“Ugh,” someone groans.
“Fine, we give up!” Kade shouts. “Come out! I forfeit.”
I release a breath and race to the attic door in the great room, whipping it open. Climbing down, I hop onto a long dining table and dust off my clothes, everyone turning to look at me. Not Lucas, though. He’s gone.
“What the…” Kade runs over.
Dylan smiles. “Hey!”
“What were you doing?” Madoc and everyone else follows, all of my brothers’ brows etched with aggravation.
But Hunter pushes past his dad and climbs onto the table. “I didn’t know that was there! Let me see!”
Kade, Dylan, and Hawke rush over as I jump down and out of the way.
“We’re tearing it down to open up the room,” Jax tells his brothers. “There are yards of rafters up there.”
Madoc peers up through the opening. “I wondered if there was a second level or something.”
Jax shakes his head. “Just empty space.”
“Who told you that you could play up there?”
I look up at Jared. His voice is curt.
Before I can answer, Dylan speaks up. “Oh, Dad.Leave her alone.”
“Do you know how thin these boards are?” Madoc gripes at me. “What if you fell?”
“Then I would’ve gotten hurt,” I point out. “And Dad would’ve blamed you.”
Madoc steps in. “Why you little—”
Jax pulls him back, clamping a hand over his mouth.
Dylan giggles, and I fold my lips between my teeth. I can’t believe I said that.
“Let me up!” Hawke yells as Hunter pushes Kade through the opening.
“I want to see next,” Hunter says.
But Dylan takes my hand, and we run as Jax grabs the twins by the waists of their jeans. “You two, come here.”
Dylan and I race outside onto the porch and down the steps.
I did it. I didn’t forfeit!
“Kade has to steal the keys now,” Dylan brags.
It won’t be hard for him, unfortunately. But I’ll admit, it’s nice to see him lose. He never does. Especially against me.
The lake ripples with the light breeze, and I spot Lucas’s torn shirt on the beach. Dylan runs, joining her mom on the sand as she bounces James, Dylan’s baby brother, in her lap.
Where’s Lucas? I walk down the dock, scanning the water, and then I turn my head left and right, looking down the beach. I want to tell him I won.
Of course, that means I still have to go ATVing, which sucks.
Sliding off my sneakers, I sit down on the dock and dip my feet into the water. I study the island out on the lake. Maybe a little smaller than a football field, it’s filled with trees and large boulders trailing up the hills. There’s a cliff you can jump into the water on one side, and I even heard there’s a small cave somewhere. A canoe sits on the beach. Is that where Lucas went?
