“What?”Oh hell, no.I march to the sliding doors, but my brothers form a wall to stop me.
“You need to cool off, Finn.”Special K’s eyes are hard.
“I agree,” Declan says.“In my experience, women don’t like it when you approach them with supersonic afterburner flames shooting out of your nostrils.”
Evander smirks at Declan.“You have experience with women?”
I’m not in the mood for this shit.“Out of my way.”
Special K presses his palm to my chest.
“What do you need?”Evander asks.
“I need to rewind the last fifteen minutes of my life.You gonna give that to me?”
“So what happened?Whad’ya do?”
“I think I’m in love with her.”
“Welp, that certainly explains why she’s running away,” Declan says.
I lift my face to the sun and close my eyes for a moment.And then it occurs to me.
I lower my glance to find my brothers waiting.
“I’ve spent so long taking care of my kid that it’s the only thing I’m hardwired to do.Emma came to me today with a concern about Jasmine.Because Emma’s the most loving and generous soul I’ve ever known.And I… I just…”
Special K’s lips pull tight in disgust.
“I accused her of pointing out what a shitty father I am.”
Nobody says anything.
“I haven’t been in love with a woman in eight years!That’s a long fucking time!”
Evander looks like he’s doing math problems in his head.“Wait.Fifteen minutes?All this happened fifteen minutes ago?”
“Yeah, why?”
My brothers look at one another.“We saw Emma ten minutes ago.Which means she was on her way to Dad’s five minutes after your conversation.”
I’m a smart man.I’m such a smart man that I developed a brand-new algorithm to use in satellite-supported cybersecurity missions.So I know that means Emma was already packed and ready to go when she came to the barn to find me.
Oh, shit.
“Sonofabitch!”
I hear a knock at my front door.Nobody knocks around here.I’ve fantasized about my family having the courtesy to knock before they barge in, but I’ve never been that lucky.
“Expecting someone?”Evander asks.
Whoever is at the door is now ringing the doorbell.So this is either some sort of door-to-door sales call or someone who’s lost.
“I’ll get it.”Special K turns around, walks through the house, and opens the door.I hear the faint rumble of his voice until he yells, “Finn!Visitor!”
I walk inside to find Tammy Bellendorf standing in my living room.I shake my head in confusion, because I can’t seem to put the facts in any kind of order that makes sense.
Cheerleader captain Tammy?Emma’s mean girl?In my living room?On Yosemite Ranch?Why the fuck is this happening?
