Jerking his chin in my direction, he tells Rick, “You have a visitor.”
Rick glances at me, looking confused. “Do I know you?”
“Are you Rick Mullins?”
“Yeah,” he says. “That’s me. Who are you?”
I take a breath and meet his gaze. “I think I’m your sister.”
Rick stares at me like I’m a sad little lost puppy who doesn’t know who I belong to. Suspicion starts edging into his confused expression. Then his expression closes down entirely, but not before I see a flash of hurt.
“This ain’t funny,” he states flatly.
“I’m not joking,” I answer quickly. “I wouldn’t joke about something this important. I promise.”
The older man states helpfully, “Maybe you can sit down at one of the tables in the back and talk.”
Ignoring him, Rick lets out a short, humorless laugh. “I don’t have a sister. In fact, I don’t have any family at all. I’m a fuckin’ orphan who was raised in foster care.”
“I know,” I say. “Me too. Our mom got pregnant with me about a year after you were taken. My social worker told me that I was taken at birth, but I had an older brother. I’m Natalie Mullins. See, we have the same last name.”
Rigs speaks up, clearly aggravated with my brother. “This ain’t the kind of conversation you have standing out in the open. If you don’t find some privacy, I’m gonna beat your ass myself.”
My eyes go wide, but when I look back at Rigs, I realize he’s likely just joking. He doesn’t look particularly angry. More like a disgruntled parent.
Another man appears in my peripheral vision. He’s huge, quiet, and motionless. Rick shoots him a look that I can’t decipher. I don’t know who this third man is and I don’t care. I keep my eyes on my brother because he’s all that matters to me.
After a few seconds, he rakes the fingers of one hand through his hair. “I don’t know who you are or what your game is, but I’m not falling for it. You need to leave,” he says. “Right now.”
“I’ll leave if you really don’t want a sister.”
“What is it you want from me? I ain’t got any money if that’s your game.” he says.
“I just want a minute of your time. You’re the only family I’ve got. Please don’t turn me away without giving me a chance to explain.”
Rick hesitates, glancing at the third man again. He’s clearly torn between walking away and hearing me out.
My eyes rake over the other man. He’s huge, a mountain of a man. He’s also probably the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. But I’m not here for the eye candy.
The big stranger says, “You should hear her out, Rick. What if what she’s saying is true?”
Finally, Rick jerks his head towards a small table off to the side. “Okay, you’ve got two minutes.”
Turning to the big man, he says roughly, “You too, Bear. Since you’re so eager to give your fuckin’ opinion on my personal life.”
Bear. The name fits. His impressive size is clearly why they tagged him with that nickname. He has medium brown hair and striking brown eyes.
I take a seat and try to gather my thoughts. I’m only going to get one chance to explain things to my brother, so I need to choose my words carefully. I don’t know why he’s being so prickly. Maybe I’m the only one thrilled to have a sibling. If so, that makes me sad.
Rick and his friend take their seats at the table. An awkward silence spins out between the three of us. When I look up, my brother is staring at me.
“Start at the beginning and tell me everything,” he says sternly.
I perk up immediately because that’s more encouragement than I thought I’d get from him. “I grew up in foster care, got shifted around but ended up in the one place. It was okay I guess… when I was younger. But as I got older, I realized they used the older kids as unpaid childminders. My foster father was a part-time minister in our small community, and my foster mother spent a lot of time engaged in her own pursuits. Neither worked, they just collected money from the state.”
“Are you saying they treated you like a slave?”
His quiet friend provides the missing word. “Parentified. That’s what you call it.”
