Well. That was definitely a different way of looking at the night. Maybe there were different ways to look at every situation. Pax drank more of his root beer, his body finally healing, although he struggled a little bit with his hip. It’d heal soon enough. “Thanks for coming in when you did.”

“You bet. We’re going to have to send your dad away. Maybe put him on mission in Antarctica or something.”

Pax nodded, closing his eyes. “I’ll miss this place, but I understand.”

“You’re not going with him.” Zane’s voice was firm. “Not a chance.”

Pax frowned, even as hope leaped into his chest. “He won’t give me up.”

“He doesn’t have a choice,” Zane said. “What do you think of your Uncle Santino? Your mother’s brother?”

Paxton watched the snow fall to cover the ice over the lake. “I don’t know him very well, but my memories are good. My dad didn’t let me spend time with him after my mom died.” He barely remembered either of them, to be honest.

“I’ve talked to him through the years, and Janie is calling him right now. He’s been studying butterflies somewhere in the tropics, but he’ll come home and do some work for the Realm. He’s a little eccentric, and he travels a lot, but last time I talked to him, he said he’d be here if you ever needed him. I’d say you need him right now.”

Pax finished his drink, his mind reeling. He didn’t have to live with his dad any longer? Was he dreaming? Maybe he’d been knocked out again. “You sure he wants me?”

“Definitely. You could also live with us, if you want. You have choices, and you’re welcome anywhere you want to be,” Zane said quietly.

Paxton winced. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The temptation was so strong he almost took back the words.

“Because of Hope?” Zane asked.

Pax nodded. She was his best friend, but she was more than that to him. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, and the last thing he wanted was to end up as her brother. They might always be friends, and that was okay, because he could protect her as a friend. She had a different destiny from him, and they both knew it. But he needed some distance to stay her friend and not wish for a whole bunch of stuff that he could never have. “Yeah. I don’t want to be her brother. I’m sorry, Zane.”

“I appreciate the honesty, my friend,” Zane said, settling back to watch the snow again. “Girls can sure complicate things.”