“Don’t start,” I grumbled. Eleven a.m. or not, it was way too early for this. I hadn’t even had breakfast yet.
“Why not?” Reed’s grin grew wide. “It’s way more fun giving you shit than receiving it.”
“Yeah, well, let me wake up a little, and we’ll see who’s giving who shit.” I slowly stumbled from my room. My stomach felt like it was eating itself. Reed followed me to the kitchen, so I changed the subject before he could keep asking about the game.
“How’s Violet doing in California?”
“She’s good,” Reed said. “It’s hard being apart from her, but she barely saw her mom last year, so I think she likes being at school close to home. She’s going to try and visit when we’re back for homecoming in a couple of weeks though.”
“Long distance.” I shook my head. “Must be tough.”
“It’s worth it, for the right girl.” His lips twitched, and suddenly the dreamy smile he always wore around Violet was plastered on his face. I found myself wondering if I’d ever looklike such an idiot when I thought about a girl.
“Besides, it’s only temporary,” he continued. “I just hope if I ever get drafted, I end up someplace warm. Violet seriously can’t handle the cold.”
“No, really?” I laughed sarcastically. I’d never seen anyone wear as many layers as Violet during winter.
He scowled at me but then slapped me on the back. “I’ve missed you, little bro.”
I had to admit, the house had felt way too empty with Reed and Grayson gone, and I was happy to have my brothers home, too.
“Here I was thinking you’re too busy being a college hockey superstar to miss me,” I said.
“I don’t know about the superstar stuff. But I’ll never be too busy for you.”
This was about as deep as Reed and I ever got, but I knew he meant it. It could be frustrating sometimes to watch Reed so easily achieve everything I wanted, while my own hopes and dreams were currently slipping through my fingers. But I could only ever be happy for him.
Mom was sitting at the kitchen counter reading a book with a half-naked man wearing a kilt on the cover, which she slammed shut when we walked through the door. Her face was glowing when she looked up at us. I certainly hoped it was because she was happy to see her sons back together, and not because she’d just discovered what was under that man’s kilt.
“Have you eaten, Reed?” she asked.
“Yeah, I grabbed something on the road.”
“How about you, monkey?”
No matter how many times I told my mom to stop calling me that, she couldn’t let the habit die.
“I’ll just get some cereal.”
“Don’t eat it all,” Mom said. “Save some for your brothers.”
She should have known by now, when it came to our pantry, it was every Darling for themselves.
“How about your friend?” Mom asked.
I turned to look at Reed as he returned her smile. “I’m sure he’s fine; he ate on the road, too.”
“Friend?” I asked, my words muffled by a mouthful of Cheerios.
“Yeah, one of our teammates caught a ride back with us.” Reed’s voice trailed off as a tall guy with blond hair entered the kitchen.
“You guys talking about me?” He was grinning from ear to ear.
I vaguely recognized him and started running through the Raiders’ roster in my head, trying to recall his name.
“I’m Max,” he said, holding out his hand. “Max Foster. You must be Parker.”
I almost choked on a Cheerio. “There’s a Foster in our house?”
