Page 20 of Stealing Sunshine

“Your big brother speech? Why does she need that?” Mom asks, eyes narrowing. “Isn’t she one of your friends?”

Johnny waves a hand through the air. “She is, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t still get a good ol’-fashioned talkin’-to.”

“Oh, please. Don’t start,” I warn.

He grabs the second suitcase and rolls it toward where I stand in front of the door. “Start what?”

“Don’t give her the talk, Johnny. I’m serious.”

“What talk?” Mom steps closer to open the door for us. Mama smiles coyly at her. “Don’t look at me like that, Rachel. What talk is going on about?”

“Thetalk, Jen,” Mama says.

“Oh.” Mom blinks a few times. “Oh.”

“You’ll keep your mouth shut, Johnny. I’m serious,” I threaten.

He shrugs me off and shoves open the porch door before yanking the suitcase down the stairs. I wince as the wheels clang on the cement, but when he starts to whistle, I’m chasing after him, doing the exact same thing to the suitcase I’m hauling with me.

“Don’t act all innocent, Jonathan. You willnotmake this awkward for me. Got it?”

Unlocking the truck, he lowers the tailgate and starts tossing the first suitcase into the bed. “How would I make it awkward?”

I set my hands on my hips and try to look as intimidating as I can. Compared to my twin, that’s hardly ever possible. He’s a mammoth, with the stubbornness of the mules on Steele Ranch. Shifting his body toward me, he leans his hip on the edge of the tailgate and cocks his head.

“If you bare your teeth a little and work on your death starea lot, you might have a shot at giving your new roomie a run for her money,” he says, poking fun at me for the millionth time in our lives.

“You’re so annoying. Just keep your bro speeches to yourself,please. At least until I can make her like me a bit. If you go in there now spouting your mouth off already, she’s just going to hate me even more than she does.”

The humour in his eyes fades. “She doesn’t hate you, D.”

I make a disbelieving noise in my throat. “Maybehateis a strong word. But she strongly dislikes me. And that’s fine, but just please don’t make it any worse.”

“Maybe it’s another speech I need to be giving her altogether,” he mutters.

“You’re not giving a single one. I’m serious. I can handle myself.”

“I know you can.” He takes the suitcase from me and puts it in the bed before slamming the tailgate shut. “But you’ll let me know if you need anything, right?”

“Of course.”

Nodding, he reaches for me and pulls me in for a hug. “She’s good people, D. Rough around the edges but real good to those she cares about. You’ll be fine.”

“It’s not my first time with a roommate, J. It’ll be good. And short-lived, hopefully.”

I squeeze him once before turning to face our moms. They’re standing together on the sidewalk, hands linked with gentle expressions on their faces. Mom adjusts her glasses up her nose before speaking.

“Call us when you’re settled.”

“Or just come back over,” Mama suggests casually.

I smile, heading to my car. “I’ll call.”

“Loosen the reins a bit, you helicopter moms,” Johnny calls.

Mama doesn’t hesitate to flip him the bird, making him burst out in loud, booming laughter before I’m hopping into my car and waiting to follow Johnny to Bryce’s place. A beat later, we’re gone.

7

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