29. Flint
“Have you seen Aspen?” I ask Zoe. “Or Caden? Or Pike, for that matter?”
My nerves are fraying in their absence. Aspen was so enthusiastic about the party but suddenly vanished out of the blue.
Zoe shakes her head. “Pike came outside for a minute, but then he was gone.”
I saw that, too, Pike apparently intoxicated, but Allister distracted me with some trivial matter, and then I lost sight of everyone.
“I’m going to find them.”
“The party’s almost over, Flint. Should I hand out goodie bags, or would you like to do that?”
I look toward the house, willing everyone to emerge, and back toward my ward, who is obliviously still playing, the party dwindling down.
“I’m going inside to check on the others. If people leave, you can give out the bags, but I’ll try to be back.”
“No problem. I’m sure everyone’s fine,” Zoe concedes.
I hurry through the back doors, and to my dismay, I find no one in the kitchen, but as I round the hallway, Caden bounds down the stairs, grinning to himself.
“Where the hell were you?” I growl. “The party’s almost over.”
“Well, Pike got himself tanked this afternoon,” he explains as I grimace. “So Aspen and I were dealing with that before anyone could see him make an ass out of himself.”
“Pike?”
Caden shrugs. “I know. It seems he’s really stressed about this adoption hearing.”
My heart sinks at the mention. “Where is he now?”
“Sleeping it off. I’m setting him up with a banana bag. He’ll be good as new in a couple of hours.”
“Banana bag?” I repeat.
“Never mind. Let’s get through this party, and then it’s time we have a family sit-down,” Caden says. “Aspen insists on it.”
I wave my head back and forth. “My brother’s here?—”
“Your brother can’t wait to leave. I’m surprised he stayed this long,” Caden interjects. “No excuses, Flint.” He hesitates. “Aspen’s on the edge, too.”
I tense. “What do you mean?”
“This is exactly why we need a family meeting. And it’s happening tonight.”
A door upstairs opens, and we step back from one another as Aspen appears at the top of the west stairs, peering down at us.
“Is the party over?” she asks worriedly.
“Almost,” I tell her. “You can still hand out goodie bags if you hurry.”
She nods and heads down the stairs. “Did you get that medicine for Pike?” she asks, making it to the foyer where we stand.
“He’ll be right as rain when he opens his eyes,” Caden promises.
“I’m going back out there, then I think we should all have a talk.” Aspen looks meaningfully at me, and I stifle a sigh.
“I was just telling Flint.”
“Fine, but my brother is here,” I remind her.
“Get rid of him,” Aspen says bluntly. “This has gone on long enough.”
Caden and I exchange a look, and I’m sure we’re sharing the same thoughts.
“Let’s see how Pike is doing.”
“No excuses,” Aspen insists firmly. “We’re doing this as soon as Lily goes to bed. I’m not putting it off a moment longer.”
* * *
As Caden predicted, Allister can’t wait to get out of our house. He’s never been comfortable with the living arrangements or with the fact that the three of us have guardianship of Lily.
Wait until he figures out what’s really going on with Aspen, I muse, seeing him off with the other guests.
“Are you coming back to New York this week?” my brother asks hopefully.
“No. You can handle things yourself for a few days,” I tell him. He balks at the suggestion and whines, but I shuffle him off, ignoring his complaints.
“How long are you going to continue working like that?” Caden asks, overhearing our conversation. “You can’t function this way.”
“Maybe we can bring it up at the family meeting,” I retort caustically.
He shoots me a wary look. “Maybe you should. It’s a hell of a lot easier than carrying that burden on your own.”
Zoe and Aspen begin the cleanup, but the party planners mostly take care of that, too, and as the last guests say their goodbyes, I pour myself a stiff scotch and call out to Lily.
“Did you have a good time, lovey?” I ask. She holds up her new super soaker and grins wickedly, but I can see her eyelids dropping with the afternoon sunshine.
“Yes, Papa Flint.”
“Why don’t we go have a bath and put your jammies on?” Aspen suggests. On cue to her words, Lily yawns widely and then giggles.
“Where’s Papa Pike?”
“I’m right here, honeybee.” Disheveled and gaunt, Pike ambles toward us around the side of the house, his clothes wrinkled and his face etched in shame.
“Why don’t I take Miss Lily for a bath?” Zoe suggests, sensing the tension mounting amongst us.
“I can do it, Zoe.”
“No, I think that’s a great idea, Zoe,” Caden agrees, stepping up. He scoops up the party girl and rains his famous batch of kisses over her face, causing her to giggle. “But you’ll come down and say goodnight, won’t you?”
“Will you put me to bed, Papa Caden?” Lily asks sweetly, and my heart twinges.
“Why don’t we all put you to bed tonight, Lilbug?” Caden offers. “It’s a special night, after all.”
“Really?!” Lily can hardly believe the notion. It’s a rare occasion when that could happen, but we all bob our heads in unison, not bothering to confirm the thought.
“Of course,” I concede as Pike bobs his head.
“Go with Zoe now, and we’ll come up to tuck you in,” Aspen concludes.
“I love you, Papa Caden, Papa Flint, and Papa Pike.”
“We love you, honeybee,” Pike tells her, the emotion in his voice raw.
“To the moon and beyond,” Caden adds.
“Too much,” I say.
She turns to Aspen. “And I love you, Mama Aspen.”
A heavy silence falls over the yard as we all stare at Aspen, a haze befalling her gentle, brown eyes, so akin to Lily’s.
“I love you more than you know, Lily,” Aspen breathes, extending her arms toward the child. “I hope you had a wonderful birthday.”
A single tear slips down her cheek, and she turns away before Lily can see it. Zoe takes the child’s hand, and they disappear into the house, leaving the four of us in the dying twilight as the party staff works around us.
“Let’s go inside,” I suggest, rising from my spot, and no one argues.
Silently, we pile into the house and sit in the rec room, adjacent to the kitchen. For a long moment, no one speaks.
“You wanted this meeting,” I finally bark at Caden, irked by the quiet. “What do you have to say?”
“Actually, I’m the one who wanted this meeting,” Aspen interjects. “And it’s long overdue. For all of us.”
I soften and exhale. “I know things have been tense around here with the adoption issue?—”
“Things have been tense around here because we’re not working together,” Aspen cuts me off quietly. “When you guys moved in here, you did it with a sole purpose in mind—Lily. But your lives are so much more than that. You have separate issues you keep one another out of.”
I gnaw on the insides of my cheeks.
“That’s not how a family works, guys,” she presses. “We need to confide in one another, help one another through good and bad times.”
“You’re helping us see that, Aspen,” Pike says softly. “But it’s hard to trust again.”
Her brow furrows, and I tense, shaking my head as I catch Pike’s eye. He pales as he realizes what he’s said.
“Again? Do you mean after Maddy?” she asks, confused.
“Yes—” Pike mutters, looking away, but Aspen’s eyes become slits.
“You’re lying to me!” she cries indignantly. “Why?”
“No,” Caden interrupts. “It’s time to tell her the truth, you two. Stop this.”
Aspen sinks back, her complexion waning as she looks around at our faces.
“Caden—” I say, but he stops me.
“She deserves to know,” he insists. “It’s only fair. She’s been completely open and honest with us. She’s been the glue holding us together, and she’s not Alexandra.”
Aspen’s eyes pop. “Alexandra?” she whispers. “What about Alexandra?”
Again, we share a look, but I don’t stop Caden as he exposes the secret we have tried to keep hidden from Aspen for all these months. He’s right; it’s the only way to move forward.