Blake rolls her eyes. Sure, sitting on the landing in your own house is completely normal. My bad. I’ve got to work onmy go-with-the-flow ability, I guess. “We’re letting Brady have a moment. He needs one.”
What kind of moment, I’m unsure. But I do know my friend needs it, nonetheless. Blakely has no intention of leaving her spot for a bit given the fluffy ass blanket that she tosses a piece of my way once I settle in beside her.
She leans her head on my shoulder, and I rest mine on top of her hair. Distantly, I can make out the conversation she didn’t want to interrupt.
“Did he tell you that?” she asks, hearing Brady telling his little brother that their dad’s construction company went under.
I shake my head. “This is probably the first time he’s told anyone.”
“Makes you wonder what else he’s been holding on to, huh?”
I always have. He tells me so much, but some things I think he couldn’t talk about except with Easton. Brady has always needed to be understood, and while I do my best, some things only his brother will truly get. They both need this.
“How late were you up last night?” I ask, nudging Blake.
She shrugs. “So late it became early. It’s okay, though.”
Guilt slithers along my skin, oily and revolting. “I should have stayed up to help.”
My friend huffs, exasperated with me already. “Don’t be annoying. We didn’t want you to. You need to take care of yourself, sometimes.”
It’s not like she’s the shining example of that, given she’s already up and back at it before daybreak. “Did you learn anything?”
“Only that he’s definitely using signal blockers, which sucks because it’s clearly to get in the way of us calling the police if we catch on in time to notice him. Your WiFi router didn’t show signs of being hacked which is the only small positive I’ve got so far.”
That makes a lot of sense and the minuscule peace of mind definitely doesn’t go unappreciated. We both fall silent as down below, Easton decides to finally look up his test scores. I know before Brady says a word, but it’s still a relief to hear it spoken aloud. Blakely swipes at her eyes.
“Maybe we all needed that win,” she jokes.
No kidding. It’s taking a lot for me not to join her in the waterworks. Coming up short again and again is wearing on everyone, and dear God, does Easton deserve this. He doesn’t have a clue how smart he is, because this one thing has defined him during the darkest days of his life. Now that he’s dragging himself out, he needs to see he can accomplish anything. He’s amazing; anything he sets his mind to is as good as done, but he hasn’t quite figured that out yet.
I should tell him I knew on day one. Not a single second of our time together have I not been completely enthralled by his perseverence. He inspires me every single day.
Blakely and I linger on the stairs like weirdos until Brady and Easton start verbally wondering where we are. We trudge down the steps in unison to find breakfast in progress. Brady’s got a dish towel tossed over his shoulder, manning the stove, and Easton is sneaking fruit behind his back.
“Hey, quit that,” he chastises as my Chaos gets caught red-handed. “You can’t eat all the raspberries.”
Easton giggles. “Damn. Did all this come from my kitchen?” Blake asks, getting an eyeful of the small appliances in various stages of use.
Brady spins and grins when he sees us. Easton runs at me so fast, his socks slide on the hardwood when he tries to stop. A softuumphescapes on impact, but the bone-crushing hug is well worth it. “Guess what?”
“What?”
All his pretty white teeth are on display as he beams at me. It warms me down to my core. “I passed the GED test.”
Despite hearing him find out, the news coming from his mouth has my heart ready to burst. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. So unbelievably proud. You worked so hard for this.”
He ducks, hiding the blush that stains his cheeks in my neck. “We’re celebrating,” Brady announces, pointing a wooden spoon at us. “Today is a good day. I do not give a single damn about the other things going on. Easton is the smartest person alive, and that means we go all out.”
“Hear, hear,” Blake adds. “Congratulations, lovebug.” He mumbles something resembling a thank you, growing beet red from all the attention. I’m loving it. “Okay, but actually. There is no way all of this is mine.”
The glint in Brady’s eye screams soapbox rant incoming. Easton must see the same because he pulls me to the island where he can continue his berry thievery in peace while Brady is preoccupied. He doesn’t let go of my hand once. I’m so in love with him.
“How would you know? I took most of this out of boxes. Why have all this stuff and not use it? You’re insane.”
She rolls her eyes. “Wedding presents, obviously. I’m sorry that my lack of domesticity is so offensive to you, Brady Callaghan.”
He points at her. “What is offensive is that you have a high-end ice cream maker and you don’t give it a proper home. A proper home with me!”
