Page 19 of Seeds of Malice

She glares at him. "Why are you on his side all of a sudden?"

"Just cool it, Avery," Cooper demands, then grabs a slice of tomato and pops it in his mouth.

"Where's the flipper?" Bobby calls out.

Dax gives Avery another nasty look and opens a cabinet. A dozen grill utensils are hanging on the door. He selects one and takes it to Bobby.

"Where are you from?" Cooper asks.

"West Virginia," I reply, deciding I like Cooper. He's a cross between Avery and Dax and seems more like his brother than his sister. And that is welcomed. Avery's rubbing me the wrong way.

"You like the mountains?" he questions.

I nod. "Yeah. Especially the lakes in summer."

"Have you been on our lake?"

I shake my head. "Not yet. We arrived late yesterday."

His face lights up. "We'll have to take you out on the boats before summer ends. Tomorrow should be a good day to sail. Why don't we plan on it?"

"I'd love to go, but I need to finish unpacking."

"How long will that take?"

I shrug. "Not sure. My room and my dad's are all that's left. I might be able to do it tonight when I get home."

He asks, "Do you have a lot of stuff?"

I ponder his question. "Not really."

"Then you have to agree to come! We don't always have perfect sailing weather."

I softly laugh. "You're making it hard for me to say no."

His expression grows kinder, and I decide I like him even more. He says, "Good. It's a sin to miss out on a good sailing day."

I cave. "Okay. What time are you leaving?"

"I can go later in the day if you want."

Dax slides his arm around my waist. "Didn't remember inviting you on our sailing trip."

Cooper's face falls. "Don't be a dick."

"For speaking the truth?" Dax states.

I turn to him in surprise and pin my eyebrows together.

"What's that look for?" he questions.

I point out, "I've never met siblings who are so mean to each other."

"Welcome to the Carrington's," Bobby sings.

A satisfied sound comes from Avery.

I ignore them and stare at Dax. Besides him, Cooper's been the only other one who's truly been nice to me. So I ask, "Why can't Cooper come with us?"

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