He pulled the ball from his coat pocket and handed it to her. “Here you go.”
Over and over she threw the ball for Jock, who happily ran to get it and bring it right back to her. Braden watched, teasing her and asking for a turn every once in a while. After he threw the ball once, Jock went after it and Jessie tugged on his hand again. “Do you like boys like Uncle Wes?”
He coughed, choking on something in his throat that wasn’t there. Had he asked questions like this at her age? Holy shit. What was he supposed to say? This wasn’t the kind of talk he wanted to have with someone else’s child. Was it better to tell the truth and say he went for both or not? “What do you think?” he asked.
Jock ran in circles around them, wanting the attention.
She shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Does it matter either way?”
“Nope. Mommy says Uncle Wes used to love Alexander, and that his love was just the same as everyone else’s. Do you know Alexander? I don’t. Mommy said Uncle Wes loved him like she loved my daddy.”
The urge to ask questions climbed up his throat but he held it back. Interrogating a kid probably wasn’t a real kosher thing for him to do. “Jock’s getting bored. Do you want to throw the ball for him again, or do you want me to?” Jessie chose to throw the ball, and Braden couldn’t stop himself from wondering who Alexander was, and if maybe the man caused part of the loneliness he saw in Wes.
***
Wes peeked inside Jessie’s bedroom, but didn’t see her. His pulse sped up a bit, but he told himself to calm down. She had to be around here somewhere.
“Lyd, have you seen Jessie?” he asked when he found his sister in the kitchen.
“She’s out back playing with Braden and his dog.” She looked jittery, and he knew she wanted to talk to him about Braden, but thankfully she held off.
“It’s cold and dark. She shouldn’t be outside.” The last thing he wanted was for her to get sick again so soon.
Lydia grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “The floodlight is almost as bright as the sun. She’s wearing her jacket and gloves. She’s fine, Wes.”
He took a deep breath, knowing she was right. Still, he finished his walk to the other side of the older kitchen and slipped open the back door, to hear Jessie laughing.
Braden swung his arm around in a circle. “You throw farther if you wind up!” Then he swung his arm forward, both Jessie and Jock looking for the ball that he still held in his hand. “I think it went all the way to the moon. Might take it a bit to fall back down.”
Jock ran back toward him but Jessie looked up at the sky, waiting for the ball to come back down again.
“Where? Where?” Jessie screamed.
“It’s coming. Wait for it,” Braden replied to her. When she wasn’t looking he tossed the ball into the air, and as it came back down he yelled, “There it is!”
Wes smiled as his niece jumped up and down, giddy excitement pouring off her. Braden was good with her. Better with Jessie than him. His chest got tight at the thought. Jesus, he just wanted to do right by the little girl. He wanted her to be happy, and he knew he needed to start playing a more active role in making that happen. He wondered how Braden could do it, how the man seemed to be so happy all the time, and wondered why he couldn’t be.
“Hey. Getch’a ass down here and play with us,” Braden called to him as Jessie said, “Ooh. You said a bad word!”
Braden’s big eyes went even wider than usual. “Shit. I mean shoot.”
Wes laughed, but for some reason still didn’t move from his spot by the door.
“Come down here before I get myself in more trouble.” He eyed Wes more seriously than before, and then nodded his head back a little, as if to say come here. “Play with us, Wes... unless you’re afraid I’m going to show you up.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “At a game of catch?”
“He can frow to the moon!” She turned the “TH” sound into an “F” like she did sometimes. The excitement radiated off her, wrapping around Wes and pulling him out toward them. He wanted to make his niece happy like that. Chelle would have been able to do it. She tried to do it for him when they lost their mother.
“Nah, Braden has nothing on me. Let me see the ball.”
“Big talker. Can you deliver?” Braden winked at him as he tossed Wes the ball.
Wes caught it. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He was flirting with the man but didn’t want to think about that. If he did, he’d stop. Right now he didn’t want to stop. Right now he wanted to have fun. Wanted to forget the fact that he never really flirted with anyone. He picked guys up for an anonymous fuck once in a while, much like he’d done with Noah, but he didn’t flirt. That meant you planned to see them again, and for years, Wes tried to avoid emotional ties.