Page 42 of A Whole New Trick

“Trying to attach the PS5 to Uncle Pat’s TV in the den,” Mason says.

She wrinkles her nose. “Does that monstrosity even have an HDMI port?”

“Yes, but they aren’t working. We went to town earlier and bought an adapter. We’re hoping it will work.”

Morgan shakes her head. “Well, if it doesn’t, I’m pretty sure there’s an old Nintendo somewhere. We can play Mario Kart.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Miles cracks his knuckles. “I’m in the mood for some domination.”

“You suck at Mario Kart,” Mason insults his twin. “You run off the track at every sharp turn.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Their back and forth continues as we walk through an open foyer decorated with wood baseboards and brown crown molding. Animal trophies are mounted on the walls, including an elk with antlers at least four feet wide. Morgan’s uncle must be a hunter.

We walk to the back of the house, passing a kitchen and formal dining room, and enter a warm den. Pieces of leather furniture with green pillows are arranged in an L shape, angled towards a roaring fireplace. In the corner stands an old school big screen plasma TV.

I whistle.

“What?”

I look at Morgan and motion towards the massive TV. “I haven’t seen one of those in forever. Talk about a blast from the past.”

“I know, right?” She laughs. “Uncle Pat refuses to upgrade. It doesn’t matter how many times we tell him new TVs have better picture quality and use less electricity. He won’t get rid of it.”

“What’s worse is he’s spent enough money repairing this beast to buy at least five new, seventy-five-inch TVs.” Miles shakes his head. “The guy is stubborn.”

“Well, he’s Dad’s brother. What do you expect?” Mason points out.

“True,” Morgan and Miles say at once, sharing a knowing smile that only siblings who’ve grown up together can share.

Seeing the Caldwell siblings together makes me nostalgic about my family—namely Eli. We have a decent age gap, but growing up with a brother made my upbringing more memorable. I used to love taking my baby brother anywhere I went, letting him borrow my hockey jerseys as he ran around the house, pushing a puck with the toy hockey sticks my parents got him. My family of four was happy and full of love—until we weren’t.

“Is that a pipsqueak I hear?” A voice trails out of the dim hallway on the left.

I turn and see a guy who must be the missing brother, Matthew, and while he is the leanest brother, he’s also the tallest. If he stood next to me, I’d have to lift my chin to meet his eye.

The Caldwells have some impressive genes.

“Shut up, Sasquatch.” Morgan grins. She strides over and throws her arms around his neck. Her brother dips down and hugs her with one arm. A dark-gray gaming console is tucked under his other arm. “It’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too.” He straightens and turns toward me. His smile remains in place, but it’s a little less warm. “Hey. You must be Dane.”

“I am.” I walk over and shake his hand. “Sorry to intrude on your family night. Morgan took pity on me and saved me from hanging out alone in my hotel room.”

Matthew shakes my hand. “You didn’t want to celebrate the win with your teammates?”

“I’d rather celebrate with Morgan.”

A flicker of approval flashes in his gaze, but it’s gone before I can be sure it was there.

“I don’t see why,” Miles chimes in. “Morgan is the wet blanket in our family.”

“Shut up, Miles,” Morgan snaps.

The slightly shorter twin chuckles. “What? You know it’s true.” He looks at me. “This one spends way too long reading the rules for every board game before we can play. It’s torture.”

“I like to play by the rules,” she counters. “Family game nights would have been absolute mayhem if it were up to you guys.”

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