Page 19 of Ever After All

“Excellent. I’d ask for a ride, but Derek is picking me up.”

“I love that you and Derek are friends,” I said.

“Well, I’m the old wise one in our friendship,” he teased. His gaze sobered. “Pretty soon, though, Derek’s going to be all better. He’s not gonna want to hang with an old guy like me.”

I cocked my head to the side. “I’m fairly confident you’ll still see plenty of Derek. Maybe you got to know each other because you both hang around at the hospital together, but you’re pretty awesome. Plus, you know all the best fishing spots.”

My dad flashed me a grin as he sat down across from me and took a swallow of his coffee. “I know. I’m just teasing. Derek is a good egg. If your brother doesn’t wanna run the hardware store, and Derek’s feeling up to it, I might hire him when I’m ready to be done.”

“Speaking of Brent, where is he?”

My father’s eyes arced up to the clock mounted on the wall above the kitchen stove. “I don’t know. He’s not an early riser like you. Never has been.”

“Well, everyone has their own circadian rhythm,” I offered. I tried to ignore the worry that danced along the edges of my thoughts.

I didn’t like thinking about it, but I still sensed something was afoot with my brother. I had no idea what or what to even do about it, even if I knew. I also knew that it grated on my brother that I worried about him so much. That was the downside to being the older sister with almost eight years between us. I babysat for him a lot when we were growing up.

I shoved the worries away as soon as my brother’s voice came from behind me.

“My circadian rhythm is shifting,” Brent announced with a jaunty grin. He gave my father a squeeze on the shoulder as he walked by. “I have to get to work.”

“How is that going?” I asked, doing my very best to keep my voice casually curious.

He glanced over as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “It’s actually going great. I enjoy working with Kenan, and it’s never boring.”

The constant tension between my shoulder blades eased a tiny bit. My brother sounded legitimately motivated.

“Good to hear,” I replied.

My dad took a swallow of his coffee as he looked over at my brother. “He’s been saying this every morning since he started at Fireweed Industries.”

“What exactly do you do?” I asked as Brent sat in the remaining chair at the small round kitchen table.

“It’s different every day, which is why I love it. The other day, we helped unload equipment for the brewery. Some days, we do stuff at the warehouse, where they keep all the vehicles for road maintenance. Sometimes, we’re at the headquarters doing odd jobs. I show up, and Kenan either takes me along with him or sends me somewhere else to do something. It’s awesome.”

My dad’s gaze held pride as he looked over at my brother. “That’s a good place to get your foot in the door. Fireweed Industries is a big deal.”

Worry was like a vine tangled in my thoughts when it came to my brother. College had been hard for him. He’d partied hard and then dropped out. All things considered, it seemed like the best thing because otherwise, it was like tossing money into the wind to pay for it.

“I know,” Brent said. “I’m not under any illusions. It’s a big business, but it’s a family business. I like it and the pay is pretty good.”

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I slipped it out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. “Oh! I need to get going. I forgot I need to meet McKenna because she’s dropping her car off at the mechanic’s shop. Jack is out at a fire.”

I gave my dad a kiss on the cheek and waved to both of them before hurrying out the door. A short drive later, I slowed to a stop in front of McKenna’s driveway. She waited in her car at the end, as planned. She pulled out in front of me, and I followed her into town to the local garage.

A few minutes later, she hopped in my passenger seat. “Hey! Thanks for picking me up.”

“Of course,” I replied. “When will Jack be back?” Her hotshot firefighter husband was out of town dealing with a fire somewhere in the wilderness.

“Next week,” she said.

I smiled over at her. “You miss him?”

“Of course, I do. And it feels ridiculous. I mean—” She let out a quick sigh. “I’m used to being on my own.”

“But you’re in love,” I teased as I slowed to turn into the parking lot beside Spill the Beans Café.”

McKenna laughed softly. “True story. Who knew?”

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