Read Online Let Me: An O'Brien Family Novel (The O'Brien Family Book 2) by Cecy Robson - Free Book Online Page A

point rapidly, stumbling over my words. “He’s allergic. He’s allergic to peanuts!”
    Finn’s head whips back at him. “Shit. Are you sure?”
    “Yes!” I yell, placing Lynnie on the floor and reach for the landline.
    Finn snags the bowl of crackers away from Mattie, and the box perched beside him. “Is he going to die?” he asks, his head jerking from me to him.
    “I don’t know.” I’m trying to punch Teo’s number, but my hands are shaking so bad I keep hitting the wrong number.
    “You don’t know?” Finn hollers. “What do you mean you don’t know? Holy fuck,” he says rushing back to Mattie.
    He scoops Mattie out of his booster chair and runs him to the sink. “Mattie, spit it out. Spit it out now― ouch . Shit, he bit me!”
    I’m barely listening, swearing up a storm when Teo’s number goes to voicemail. “Teo. Call me. Call me now.”
    Finn’s at the sink trying to rinse out Mattie’s mouth, but mostly smearing the peanut butter all over his face. “Call 9-1-1,” he says.
    “ Omigod ―did he stop breathing?”
    “No, he’s laughing― fuck ―and biting. But this is serious. Ow― shit . Ow―Mattie, cut it out!”
    I drop the phone in my hand when it rings. “God damn it!” I yell as I answer.
    “Problem?” Teo’s deep voice rumbles on the other line.
    I take a breath, despite that my heart is ready to explode and I’m officially hyperventilating. “Finn gave Mattie peanut butter,” I stammer, throwing open the medicine drawer and frantically searching for an epi pen.
    “You told me to feed him,” Finn fires back.
    “I didn’t know there would be peanut butter in the house!” I scream.
    “Sol, calm down,” Teo says. “I can barely understand you. What happened?”
    “What happened?” Evie repeats, from the background.
    Her voice is panicked. She knows something’s wrong. I let out a breath, knowing I have to fix this and save her son. “Mattie ate peanut butter,” I repeat, my voice shaking like I’m gargling marbles.
    “Yeah . . . he loves that shit,” Teo says. “Then what happened?”
    I freeze. “He’s not allergic?”
    “No.”
    “I thought he was allergic,” I say, realizing I’m probably screaming.
    “So did we. But the allergist we took him to said he was a false positive or something like that. Mattie eats it all the time.”
    I slump against the counter, gripping it tight to keep from keeling over.
    Finn gapes back at me, his face paling like Mattie’s about to die.
    I hold up a hand, but that’s all I can do, torn between collapsing and jumping in the air.
    “Sol?” Teo says when I don’t answer.
    My mouth opens and closes several times as I try to form my words. Finn gapes at me, keeping Mattie tucked against him and his fingers out of his reach. “Teo says he’s not allergic to peanuts,” I manage.
    For a moment, Finn simply stares. Mattie squirms, trying to get down. “Is he allergic to human flesh?” Finn asks. “Because he bit the shit out of me.”
    “The fuck?” Teo asks.
    “Mattie bit him when Finn tried to take the peanut butter crackers he ate out of his mouth.”
    “Can you blame him?” Teo says. “I would, too, if someone rammed their fingers in my mouth.” The momentary pause makes me think he’s laughing at us. At the very least Teo is smiling his ass off. “You want us to come home?” he asks, this time there is no mistaking the chuckling.
    Finn says yes at the same time I say no. Teo laughs, again , taking my side. “We’ll see you in another couple hours. Oh―I forgot to tell you―keep Mattie away from the magic markers. He likes to draw on his sister.”
    He hangs up as Finn sets Mattie down. “Just so you know, I’m never having kids. This parenting thing is fucked up.”
    “Fucked up,” Mattie repeats.
    Finn points at him. “Watch your mouth,” he warns.
     
     

CHAPTER 8
     
    Finn
     
    I flop down on the couch, rubbing my eyes and wishing I could have a beer. Or a shot. Or a shot poured