Lissa frowns. “Well, no, I know. Joshua and I were just, you know, talking. He dropped something off at the house, and Daddy invited him in for a drink. Moving isn’t something we need to think about until after the wedding.”
I nod mechanically, but I can’t deny the flicker of unease churning up the calm water of my future plans.
I love my house a lot. It’s Arts and Crafts with three bedrooms and an office. Not huge but not tiny. Greatneighbors. A short walk to the center of Winsome and a slightly longer walk to work. It has a big backyard and a front yard with a picket fence—“because you’re adorably literal like that,” Ames teases—and just enough room for an inflatable skeleton. It’shome.
And yeah, on the one hand, it’s just a house. My dad was former military. We moved around enough as a kid for me to know the family inside is way more important than the structure itself. But also… it’s not a thing I thought Lissa and I had to discuss any more than we’d discuss me keeping both arms attached to my body. Which makes me wonder if things are as settled as I’d told Dr. Colburn they are.
Fortunately, the food arrives so I can put this aside.
“So what’s going on with your probie?” Lissa asks, taking a delicate bite of soup.
I take a bite of my burger before answering. “He deployed a fire extinguisher into the fireplace.”
“Oh.” A crease appears between her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with that? Isn’t putting out fires what you do?”
I smile. “That’s whathesaid, funnily enough. But deploying the extinguisher could’ve pushed the fire back into the house, kinda like shaking a hornet’s nest. Which is why he was told to stage inside and monitor. He disobeyed an order.”
“Well, don’t be too hard on him,” she admonishes. “Aren’t you always saying people deserve second chances to prove themselves?”
I muster a smile. I love that Lissa’s helping me see all sides.
Really.
I’ve always thought it was a benefit that she doesn’treally understand how firefighting works since it gives her a fresh perspective that keeps our relationship interesting. But it sure would be nice if she’d take my side?—
I need someone who’s in my corner and will suck my dick.
I aspirate my burger, coughing so hard that Lissa gets up and comes around the table to pound my back.
Jesus fuck, Robbie.
“Thanks,” I manage. “I’m good. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize.” She gives my back one final pat and then squeezes my shoulder before taking her seat. “So. Would this be a good time to bring up someone who really doesn’t deserve more chances?”
My stomach flips. “Liss, if this is about my brother, can we please not? Just for today?”
“Alright. Only because I don’t want to disturb our nice lunch.” Lissa sighs. “But you should know… he texted me.”
I stare at her in surprise. “Mike did? How’d he even get your number?”
“I don’t know. He started off saying he’s excited to welcome me to the family?—”
“Oh.” I blink. “Well, that’s not?—”
“But when I didn’t reply, he texted again, asking if me or Daddy could hook him up with a loan from the bank.” She scrunches her nose unhappily. “I’m only at the bank part-time, and you know I don’t have anything to do with loan approvals. Even if I did…”
My stomach churns. I should have called Mike yesterday after Holden mentioned him, just to see what’s going on with him, but between Ames and everything else, I haven’t had time.
And, yeah, maybe I didn’t actually want to know.
“No, I know. I wouldn’t ask that of you or your dad,” I say quickly. “I… I didn’t know Mike would do that. I’ll deal with it, okay?”
“How? I know you’re not giving him money anymore, but I don’t think he’s getting the message.”
“I’ll tell him to stop,” I promise. “Seriously. I’ll do it right now.”
I pull out my phone and type.
