We followed the guys into the house and were instantly met by Michelle, who lavished attention on all four of us. I hugged Michelle politely and watched the fun and vibrant Casey chat her up something fierce. Clearly she was loved by the family and just blended in effortlessly. I wondered if I’d ever possess that ease.
“I’m ready.” Quinn appeared in boxers and nothing else. His hair was wild from sleep, as if he’d just rolled out of bed to greet us.
“I can see that,” Kyle grinned, taking in his little brother’s scantily clad body. “What exactly are you ready for?”
“I’m coming with you. I’ll hang out with your sister,” he said, flicking his head in my direction. “While you guys go camping.”
“You and Caroline are still friends?” I asked in surprise.
“Yeah. We’ve had a Snapchat streak going for ninety-three days,” Quinn said, looking quite impressed with himself.
“Wow, a ninety-three day Snapchat streak, huh,” Jake said, nodding. “Sounds serious.”
“What happened to your girlfriend?” I asked, my motherly instincts kicking in, as I felt a need to protect my little sister from this half-naked teenage player.
“It’s over. She cheated on me with the quarterback.”
Michelle turned away from her youngest son and mouthed, “Thank god.”
“Well, you know,” Kyle replied, “you can never trust a sixteen-year-old with a belly button ring.”
“Nope, it’s a scientific fact,” Casey pitched in.
“Sorry, Quinn,” Jake said. “But Kenzie and Casey did the packing, so we don’t have any room, unless you want to be strapped to the roof.”
“That’s what I figured,” Quinn shrugged. “I can’t go anyway. My band has that gig at the fair this weekend. I was just going to see what you said. And, of course, I wasn’t invited.”
“Geez, am I detecting some poor self esteem? Mom, maybe Quinn needs some therapy,” Kyle stated. He and Michelle exchanged a look, and I got the impression she wasn’t pleased with his comment. It was times like this that I understood there was a lot more to this family than met the eye.
Jake jumped in to change the subject by addressing Quinn, asking, “You’re not playing all cover songs, are you?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“Not just any cover songs. I’m going to bet they’re all your songs,” Kyle said to Jake.
“Shut up, Kyle!” Quinn exclaimed.
“Dude,” Jake shook his head. “If you want to be taken seriously, you need to play your own stuff.”
“Well, funny you mention that, because I have a brother who is this world-renowned singer-songwriter, and he’s been promising me for months to help polish up the songs I’ve written, but he keeps flaking.”
“Oh, wait,” Jake smirked. “Is he talking about me?”
Casey smacked him and said to Quinn, “I promise I’ll make him find a free day as soon as we get back.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
* * *
“Where does this go?” Jake asked, holding up a floppy tent pole. “I think it’s broken.”
“That’s the piece that makes the roof, dumbass,” Kyle insulted.
“If the roof is three feet tall, dickhead!” Jake spat back.
Casey and I exchanged a look. These boys had no clue what they were doing.
“It’s possible we’ll be sleeping in the truck tonight,” she whispered.
