“Damn, we won’t get you for very long,” Drew muttered from behind the wheel. “You’ve got to come home more, Dean. Whatever is keeping you away, we can fix it and deal with it. Punishing everyone to keep your distance isn’t doing any of us any favors.”
By the time Drew finished his speech, his voice was firmer and there was an edge of anger behind his words. I agreed with him even if I thought I knew the reason he stayed away, but I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t my place, and I couldn’t give myself away until I knew for sure he felt the same connection I did.
We were all quiet for a few minutes, lost in our own thoughts. Four days. I had him for four fucking days and I’d have to share him with the rest of the family. There was no having him all to myself like I wanted. I bit my lip to hold in my emotions and took a deep breath.
“Hey. Don’t forget to get me to a mailbox before we leave town. The letter will get to her faster if I mail it from here since I am only here for a few days.”
“Sure.” Drew drove us to the post office, and I smiled because the letter should be in my box tomorrow. I just had to sneak away long enough to get the letter and figure out what to do next. Did I tell him that Georgia Peach and I were the same person, that he had been sending me letters for the better part of a year and that I was head over heels in love with him?
He said he was trying to meet up with her before he left, so did he feel something for her? If he found out, would he hate me? So many outcomes were spinning through my head. I closed my eyes to stave off the dizziness. The radio was playing in the background softly as the brothers caught up on sports and family.
Drew was dating this girl he’d met in one of his classes, Chelsea something. He liked her, but I could tell it wasn’t going anywhere when I met her. She was too accommodating, rolling over and giving Drew anything he wanted. That would bore the hell out of him soon enough, of that I was certain.
I chuckled to myself.
Drew’s gaze shot to mine in the rearview mirror as Dean glanced over his shoulder at me. “What’s so funny?”
“I was just thinking about irony.”
“What about it?”
“You giving Dean a hard time about running from home, but you do the same in your own way.”
Drew flinched. “And how do I do that?”
“Well, how many girlfriends have you had in the past year?”
Dean laughed. “How many?”
“At least I’m trying to have relationships. You run from anything resembling a relationship, including family.”
I shook my head and smiled. “Do you really try though, Big Brother?” He didn’t answer right away so I continued. “You’re constantly picking up girls that have one thing in common.”
“What’s that, Dr. Phil?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.
“None of them challenge you, Drew. Not one of the girls I’ve met have lasted because you get bored with them. They don’t challenge you, so they are safe to date because they are temporary.”
Dean laughed when he saw Drew’s jaw clench. Drew sent him a scathing look before his narrowed eyes met mine again in the mirror. “What about you, little sis?”
“Oh, I agree. I’m just as bad. I pick guys to date knowing they will never last. You will get no judgment from me. As far as I can tell, we are all three runners when it comes to relationships.”
I didn’t add that the fact I ran from them was because the one relationship I wanted I couldn’t have, or that I was already in love with someone. I kept to myself, silently torturing myself with wanting someone so out of reach, someone so untouchable.
Four fucking days. I had four days to decide if I should tell him the truth or keep my secrets.
CHAPTER8
DEAN
Sunset Falls hadn’t changed a bit in the time I’ve been gone. The old lighthouse we used to tell scary stories and sneak into with beers we lifted from someone’s parents was still there. It all felt eerily frozen in time.
The area around the school had grown a bit, with more student housing and a nightclub that was popular with the students Drew pointed out. Other than that, the little college town remained the same.
We pulled into the driveway, and my stomach knotted with nerves. Dad’s truck was in the driveway, signaling he was home. It didn’t matter that I had been to basic with drill Sergeants yelling in my face, or that I had been working as a MP in South Korea for the past three years.
There’s not much in this world that makes me nervous, but coming home has been something I have dreaded since I left. One reason I’d already faced in seeing Nora again. The other reason was my father.
We didn’t get along under the best of circumstances, and before I left, it had been a rocky relationship that was about to get physical. A lot of that was on me, though. I could admit that much to myself now. Not only did I feel like he was replacing Mom back then, but he was replacing her, and at the same time, preventing me from ever being able to build a relationship with Nora that went beyond siblings.
