Conner groaned. “Rush hour is going to be a killer. I just want to get my car. I’ve missed my baby so much.” He all but cooed the last words.

Avery snorted at her brother’s antics. He could be so melodramatic, but she loved the dork regardless. “The way you adore that car is obscene. You need a girlfriend.”

“Nah, women are too much trouble. My car completes me in a way I never thought possible.”

Really not wanting to hear a monologue about his beloved car, she made a noncommittal sound and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. The dreary fall day was setting her on edge. Or maybe it was just the traffic clogging the streets. As it was, they were only creeping along.

She glanced at the clock on the dashboard screen. “You're lucky I could leave work a bit early. I hope we can get to the repair shop within the next ten minutes. I have to get back to pick up Aiden from daycare.”

“How’s the little munchkin?”

Her brother’s question tugged a smile out of her. Her son was his next favorite topic. And why not? Aiden was a cutie pie. “He’s doing great and loves the preschool part of daycare.”

“He’s like you and loves to learn,” Conner teased. “I remember when you always had your face buried in a book.”

She stopped at a red light and slanted her older brother a look. “Better that than video games.”

“Hey, that wasn’t wasted time. I landed my dream job in game development.”

“And I’m happy for you. Now you can think of video games every waking hour. Maybe even in your sleep, too, if you’re really lucky.”

A brown eyebrow shot up. “Is that an actual joke from you?”

“I do tell one on occasion.”

“If you say so.” He sobered. “So how is everything? Any other weird instances?”

She stiffened, her hands tightening on the wheel. “Not really.”

“So there were some?”

The light turned green, so she drove on, not answering.

“Come on, Avery. If you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”

She blew out a breath. Well, that was true. “Okay, you’re right. This is going to sound crazy… Well, maybe not, since you’ve heard plenty of crazy from me.” She paused, the words sticking to her tongue. “Aiden slammed the door in Benjamin’s face and cracked the doorframe.”

Conner whistled. “Wow, he really hates your boyfriend and must’ve really been packing some power in those arms. What have you been feeding that two-year-old?”

If only it were that. “No, you don’t understand. He didn’t touch the door. He…he did his thing where he waved a fist at it. As soon as he did it, the door slammed shut.”

“You sure it was him and not the wind?”

She snorted. “There wasn’t even a breeze last evening.”

Silence filled the car for a moment before Conner spoke. “Benjamin didn’t do it himself?”

“He was pretty angry. He thought I did it because who’d think a toddler capable of it?”

“What happened?” he asked, his voice much more muted than it had been.

“Well, it’s safe to say that Ben and I are no longer dating and that I need a new door.”