“Sawyer, buddy, stop,” I attempt.
He’s too far gone; hilarity has rendered him incapable of stopping. “This is almost as good as the Hobbs thing with Klein and Mia.”
“What’s so damn funny?” I snap.
Still quaking, he explains, “His name is Flint. And he’s a firefighter. Flint the firefighter. Fireman Flint. Fighting fire with fire.” He chokes out another laugh. “This poor bastard. I bet he hates his name more than I do.”
Eventually, he catches his breath. “Why aren’t you laughing? That’s funny shit.”
“Sure, it’s humorous. But I don’t think you understand what this means.”
He roves his gaze over my face, growing sober to mirror me. “What’s the big deal? We have another brother. He’s alive. And a fucking hero and a woodworker. That’s cool shit. Let’s set up a trip to meet him.”
“You don’t get it,” I insist, nostrils flaring with an exhale. “Shechosehim.”
“She?” He arches a brow. “Our mother?”
“Yes. She picked him over us.”
“What do you mean,pickedhim?”
I clench my fists to stop them from trembling. “She either couldn’t afford to keep all three, or she didn’t want to. She chose her favorite and threw you and me away. She put us up for adoption in another god damn state. Probably so there’d be no chance she’d have to see us again.”
“Isthatwhat you thought you had to protect me from?” he asks, voice devoid of the anguish ravaging me.
Through my tears, I admit, “Yes.She didn’t want us. And then I was ripped out of your fucking arms when we were four to be sent to a family that despised me. You rotted in one fosterhome after another. Meanwhile, Flint got all her love. Our own mother broke us up without batting a damn eye.”
My eyes are sealed shut when I finally finish purging this. Tears dampen my chest.
Perry surrounds me in a bear hug. “It’s okay, man. I gotcha.”
He rubs soothing circles on my back, holding me until I can stand on my own again.
I withdraw from the embrace, wiping my eyes. “I’m sorry. I should be comforting you.”
“I don’t think so.” He rolls out his lower lip. “You needed it. Not me. I’m fine.”
My arms fall to my sides. “What? How?”
He raps his fingertips over his forehead. “How do I say this without sounding like an ass?”
With a shrug and a sigh, he says, “I’ve always known I wasn’t wanted. This isn’t new for me. And it sucked for a long time. But you know what?”
“What?”
“It didn’t stop me from living my best fucking life. I’m married to the woman of my dreams, and we have two healthy, perfect babies who I would die for.”
His happiness ramps up to blinding levels before my eyes. “I’ve got the best friends. A job I love. A nice home. The finest furniture money can buy. Skin kissed by the gods. And don’t get me started on our sex life. It’s so fucking good, man. Even having kids didn’t stop us.” He bites his knuckle. “The things Sammy can do to me.”
I cringe. He notices.
“Sorry, TMI. But anyhow.” He shakes his head, then launches on. “If all that wonderful epic shit wasn’t enough, I haveyounow. A brother by blood. At the risk of inflating your ego, but you’re a badass FBI agent with a smoking hot ladywho loves you. And now you’ve got an old farm, which is...?something.”
He’s bubbling like a carbonated soda that’s been dropped repeatedly. Each time he opens his mouth, he pops the top, spewing sugary syrup everywhere.
It’s disgusting and beautiful.
He grabs my shoulders, giving me a shake. “And now we haveanotherbrother. Another handsome bloke. Will he be cool like us, or will he suck? Who knows? But we get to find out. Together. How could life possibly get any better?”
