"Well, yeah, but not what you would normally do," Aspen said thoughtfully.
"I'm not a jerk—" At everyone's raised brows, I quickly added, "All the time."
"You kind of are," Morgan said, and I shot him an irritated glare.It was his job to be annoying, but that didn't mean I had to like it.I shouldn't have come.I should have known that Aspen would make something of nothing.That was her job as a little sister, to be as annoying as possible.
"Stop giving Maverick a hard time," Mom said.
Dad came into the room."What's this about Maverick being nice?"
"I'm always nice," I insisted, even though I knew I wasn't.I tolerated people, and I kept to myself.I didn't go out of my way to take care of sick women.It was out of character, and I couldn't reconcile it with the way I'd been feeling about Belle.I was supposed to be annoyed by her.She was a spoiled brat who expected people to take care of her.But the reality was that she was alone, and she hadn't bothered to call anyone for help.She was going to open the store herself, even though she was in no shape to work.
"She didn't feel like she could call her mother or even a friend?"Mom asked me when everyone else started talking about other stuff.
"That's what she said.She said her mother wouldn't have come, and her former high school friends aren't the best."
Aspen had sidled closer."I always wondered why she was part of that crowd.She was so nice and always had her head in a book."
"She wore the right clothes and came from a good family," I said, rolling up salami around a slice of cheese and taking a bite.
"You don't ever know what someone's dealing with.You're just assuming her life was blessed.But you can't know that for sure."
I took a water Dad handed me and twisted off the cap."I suppose you're right.I might have misjudged her."
"She's going to let me work a few hours a week at the bookstore," Aspen said.
Dad's brow furrowed."You need another job?"
"You know I've always wanted to work at a bookstore," Aspen said with a roll of her eyes.
Dad shook his head."You've always wanted to do everything.That's your problem.You've never settled on a career."
That indecision was why she'd come home from college a few years ago without a degree.Her lack of direction drove our parents crazy.
Aspen's lip curled."I'm doing just fine.I don't need a career."
Mom raised her brows at that declaration."You need some sort of direction."
Aspen rolled her eyes yet again."We were talking about Maverick.Not me."
"Maverick owns two businesses and is doing quite well for himself," Dad said reasonably.
"I'm doing just fine," Aspen said again.
"She just needs more time to figure out what she wants in life," Lincoln said easily.
Aspen grumbled, "I don't need time to figure out anything."Then she slipped away to play with Ayla, who'd just arrived with Hudson and Angela.
As much as I appreciated the diversion in conversation and focus on Aspen, I felt bad for her.She was the youngest and the only one of us who didn't seem to know what she wanted to do.She was content to work several jobs without any end goal in mind.But she was independent, living in an apartment above one of the shops in Christmas Town.
"She came through for Belle yesterday," I said by way of defense."She worked the entire day so Belle could rest."
"She's responsible.I just wish she had more direction.I worry about her," Mom said, and Dad moved closer, putting his arm around her.
They wanted their kids to be settled and happy.I could understand that.But so far, Lincoln, Ford, and Hudson had found significant others.The rest of us were running successful businesses.Only Aspen seemed rudderless.But maybe that's just who she was.And I wondered how the pressure from Mom to be someone else had affected her over the years.There was extra scrutiny on her as the youngest child and the only girl.
I'd gotten into trouble to gain my parents' attention.They'd largely let it go, expecting me to eventually grow up.They were right, but I would have liked some more attention at the time.
That knowledge had come with years of maturity though.I could see things clearly now.I pulled out my phone.
