“Jake, I can’t stop drinking. Five simple words.”
“I didn’t want to let you down, didn’t want you, Branna, Mom, and Dad to think I was a failure.”
He’d been so much to her when she was younger. The ideal older brother, and she’d never wanted to disappoint him, always tried to make him proud of her. She’d failed, big-time.
“You could never disappoint me, even when I’m angry with you,” he said, lowering his brows and sending her a mock scowl.
“I didn’t want to come home unchanged from the girl who left.”
He shot her a look. “There was nothing wrong with that girl, or this one; the only wrong is you not telling me you were drinking. I don’t care if you decided to haul trash or be a banker for a living, you’re my sister. I’m always proud of you.”
“But I wanted to be proud of me.”
“And you weren’t?”
“No. I was just the youngest McBride, not bad to look at, happy, fun to be around, but not a lot of substance to her.”
“I never knew you felt like that.”
“It’s not something you broadcast, Jake.”
They were silent as he drove up the driveway to the medical center where he and their mother worked. He parked and switched off the ignition, but neither of them moved.
“It’s tough being the younger sibling of a superstar like me. Handsome, intelligent, rarely falls apart.”
“Ha ha.”
He wrapped a big arm around her and hauled her into his arms. “Little sister, I’m not sure where that shit in your head came from, but let me tell you something. I was envious of you when we were growing up, envious that you could walk into a room and have everyone at your feet in seconds. You were confident, beautiful, and the smartest girl I knew. I never doubted if you wanted a career you’d be the best you could be at it. I also never doubted that if you didn’t, you’d make a success of your life in whatever way you chose to.”
Katie was silent as she tried to make sense of his words. She struggled to see herself as he had.
“I need you to remember that we’re a unit, you, me, Bran, Rose, Mom, and Dad. We live through the good and the bad together. Remember what I was like when I came home?”
“I remember. But I wasn’t there all the time for you, only when you first got back.”
“You were only a phone call away, and I called you a lot, or have you forgotten?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten.” She’d talked to him for hours about everything and nothing, just talked until they didn’t have any words left.
“So we’re good, right? And after we’re done here at the clinic, you are coming home with me to talk some more, and this time you’re not holding anything back?”
“Okay.” She gave him a last hug before reaching for the door.
They found Dr. McBride, Sr. with Annabelle, discussing patients. Seeing her children together made her smile, but it soon fell away as she saw Jake and Katie’s expressions.
“What’s happened?”
Jake told them, then left to make calls, and Katie sat with her mom and friend until he was done. No one said much, all just too shocked about the news of how Jilly had died. The McBride siblings then left the town for Jake’s house.
Telling Branna was harder. She wept, and Katie made coffee while Jake comforted his wife. Rose woke from her nap, so she went and picked her up out of her cot and sat and cuddled her until Branna came looking.
“I need to feed her now.”
“I changed her diaper, but I’m not sure how successful it was.”
Branna managed a smile and took the baby in her arms.
“I’m sorry, Branna. I know how special Jilly was to you.”
