “What a beautiful name you have.” When Ellie doesn’t talk back, Murphy looks at me. “Should I go put my hat on so she’s not scared to talk to me?”

I realize now that my back was turned to Murphy when I was signing and she must not know Ellie is deaf. So I turn to the side as I say and sign, “Ellie isn’t scared to talk, Murphy. She’s deaf.”

“Oh.” Murphy looks between us. Then she sits on the floor in front of Ellie and asks me, “Show me how to say hello. We need a proper introduction.”

I see Lexi’s face break into a smile before she whispers something to Kyle.

Then I teach Murphy how to say ‘hello’ and a few other easy signs. Ellie is delighted that Murphy is trying to communicate with her. There are so many people who only bother to talk to her through the adults in her life.

Beth cries, and since Lexi is cooking and Kyle has left the room, I pick her up. I bring her over to the chair where Murphy is looking at a picture book with Ellie. “This is my other niece, Beth.”

“She’s adorable,” she says, turning to my sister. “You make gorgeous babies, Lexi.”

“Thanks. I think so too,” Lexi says.

“Want to hold her?” I ask.

Murphy looks like a deer in headlights. “Oh, no. I’d probably drop her. I’ve never held a baby before.”

“They’re tougher than you think!” Lexi shouts from the kitchen. “Case in point—my little brother there was dropped on his head as a baby and he didn’t turn out half bad.”

“I wasn’t dropped on my head, Lex. I rolled off the sofa onto the carpet. Big difference. You tend to embellish that story every time you tell it.”

“You were six months old, Caden. You can’t possibly remember.”

“And you were not even three, Lex. You don’t remember either. You only know what Mom told us, and that is I rolled off the couch.”

“Whatever,” she says. “The fall obviously affected your memory.”

Murphy laughs at our sibling banter. She studies my nieces and says longingly, “They are lucky to have each other. I always wanted a sister.”

“Feel free to adopt mine,” I tell her. “She can be a pain in the ass.”

“I heard that!” Lexi yells. “And don’t cuss around Ellie. I swear she’s starting to read lips.”

“Ass is not a curse word, Lex.”

“It is too,” she asserts.

I roll my eyes.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, little brother. When you have your own kids, you can cuss like a trucker in front of them if you want. But in my house, ass is a bad word.”

“Caden, get your lazy ass off the floor and help me set the table,” Kyle says, winking at Murphy as he walks back in the room.

“See?” I say to Lexi.

She throws a pancake at her snarky husband.

Kyle walks over and plants a kiss on her lips and swats her behind. “Just kidding, sweetheart.”

Ellie toddles over to her toys, picks up a Hawks hat, climbs back onto the chair, and places it on Murphy’s head.

“How do I say ‘thank you’ in sign language?” Murphy asks.

I touch my chin with my hand and move my hand outward, showing her how to do the sign. Murphy turns to Ellie and repeats it, making Ellie smile.

“That reminds me, earlier you said you brought your hat here? To girls’ night?” I ask Murphy.

“I brought everything here,” she says. When I eye her inquisitively, she adds, “Long story. But, hey, how was your date last night? Her name was Laney, wasn’t it?”

I shake my head at the thought. My date was a disaster. Pretty much because all I could think about was my dad showing up in New York. Why, after all these years, is he trying to contact me? He’s a drug addict. There is only one reason I can think of why he’d show up. Money.

It’s why I need to find out if Lexi has seen him. I’m not sure she would come right out and tell me if she had. She doesn’t despise him like I do. She has a few memories of him teaching her how to swim and how to pump herself on a swing. I have no memory of him at all. I have no desire to ever see the bastard.

“Uneventful,” I tell her.

“Sounds wonderful,” she says sarcastically.

“Girls’ night probably would have been more fun,” I say.

“Girls’ night was epic,” Lexi adds, putting a plate of pancakes on the table and then rubbing her temples.

“Thank you, Lexi. Leave the dishes for me. I’ll clean up,” Murphy says.

Lexi turns to me. “See, Caden—that is what a considerate houseguest does.”

“I’m considerate,” I tell her.

“If by considerate, you mean leaving your dirty skivvies on the floor, then yes, you are.”

Murphy laughs around her bite of breakfast as I explain to her, “I crash here sometimes when I come for dinner. I love to be here when the kids wake up. It’s my favorite time to see them, when they’re in their pajamas with messy bed-heads. They aren’t yet old enough to have mascara smeared down the sides of their faces, but I’m sure that will come.”

Murphy’s eyes go wide. “Do I have mascara on my face? Why didn’t anyone tell me?” She wipes under and around her eyes to try and clean it up. She misses the smudge completely.

I put my thumb in my mouth and then wipe the smudge away for her.

“Did you just wipe your spit all over my face, Kessler?” she asks abhorrently.

I hold up my hands in surrender. “Just trying to help,” I say. “It’s gone. Your face is good as new.”

She looks down at her plate. “Well, I’m not sure about that.”

I put my hand on her arm. “Your face is perfect, Murph. Beautiful and with character.”

“Thanks,” she says, smiling.

I look over to see Lexi staring at us, her eyes darting between Murphy and me. She smiles and then looks over at Kyle who is smiling, too. They share a look. I know what they’re thinking.

And they’re wrong.

There is entirely too much smiling going on at this table so early in the morning.

Chapter Twenty

Murphy

Today has been the best day. Good things always happen in threes.

First, I was cleared by my doctor this morning to resume any and all physical activity. No more restrictions on leaning over or heavy lifting. I’m looking forward to starting a workout program at the gym that has become my second home.