“That’s different, though.” I grab a spoon from the canister and stir the meat.
“How so?” Callie doesn’t look up from her cutting.
“I invited you to stay with me. They show up unannounced and expect me to take care of them.”
“That’s weird.”
“Why is that weird?” She knows how close we’ve always been.
“I don’t know.” I glance over at her and see her shrug. “It’s just, I thought they might go to Pierce for that since he’s the eldest sibling.”
If only they would. Not that I blame them. He’s not exactly the easiest person to get along with, but it’d be nice if they leaned on him at times.
“He can be an ass at the best of times. Most of us don’t want to rock the boat. Especially if we don’t know what kind of mood he’s in.”
That’s usually where I come into play. Always the one to ease the tension even though everyone knows I loathe confrontation. But they’ve always seen me as Pierce’s lapdog, and the one he relies on the most. Up until recently that’s the way it was.
“I figured he’d grow out of that.”
“What?” I’m lost in my thoughts and forgot what we were talking about.
“The moodiness.”
“I wish. If anything, he’s worse since Dad retired. I never know where any of us stand. And he’s pulled some shady shit in the last year when it comes to Piper, so we’ve been keeping him at a distance.”
“That sucks.” She doesn’t add anything else. I mean, what can she say? She hasn’t been here in years. She doesn’t know the family dynamics. Not like she used to.
“Yep. I guess that’s what happens when all the power goes to your head.”
“I know a few people like that.” There’s derision in her voice, and I want to know who put it there. It’s not my place to ask, though.
“Folks really should learn to treat people how they want to be treated.” I drain the grease from the pan and add the meat to the pot. I wait for her to finish chopping the onions and also add it to the pot. She moves around me and hands me the other ingredients I need without asking. “What are you doing?”
She grins and shakes her head. “I’ve seen your mom make chili more times than I can count. I remember what’s needed.”
“It’s good to know you remembered something from Asheville.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. Her smile falters and I want to pull them back inside. It’s too late for that now.
“I didn’t forget anything.” Even though her voice is a whisper, it’s booming in the silence of the house. “I have my reasons for not coming back until now.”
“Okay.” It’s the only thing I can say. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, and I’m not going to push it. When the time comes for her to divulge, I’ll listen. “And sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s fine.” Her tone says otherwise, but again I’m not pressing the issue. “That’s in the past, and I’d rather not focus on it, if that’s okay with you.”
She continues to help make dinner despite the fact that I’ve upset her. It wasn’t my intention, but I can never say the right thing around her. It’s like her presence makes all the ridiculous words come out. She stays quiet throughout the process of adding everything to the pot. The silence is deafening and I don’t know how to interact with her like this.
A few moments later, Alexandra comes into the kitchen. “Are y’all okay in here?” She lifts her eyebrow.
“Yep, why wouldn’t it be?” Callie backs away from me because clearly, we’re too close.
“Well, I heard something crash and raised voices.” Alexandra looks me up and down. “Did something happen?”
I should feel offended by her insinuation, but I’m not. She’s being protective of her mom, and that’s something I can admire. What in the world did she see and hear before they came to Asheville? Was her dad abusive toward Callie? Miles really needs to fill me in because Callie clearly isn’t.
“Peter decided to drop a pot on his foot.” Callie is grinning again. At least, she can laugh at my pain.
“Why would you do that?”
I glare at for Callie making it seem as if she didn’t just scare the crap out of me when she walked in here.
