She props Bo against her hip before she grumbles and walks away.
I rub my face with my hands. I have to get a grip. We won’t be able to live together like this.
I’ve always watched Summer from afar to lessen the sting. But now she’s way too close for my resolve.
I heave a sigh and slide off the chair, knowing I’m going to have to face her one more time today for good measure. Plus, I need to walk through the living room to get to the front door.
Walking into the living room, I stop in my tracks when I see Summer sitting on the floor, her hair down and feathering her arms. She’s making noises at Bo, and they’re both giggling while she wiggles his captured foot. She was always meant to be a mom. She’s a natural, and this is an image of two happy souls. Despite what’s happened, they deserve this moment.
Even if Summer doesn’t want to admit it, she’s hurting from my brother’s passing too. And Bo? Well, he’ll never remember his father. My heart aches for too many reasons, but I won’t let Summer be the reason this time. I owe it to my brother to be the man who watches over his family.
My eyes slide to the side, and something captures my eye. Taking a few steps, I pause when I notice a photo of Summer, Zac, and Bo, the three of them together when Bo must have been a few weeks old. They’re a family in the photo with affection on their faces. But the photo next to them, it’s clear. No need to see it up close.
The three ofus. My brother, Summer, and me.
Long ago.
When this mess all began.
And it all comes back…
4
NASH
7 YEARS AGO
Don’t torture yourself. You knew they would be here, and still you decide to join when you saw them. Damn it, Nash.
I slow my walk as I approach Summer and Zac sitting on the edge of the dock. My brother’s legs dangling and Summer sitting cross-legged half turned to face him. They are deep in conversation, but Summer’s eyes slide in my direction, then she does a double take. Her eyes are laced with fear and delight that I’m here.
My brother shoots his gaze up and an instant beaming smile forms.
“Oh hey, I thought you would be at the rink.” My brother scoots over to make room for me to join, and I sit on his other side cross-legged to face Summer as my brother leans back on his elbows.
“Finished early. It’s the off season. I was just focusing on practicing skills and concentration. Can’t work too hard,” Iexplain. It’s been five years since I went pro, but it still feels good to come home in the summer.
My brother shrugs it off. “I was just telling Summer about a BBQ I want to throw later. Remember in high school, when our parents would be complete idiots and leave us alone on the weekends? They kept giving us prime opportunities for parties and stuff,” he reflects.
Zac is right, someone should have given them the parenting-a-teenager playbook.
One person’s stupidity is another person’s gain, right? It meant at the end of my senior year, it gave me ample opportunity for a stolen moment with Summer that stayed in my mind, but we left it in the past.
Until a few months ago.
“Anyway, I think we’ll all go easy tonight with a few friends and throw some burgers on the grill. Nothing like the way you normally celebrate a game win,” my brother explains.
Last season I only celebrated with Summer because we happened one night. My little brother’s best friend who has always occupied my thoughts. It was a kiss in the making, a pop of the tension bubble between us, and it quickly turned to more. We kissed once when we were younger, but this was zero to a hundred within a minute.
It should have only been a hook-up, but I’ve been addicted to Summer ever since.
We’ve just kept it quiet, as we weren’t sure how Zac would react. Maybe it was our logic that we would only be a fling and he would never need to know.
But it's no longer what we imagined.
Summer clears her throat. “I’m sure people just want to hang out. No need to break out the shots.”
“I’m sure that’s how Nash rolls between games. Girls arealways all over him. They must buy him shots.” My brother’s words agitate Summer, and I can tell because of the way she nibbles her bottom lip to hide her disdain at the thought.
