“Did he say anything?”
“That he’d see us tomorrow.” She’s finished putting everything away, and I hate the look she’s giving me. “You know I love you, right?”
“Why do I feel like I’m about to get a lecture?”
“Kate, I love you like a sister. But you can’t push Xander away when there’s parts of your life you don’t want him to see. I know you don’t want him to meet your parents, but until you set clear boundaries with them, they are a part of your life. Compartmentalizing everything into neat little boxes won’t end well.”
“Says the person who claims they’re going to murder their neighbor every other morning.” Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. She has a point, but I don’t want to admit it.
“That’s different. He’s not someone I’m trying to have in my life forever. And I don’t have to put up with his annoying self while I’m at work.”
“Who said Xander was that for me?”
“Girl, you walk around here like a lovesick teenager. You may be denying it to yourself, but you’ve never really had a poker face. You are head over heels in love with Xander.”
“No, I’m not.” The rebuttal is quiet because she’s right. As much as I’ve been saying it’s nothing like that, my heart has been telling me differently.
“You’ve gotta stop lying to yourself.” Sam turns out the light and heads to the door. “Are you locking up after I leave? Or, are you going now?”
“Oh, um, now.” I walk out as she sets the alarm and wait for her to follow after me. “Did you see Kai before he left? Did he say anything?”
“No,” she shakes her head, “said he was gonna grab some food with Viv. I’m guessing he had something to do with the little family reunion.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” I head to my car grateful I drove today. I hear my bottle of wine calling me.
“I don’t envy him when you see him.”
My phone dings with a message and I pull it out of my pocket. “Speak of the devil.”
Kai
You might want to head to Mom and Dad’s.
I don’t bother texting back I click on his profile and press call. The phone rings three times before he answers. At least he wasn’t cowardly enough to send me to voicemail. “Why the hell would I go over there?”
“Well, Xander texted me for their address and said he had a last-minute delivery before he could clock out.”
“And you gave it to him?” My voice is a shriek in the night. Sam stops on the way to her car and looks back at me. “In what world do you think I would have given Xander a delivery for their house? I mean seriously, Kai.”
“I didn’t think about that part until after I sent it to him.” Regret fills his words. “I wasn’t trying to pressure him into going over to meet them on his own.”
“He’s not going to meet them,” I rub finger over my temple, “thanks to your little slip in conversation, Dad showed up at the shop not that long ago. And acted exactly how I thought he was going to. Xander is heading over there to defend my honor.” Should I be completely pissed? Probably. Am I? No. He’s doing one of those things I’m not used to. Taking care of me and making sure I don’t have a ton piled on me, including emotional stress.
“Damn it,” Kai mutters, “I’m already on my way over there. Want to meet me before Dad calls the cops?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few.” I hang up the phone and glance over at Sam. “If I’m not here in the morning, just assume you’ll have to bail me out of jail.”
“Or Xander,” she smirks, “I’ve got you either way. Be careful,” she calls before getting in her car.
I’m definitely murdering my brother. All of this is his fault.
Xander must have waited a bit after getting the address from my brother. He’s walking up the sidewalk to the front door. He must not have noticed me pull up. I get out of the car and gently close it behind me.
I should stop him, I know that. But I want to know what he plans on telling my dad. If the situation gets sketchy, I can always show up and handle it. My steps are silent as I follow along behind him, but stay just out of sight of the front door. Thank God my parents have decent landscaping that hides my actions.
Xander knocks on the door and I hide behind the tree. My brother isn’t here yet and I’m glad because he would not be quite as stealthy. The porch light flicks on, and my dad is standing in the door way.
“Can I help you?” It takes him a second to realize who just knocked on his door and his eyes widen. “I don’t want any trouble, son.”
