Page 2 of Here and Now
“Uncle Miles!” Ethan bounds into the room, practically knocking me off my feet as he barrels into me.
I give him a tight hug and then turn my best authoritative principal look on him. “Were you spray-painting the barn?”
“No.”
“Doing anything that might send your mother into labor?”
He glances at her and shrugs. “I don’t think so.”
“Okay, then. Carry on.”
Eloise rolls her eyes. “You’re so helpful.”
“I do what I can.”
“Well, go see what the jackass with the bell wants.”
I kiss her cheek and then head in to see what the hell my brother-in-law is trying to accomplish, other than making my sister homicidal.
“Yo, asshole,” I say as I walk in.
Doug is lying on the couch, his leg resting on a series of pillows, with a side table full of medication, water, and empty plates.
“I’m the asshole? That’s funny coming from you. You have tried to get me killed, forced me to marry a psychopath, and now you broke my leg.”
“Glad to see you’re dramatic as ever, douchebag.” I sit on the couch opposite him. “I didn’t force you to marry a psychopath. She’s my sister, and I’d like to think I bestowed a great gift upon you.”
He snorts. “You’ve met her, right?”
“You know she’ll kill you if she hears this.”
“I’ll take death at this point.”
We both laugh. “Also, when did I try to get you killed?”
“Oh, let’s see ... maybe when we were in Europe, and you had me do shots until I puked for so long I thought I’d lost an organ in the process.”
“Ahh, the good ole days.”
Doug and I served in the US Marines for four years together inthe same unit. I joined right out of high school to get college paid for—Doug wanted to see the world. We became best friends then, he followed me back to Virginia, met my sister, and now he’s literally my brother.
“Yes, nothing like that one time I almost got shot.”
“Almost,” I remind him. “You didn’t.”
He rolls his eyes and winces. “I would’ve preferred it to this.”
“Is the pain bad?”
Doug groans as he tries to shift. “Horrific. I have physical therapy tomorrow, and I honestly don’t know how I’m going to handle any of it.”
That says something because Doug is a tough son of a bitch. He’s never one to complain and usually takes things on the chin.
“Sorry, dude.”
“It’s fine. I was the asshat who thought I should go full fucking force on the ice. I’m not twenty anymore.”
“No, you’re not,” I agree.
