Page 12 of The Winslow Brothers

“You, my darling Jude, have a compulsion to feel the high of a wager.”

“So, what? He’s going to have a gambling problem?” I interrupt to ask angrily. “Because if that’s your prediction, you couldn’t be more wrong. The only way that’ll happen is over my dead body.”

Miss Cleo clicks her tongue and wags a finger at me as she shakes her head.

“You don’t think I know that, my darling boy? I do.”

“What do you mean, then?” Jude asks, his eyes wide and eager.

“There will come a time…” She pauses and then corrects herself. “No. There will come abet. One that will change the course of your life. One that will mold the shape of you as a man. Be careful, though, child. It won’t be a period of easy choices. But if you handle it right, it could lead to a great deal of happiness for you and the ones you love.”

Jude wags his eyebrows, half convinced now by this crock of shit that he’s going to hit it big on a game of chance. And I’m going to have to spend the foreseeable future making sure he doesn’t dump his money into a goddamn Ponzi scheme.

I glare at Cleo as she waves a hand to Ty, summoning him to take Jude’s place in the chair.

I plant my feet and cross my arms over my chest. The sooner we get done with this farce, the sooner we can get the fuck out of here so I can start trying to restore sanity to the Winslow lineage.

Flynn steps up and grabs Ty by the shoulder, though, shoving him to the side and surprising us all. “I’m next.”

“You’re really going along with this shit, Flynn?” I question disbelievingly. Out of all three of my brothers, Flynn is the last one I expected to be down for this bullshit.

He shrugs. “It’s just for fun, Rem.”

At Flynn’s always practical words, I inhale a deep breath and nod. He’s right. I don’t know why I’ve let Cleo get me so worked up in such a short amount of time, but it’s bordering on ridiculous.

This is a fun escape from reality—a last hurrah with my brothers before my wedding day. It’s unnecessary to give it any more credence than that.

“Go ahead, then,” I bark at Cleo, some of my ill-advised feeling still obviously rumbling around the surface.

She smiles again and takes Flynn’s hand in hers. “So practically minded, Flynn.”

We all nod, and I laugh. After the last exchange between us, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.

“So sound of mind and judgment.”

“And?” Flynn questions, his patience starting to wane.

“And I’m happy to report that, for the most part, you’ll remain this way as far as I can see into the future. There will be a night, though. One wild, unexpected night in a seemingly predictable life where you, my sweet boy, will make a pact with a stranger from which there will be great consequence.”

“A pact?” he asks.

“Oh yes,” Cleo answers with a growing smile. “A significant agreement that will affect your family a great deal.”

“Well, at least there seems to be a trend,” I note sarcastically. “We’re all going to have to pay for every one of your bullshit moves.”

“Any choice in the scheme of a family pool makes ripples, does it not, Remington?”

I roll my eyes, and Cleo smiles again.

“Great,” I say with a laugh. “So far, we’ve got a bet and a pact. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Cleo tsks me again with a click of her tongue on her teeth, and Ty shoves Flynn out of the chair to reclaim it. “Finally,” he breathes. “My turn.”

Ty shoves his hand into Cleo’s clasp, and she closes her eyes and hums as she “reads” whatever bullshit vibes Ty is giving off so she can spin a tale for him as well.

I sigh, rubbing at the mound of Taco Bell that’s starting to sit a little uncomfortably in my stomach, and wait.

When Cleo opens her eyes, they’re still a stark green, but somehow, they’ve taken on a hue of an overturned leaf in a thunderstorm as she looks hard at Ty’s face. It’s eerie, and I have to look away to get the food in my stomach under control as it roils a little bit.

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