As the name echoes in my mind, a strange sense of peace sweeps through me. I have to admit, I like the sound of it.
The sounds of my brothers’ feet on the stairs, thankfully, kill the conversation. When they step into the kitchen, they stop in their tracks, taking in the spread.
“Can we have some of this?” Casen asks, shoving his hair from his eyes.
“Sure. Help yourselves,” Caleb replies, leaning back in his chair. “There’s plenty.”
They dart across the room and pull out plates, then pile them high with the last of the pancakes and bacon.
“Did you not eat breakfast with Cynthia and Thelma?”
“We did, but we’re teenagers,” Quinn throws over his shoulder. “We have to eat.”
“Like all the time,” Casen adds, chewing a piece of bacon.
I sigh, resting my elbows on the table and my chin in my hands. “They’re going to eat through my paycheck.”
“Good thing your boss pays well.” Caleb shoots me a wink that has my stomach doing a somersault.
Before my mind can drift to how he looked above melast night, naked save for the mask, I clear my throat and focus on my brothers. “Would you guys want to go back to the Hollow next Saturday to see your friends?”
Those of us from Arlo Hollow never use the town’s proper name. To us, it’s just the Hollow.
Using the twin telepathy they’re so good at, they exchange some sort of silent communication.
“Sure,” Casen says. “We’ll check to see who’s free.”
Before I can respond, they’re looking at each other again, and I swear the temperature drops, telling me that I’m not going to like what they have to say next.
“Could we see Mom?” Quinn asks, his gaze averted.
My stomach plummets.
They haven’t asked about visiting her since I took them shortly after she was convicted. The visit was okay, but they haven’t asked again until now, and I didn’t push the issue. And now that we’ve moved, I figured… I don’t know what I figured.
Idon’twant to see her, but I won’t stop them if that’s what they want. They haven’t been as hurt by her actions as I have. I didn’t have an older sibling acting as a buffer the way they do.
It would be cruel of me to say no, no matter how badly I want to.
“Yeah,” I say, hoping they don’t notice the tremor in my voice. “We can do that.”
Based on the sympathetic look Caleb sends my way, I’m not fooling anyone.
“We’ll see Mom while we’re there.”
I just hope I can stomach it.
CHAPTER 28
CALEB
Arlo Hollow isn’t as small as Hawthorne Mills, but it’s in much rougher shape. The buildings are all run down, and the paper factory at the edge of town makes the whole place reek.
“I don’t remember it smelling this bad,” Halle says, white-knuckling the steering wheel. She wouldn’t let me drive, insisting that if we brought my Mercedes, it would end up vandalized. I didn’t bother arguing that I’ve been here just fine on my own. If I had to guess, she wanted to drive so she could feel like she had some sense of control over whattoday will bring. “I’m sorry.”
I bite back a smile. “Why are you apologizing for the smell? Did you personally build the factory with your bare hands?”
She chokes on a breath. “No, but?—”
