As if I could feel any more like a fucking jackass.
The best thing about having a shitload of new work to do, though, was that it was difficult to berate myself while wading through pages and pages of technological babble. It was enough to give me a headache, and that enabled me to forget everything else.
I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, going over the last paragraph one more time. I had a phenomenal memory. Most things I saw or heard I could remember, which meant when it came to reviewing information, I didn’t necessarily need to find the source and go over it that way. In fact, I tended to do better when I stuck with what was in my head, anyway.
Beyond the use for which it was originally intended–
My phone rang, interrupting my mental recitation. I braced myself to see Keli’s name, but it wasn’t her name showing on my screen. It was my brother’s.
“Brody, is something wrong?”
A momentary pause, and then, “Shit. I forgot about the time difference.”
I frowned. “We’re in the same time zone.”
“I’m in Australia, actually. Anyway–”
“Wait,” I interrupted. My stomach twisted as the past came back with a vengeance. “Why are you in Australia?”
“You remember Leon Jessup?”
Another twist. “Aye, I ken who he is.”
How could I forget? Leon Jessup was the reason I had almost lost one of my brothers. I couldn’t say any of that to Brody, though. He didn’t feel the same way about the incident as I did.
“He’s in a junior competition and asked me to come watch him.”
I hoped my voice sounded less accusatory out loud than it did in my head. “I dinnae ken you kept in touch.”
Brody let that comment go. “That’s not why I called.”
I allowed him to shift the conversation. We had talked about Leon before, and Brody was an adult. Rehashing the past wouldn’t change anything.
“Aspen turns eighteen next month, and I think we should go in together on something for her.”
That was definitelynotwhat I had expected. “You called me from Australia to talk about buying a gift for our sister?”
“When you say it like that, I sound off in the head.” Humor laced Brody’s voice. “I had a reason, and a good one.”
“Let’s hear it then.” If I’d been the type of person to roll my eyes, I would’ve done it now.
“Aye.” Someone in the background shouted something and made him laugh. “I was sampling some local wares–”
Translation: he’d been drinking under the guise of research for his own alcohol business.
“–and I stumbled over a local artist who does these amazing workshops for budding artists. I think we should give Aspen two weeks of workshops here in Australia.”
“The artist is a bonnie lass, aye?”
He laughed. “She is, but I promise that’s not the reason I want to give this to Aspen.”
I believed him. Brody may have had a reputation of being popular with women, but he wasn’t the sort of man who’d use family as an excuse. Especially not our younger stepsister. Aspen was as quiet and serious as I was, often pulling into herself when in crowds. She often seemed to live in her head.
“The price is exactly in our budget if we go together on it,” Brody continued.
Each member of our family, regardless of biology, had money, and even the most money conscious of us was generous when it came to gifts. After we’d merged our families, our parents made a price limit for Christmas and birthday presents. Even though many of us were adults now, we still respected our parents’ wishes and stayed within the limit.
I was fairly certain it was Brody’s fault since that first Christmas, he’d tried to buy our new brothers and sisters ponies. Plural. Two of them for each kid.
