He answered right as my bedroom door clicked shut behind me.
“Hey, sis,” he shouted. Sound blasted from his end of the line like he was at a rave. Really, it was only my nephews. Though barely eight thirty in the morning, the chaos of the Sean Rausch household was in full swing.
With three boys spanning from the ages of fourteen to five, there was no shortage of mayhem.
“Hey,” I replied. It had been a while since I’d spoken to him. I hadn’t even told him about the break-in and my subsequent displacement to Lane’s because I hadn’t wanted to worry him.
“When are you heading up?” he asked, then shouted at one of the boys to stop pulling his brother’s hair. “Wait, you were on shift last night, right? So not until later?”
“That’s actually why I’m calling. I mean, yeah, I was on shift yesterday, so I need to get some sleep, but…I’m not coming up after all.”
He sighed. “What is it this time?”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not risking my life in this blizzard. Or did you not notice it’s a complete white out?”
Sean didn’t argue or press or even tell me to get over it like he would have in the past. He simply said, “Fine, see you at Christmas,” and hung up.
“Prick,” I muttered, then went about getting ready for bed.
My older brother and I always had a strained relationship. With five years between us, we’d always struggled to connect, always at very different points in our lives. It wasn’t a good or a bad thing, merely a fact of my life, like having parents I only saw sporadically during the three or four months they found themselves in the same region of the country as me.
My family was…fine.
But we weren’t the Lawlesses.
With that depressing thought, I crawled between the sheets, curled into a ball, and promptly passed out.
To sayI was nervous to walk into Lane’s family home at his side would’ve been an understatement. But being here was a lot better than being alone. I could endure stares and comments for a few hours if it meant a good meal and some company.
Unsurprisingly, they all welcomed me with open arms. On the other hand, though, the boys surprisingly waited until we were all seated to start ribbing Lane.
“About time you brought a date to one of these things,” West said to his older brother, wearing a shit-eating grin as he ladled meatballs and marinara over a massive bowl of spaghetti.
“Don’t fucking start,” Lane grumbled from my side.
West glanced around the table, eyes wide in feigned innocence. “I’m not doing anything. Merely making an observation.”
“And yourobservationis annoying as fuck, just like the rest of you.”
“Lane,” Birdie scolded.
Lane’s shoulders hunched at the admonishment, and he mumbled an apology. I hid my laughter behind my fist.
“How are repairs to your house coming?” Crew asked me.
“Slow,” I said with an eye roll.
“Who’d you hire to do them?” Trey asked.
“Barney Edwards.” Groans rose from the guys. “What?” I asked.
“He’s notorious for stringing people along and ripping them off,” Lane said with a grimace.
“Shit.” How could I not have known that?
Lane’s hand found my thigh under the table, giving it a brief squeeze before pulling away, having no idea that his simple touch sent goosebumps skittering across my skin.
“It’s okay, sunny. I’ll talk to him.”
