“Coke.”
“Beer.”
I point a finger at Casen. “Case. Be for real.”
His lips tip up in a sly smirk. “Coke for me too.”
Caleb hands me two Cokes to pass to my brothers, and as I hold them out, I keep them just out of their reach, giving them both looks that saybe nice.
“What do you want?” he asks, hand poised to grab another beverage.
As much as I want to copy my brothers and ask for a Coke, I’m more than likely dehydrated after all the work unloading the truck and setting up the house.
“Water for me, please.”
Caleb straightens, holding a beer for himself and a bottle of water. He unscrews the top of the water bottle and hands it to me.
I take it and guzzle it down. It’s half gone when I catch myself and set it on the counter.God, Halle. He’s probably judging me for my excessive H2O consumption.
While Caleb pops the top on his beer and takes a careful sip, I swipe a slice of pizza and take a too large bite to occupy myself. With any luck, it’ll keep me from doing or saying anything stupid.
“Hungry?” Caleb watches me with an amused smile.
“Starving,” I say around the mouthful.
“I spoke to Thayer while I was next door. He said he’ll have his guys take care of the lawn later this week.”
His comment is like a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. I swipe my hands through the air. “No, no. That’s okay. I’ll get a lawn mower.”
Mentally, I add it to the endless list of shit I need to buy.
Caleb shrugs, his demeanor easy. “It’s not a big deal. He has the guys to do the work. Just let them handle it.”
“But I?—”
“We’re broke, dude.” Quinn says it in such a bold way, it silencesthe whole room.
It’s not like our financial status isn’t obvious, but my brother’s blunt admission is like a swift kick to the gut.
Suddenly I’m not hungry anymore. I stick the half-eaten slice back in the box, the portion I did eat sitting like a lead ball in my stomach.
“He’s not going to charge you.” Caleb leans against the avocado green linoleum countertops.
That color was certainly a choice. I’d rather focus on that than on the implication of that statement.
“You’re not a charity case,” he says, as if reading my mind. “This is just neighbors helping neighbors. That’s all.”
In my periphery, Quinn elbows Casen, and then Casen clears his throat. “Do you want to get in our sister’s pants?”
“Casen!” My face burns like I’ve been lit on fire.
Caleb brings a fist to his mouth, choking on his pizza.
I point a shaky finger at Caleb. “Don’t you dare indulge him with an answer. And you.” I swing my finger to Casen. “You know better than to ask things like that.”
“It’s a legitimate question,” Quinn grumbles.
God help me. How am I supposed to do this? They’re only fourteen. I’ve got to figure out how to keep them in line for another four years. At this rate, I can’t imagine all three of us making it to their high school graduation.
