Brian Haner Jr

"Can we make purple?" Brian asked Saturday afternoon as he scanned the bowls of icing lined up on the kitchen table. "What is that, blue and red, right?" He looked to Nicole for confirmation.

She set down the sheet of cookies she'd just pulled out of the oven and laughed. "Brian, you already have just about every color that ever existed. Yes, purple is a combination of red and blue, but you don't need to make it. Besides, I don't think there are any more bowls."

"I know where they are," six-year-old Kyle said helpfully. "Grandma keeps extra bowls in here." He dragged his chair over to a cupboard and climbed up, then pointed to the top shelf. "Up there."

"What a bright little boy you are," Brian said as he reached above his head and snagged two more bowls. "Just incase the mixing process runs into trouble." He set the bowls on the table and dumped in a couple of spoonfuls of white icing. "Want to help me with this, Kyle?"

"Sure." The young boy returned to his uncle's side and grinned. "Don't add too much color. Remember what happened when you tried to make orange."

"I remember."

Nicole glanced at the sink, which was filled with bowls of rejected colors. It was going to take a week to get everything cleaned up. She smiled. Not that she wanted to be anywhere but here. She was having the best time.

"Aunt Nicole?" Kyle asked moving next to her.

"Yes, Kyle. Do you want to ice cookies?" She pointed to the dozens already cooling on the rack. Somehow tripling the recipe for sugar cookies had produced more cookies than she'd expected. They were going to have to freeze a bunch.

"You know they sell cookies at the store," he said is voice low as if he didn't want Brian to hear. "That would have been easier for you and Uncle Brian than making them."

Kyle was only six, but he was plenty responsible. His big hazel eyes were filled with concern. "I don't want to be rude, but you're not used to kids and the two of us are a real handful."

Nicole set the cookie sheet on the counter, then dropped to her knees and pulled Kyle close. "You know what? I think I can handle it. But you're a sweetie for being concerned."

"Okay. If you're sure." He didn't look the least bit convinced. "I guess this is practice for when you have your own children."

"I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're right."

He glanced over his shoulder, then leaned closed in her ear. "Uncle Brian is really good with Sky. I didn't think he'd like having a baby, but he does."

Nicole touched his face. "You're not really six, are you? You're actually a thirty hear old disguised in as a six year old."

Kyle shook his head. "I'm six."

"I don't know."

"He's just responsible, like Matt was," Brian said from his seat on the table. "It comes from being the oldest."

"So if 'm the oldest, like my dad, were you the youngest?"

"Yup."

Kyle's gaze narrowed. "So you were like Skylar?"

Nicole covered her mouth to hold in a giggle. Brian looked a little indignant. "I wan't exactly like her," he said.

"I'd hope not," Nicole said. She turned to Kyle. "I have to tell you that your uncle is a little too big and grown for me to imagine him like Skylar."

"Maybe," Kyle agreed, glancing from his cousin to his uncle.

"But I still like to ice cookies," Brian said holding out a bowl for them to inspect.

Nicole pursed her lips. "All right. I've got to hand it to you. that's a great shade of purple."

He'd created a dark, vibrant color that would look perfect on the cookies, but probably would be difficult to get out of clothes. She held back a sigh. If Kyle ended up with stains on his shirt, Val and Matt weren't going to be so thrilled by her offer to baby-sit.

A faint snuffling sound caught her attention. She glanced up and saw that Brian had heard the noise, too. He was already pushing back his chair. "I'll go check on Skylar." He said as he walked past the baby moinitor.

Nicole surveyed the mess that used to be a very nice kitchen. Somehow she and Brian would get it all cleaned up. The clothes would come clean and regardless of the hours spent to make things right again, it would be worth it. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had this much fun.

"My dad says that Sky is good for Uncle Brian," Kyle said as he settled back in his chair and reached for a cookie. He studied the bowls, then picked up a yellow one and reached for a popsicle stick which he used to smooth on the rapidly hardening icing. "Dad says it will settle him down."

Kyle looked up at her and frowned. "Not that Uncle Brian is, you know, wild."

"Of course not," she agreed, wondering where this conversation was heading. She had a feeling that Kyle had been listening to talk that might not have been meant for his six-year-old ears, as it was unlikely that Matt would discuss his friend with his son.

"He's very nice and caring. He's a great uncle." Kyle made a circle on the round cookie, then started making eyes and a big smile. "It's just that Sky gives him a family of his own. Dad says he'll be getting married soon. Do you think Uncle Brian is a good dad?"

He asked his question with the studied casualness of someone pretending not to care about the answer, when in fact he was deeply interested. Suddently all the odd statements and comments made sense. She stood facing a six-year-old matchmaker. And perhaps his matchmaking father as well. For all she knew, Val was in on it.

Nicole waited for a couple of seconds, then decided that she wasn't angry. Matt and Kyle and everyone else was just trying to make sure that Brian was happy. If they thought Nicole was a great canidate, of course they would encourage any relationship. Too bad she and Brian were just friends. Everyone was destined to be disappointed when they found out.

Brian walked back into the kitchen. He had Sky in his tattooed arms. She stared at all the activity and her big eyes got bigger. Pink fists flailed around and her rosebud mouth puckered into a pretty decent facsimile of a smile.

"How's the cookie detail coming?" he asked.

Nicole glanced at the mess on the table. Less than half the cookies were iced, but she sensed that the kids were getting tired of helping. "I think they're pretty close to done. I thought I'd finish up frosting while they watched a movie."

Kyle glanced up, "what are we going to watch?"

Nicole met Brian's gaze and smiled. Yes, it was chaos, but she had to admit it was also everything she'd ever wanted. All her life, she'd longed for a big family. While her father had loved her deeply, and had always been there for her, his ministry had kept him busy. Besides, he wasn't another kid she could play with.

She'd started baby-sitting as soon as she was old enough. She'd adored infants, toddlers and little kids. Every stage had its ups and downs and she'd wanted to experence them all. Some where along the way, her dream had gotten lost. Was there a way to get it back or was it too late?

"Actually," Brian said loudly into the din, "Skylar was telling me that she would lie to watch A Bug's Life, and she's the guest here, I think it's her choice."

Kyle stared at him. "Sky can't talk," Kyle said.

"Not very well," he admitted, "but I know what she's thinking."

"Is that so?" Nicole asked.

"Sure." Brian's brown eyes danced with laughter. "Besides, the princess in the movie is pretty cute."

"I thought this was Sky's choice?"

"It is, but I happen to agree with her."

"Brian, you don't get to pick," Nicole insisted. "You're not a kid."

Kyle shook his head. "You'd better let him. Otherwise, he'll be cranky all night."

"I'm not cranky," Brian said, even as he headed for the family room. "Why would you say I'm cranky? We can arm wrestle to see who picks. Do you want to arm wrestle with Uncle Brian?"

Nicole watched Kyle trail after his uncle. She couldn't help smiling. Life around Brian was certainly interesting. When he didn't need her anymore and she returned to her old ways, things were going to seem very quiet. But for now, she was living in the center of chaos and it felt wonderful.