She looked at the two women she cared about most in the world. “I’m completely at a loss.”
“How is Sasha doing?” Chloe asked. She was drinking a warm glass of milk instead of coffee, having given up caffeine for her pregnancy.
“Pretty well, considering everything she’s been through. She has her spells when she wants her mother. I hold her when she cries and, after a time, it passes. We haven’t really talked about her parents going to heaven and not coming back. I don’t know how to do that.” She drew in a breath. Despite her degree and her experience working at the preschool, at times she had no idea how she was supposed to help Sasha deal with her loss. Sometimes all she had to go on was what her gut told her to do.
“She’s sleeping and eating?” Aunt Charity asked as she set out a plate of cookies, then took the seat opposite Cassie’s.
“Yes. That’s all fine. I’m sure being in her house with her room and her routine is helping her. Ryan said he didn’t want to deal with the issue of moving her just yet and decided to stay for a few more weeks.” She pressed her lips together. “It’s not that he’s mean or rude. I think he forgets that she’s around.”
“Hard to imagine a toddler being quiet enough for that to happen,” Chloe said wryly.
Cassie smiled. “Okay, maybe forget is too strong a word. I think he has a fabulous ability to focus on his work and he can ignore her for long periods of time.”
“If he’s never been around children, I’m not surprised by any of this,” Chloe told her. “You shouldn’t be either. How many times have you gotten frantic calls from fathers left with their kids for the first time? If you don’t know how to deal with kids, it can be traumatic.”
Aunt Charity pushed the plate of cookies closer. “This withdrawal might be his way of dealing with the loss of his brother.”
Cassie took a chocolate chip cookie and nibbled on it. “I hadn’t thought of that, but you could be right. The question is, what do I do about it?”
“You’re going to have to remind him of his responsibilities,” her aunt told her. “He’s using you as a buffer and that’s fine for now, but you’re not always going to be there.”
Cassie sighed. “I know,” she said, even though she didn’t want to agree. The thought of having that conversation with Ryan put a knot in her stomach. “He hadn’t even met Sasha before the funeral,” she said. “I don’t understand families spending that much time apart.”
Chloe touched her hand and smiled. “Not everyone is like us. Some siblings don’t get along.”
“What a waste.” Cassie couldn’t imagine living in a household like that. She returned her attention to the problem at hand. “I guess I’ll say something to him. I’m just not sure what.”
“How is Sasha acting around her uncle?” Chloe asked. “Is she frightened of him?”
“Not at all. She keeps including him in things. She often wants him to pick her up, but he doesn’t know how to do it. He’s too stiff, which scares her. It’s never a positive experience for either of them. But Sasha is a sweetie and very forgiving. Ryan has a long way to go before he chases her off.”
“That’s something,” Chloe pointed out. “She can be your ally in all this.”
Cassie smiled at her aunt and her sister. “Thanks for the advice. That’s why I came here. I knew you two would be able to steer me in the right direction.”
Chloe sipped her milk, then smiled. “Our pleasure. And speaking of men who don’t have a clue, what does Joel think about all this?”
“Don’t insult Joel,” Cassie said automatically, stalling for time, even though she knew what her sister was asking. She did not want to have this conversation with Chloe.
“Okay. What does Joel think about your new living arrangements?” her sister asked. “Is he concerned that you’re staying alone in a house with a good-looking, older man? Someone sophisticated enough to sweep you off your feet?”
Chloe’s words were close enough to Cassie’s own fantasies that she was afraid she would blush. “Joel doesn’t think anything about it. We’ve spoken on the phone several times. He knows what I’m doing and why, and he’s very supportive. He’s not the jealous type.”
She made the last statement with a note of defiance in her voice, even though she wasn’t feeling especially pleased with Joel’s actions…or lack thereof. In truth she would have liked him to be a little concerned about her close proximity to another man. After all, Ryan was everything Chloe had said and then some. Ryan was handsome and brilliant, and while she didn’t know him that well, she could easily imagine him to have other fine qualities, qualities that every woman looked for in a partner. What she did know was that he was smart and driven about his work. She wasn’t so sure about his humanity, though. He wasn’t an obviously warm person, although she’d caught glimpses of humor now and then.