MY BROTHER IS IN his heated garage working on the upholstery of his 1969, 350-horsepower, Lyman Sleeper that he picked up for ten grand last spring. It's made for speed and family fun. He and I took her out on a test run after he bought her and we ripped it up on the lake. It's been his ongoing project since the season ended and she's looking good. Tally is now written in bold black script on the side. Tally was our mom, and the boat couldn't have a more fitting name.

"Dadadadada," Lilly alerts her father we're near. Joel's head comes up.

"Hey, bro, what's up?" I nod to the two front seats that are now reupholstered and looking sharp. Joel is currently working on one of the bench seats.

He runs his hand lovingly over the boat rail. "The hull needs a few more coats of varnish. I won't put those on until the weather heats up in the spring and I can open the big door so I don't asphyxiate myself. I should have the seats finished in a few weeks. As soon as she's ready, and it's warmer, we'll make a day of it and give her another test run. I want to check out the new throttle I installed."

"Family day or brother day?" I snap. Shit, I still sound bitchy.

Joel's eyebrows lift slightly. "A little of both," he replies cautiously and gives me a little closer brotherly inspection which I ignore.

I jostle Lilly on my hip and she grabs a handful of my hair. "If you give me a brother day, I'll watch Lilly and give you a wife day." See, I can play nice when I need to. Joel doesn't need my shit and it's unfair to bury him in it.

"Deal." Joel smiles and climbs from the boat. "What's in the bag?"

I actually forgot I was holding it under my arm. "The princess here needs some play clothes that aren't pink and can get dirty."

Joel's laughter fills the garage. "Cami has half a drawer filled with your idea of play clothes. I keep telling her you'll never give up until Lilly starts wearing them."

"Dadadadada." Joel takes her from me and kisses one rosy cheek. Even tired, he looks so damn happy and my disgruntlement grows.

"She keeps growing, so I need to keep buying," I tell him, but what I'm really thinking is how it would feel to hold my own child. "Here, put it on her while Cami is busy, and I'll snap a picture on my cell. Even if she never wears it again, I can show her someday when she's all girlied up and really just wants to play in the mud." Joel gives me a relieved smile so I guess I'm managing to control myself.

"You know you can make one of these, too, and possibly get a boy out of the equation," Joel says with an even larger grin.

It's like Joel reads my mind, and it's too bad I have an image to uphold. "Bite your tongue, bro. I have time on my side, and the last thing I want is a woman hanging on me." I truly don't want a woman hanging on me. Maybe from the ceiling fan, or doing something else kinky, but I want it without the cling.And so far, Cami is one of the few women I've met who's capable of not clinging. Or at least she didn't cling with me.

My brother only chuckles. "You'll get yours someday, and then look out."

"Won't happen," I mutter as I watch Joel manhandle my niece with finesse.

He discards the pink one-piece jumper and puts the red shirt over Lilly's head. He does this like a pro, regardless that she's squirming in his arms. He tosses me the jean pants. "Slip 'em on over her bottom."

I oblige and step back to see her in the red outfit with a rugby ball on the front. "Now you're styling, kid. Red looks good on you. Tell your dad to have a talk with your mother." I take a picture of them. Before I can take my niece back and have Joel take a picture of me with Lilly, she starts fussing.

"Buuubba, buuubba," Lilly says as she pries at her dad's T-shirt.

I back up to the door and slip my phone back in my pocket. "That's my cue to leave. Gotta hot date tonight and I don't want to be late."

"Yea, Lilly needs her mommy." Joel says this with Lilly rooting around his chest, and it doesn't bother him in the least. "Is the hot date with anyone I know?"

Because of Cami's earlier comment, I throw out Danny's name.

"You're shittin' me." Joel looks more shocked than Cami's did.

What the hell is wrong with Danny? "Yeah, what's your problem?"

My brother shakes his head. "I hope you know what you're doing. Danny's not a girl you fuck around with."

"That's pretty much what I told him," Cami adds as she enters the garage and takes her daughter. "Danny's the only woman who will have anything to do with him outside of a bedroom."

"That's it, I'm gone. Go ahead and talk about my sex life after I leave." I head straight to the front door and slam it behind me. Danny's too good for you, Danny's not a girl to fuck around with, Danny's the only woman who wants something non-sexual to do with me. Yada, yada, yada. I head for my Range Rover. Cami and my brother don't need to know I'm only hitting the bar with Danny. Maybe after a few beers, I can get out of this mood that's taken over, and find a woman for the night. It won't be Danny, because she is way too fucking good for me. Besides, as much as I don't want to admit it, my type is soft and curvythe exact opposite of Danny.