Page 3 of Drifting Hearts
“Thank you,” I said, because I was fucked up, but I still had manners.
“Don’t mention it,” Kieran snarled, meaning every syllable.
I didn’t blame him.
I didn’t like me either.
Chapter 2
Kieran
My brother was toosoft-hearted for his own good. Even before Shane won the lottery, he was one of those people who would go out of his way to help others. Just like our mom. It was something I loved about them both, even if it made them do stupid things sometimes.
Archer Kinsman had been good for my brother. He made him happy, but he also came with baggage. And it was because Shane had a gigantic, generous heart that I was now arguing with him.
It was his money. I was well aware of the fact that it wasn’t my winning ticket, but sometimes Shane wanted to do too much for too many people and I had to rein him in. Shane’s big heart now came with deep pockets, and he’d long ago asked me to be the one to help him manage his money. Mostly he did things with it that everyone said they’d do if they won the lottery.
He bought mom a new house and helped her turn it into a women’s shelter, which he helped with when he could. We both did. Our mom had broken her back to look after us kids when the bottom fell out from under her world. Growing up, we’d all been told we had college funds. A windfall from our dad’s parents when they passed that had been placed in trust. Only Dad blew it all before we saw a dime. He lost the house too, and that’s when Mom moved us three boys into a single bedroom apartment she could barely afford. On her own with three kids, she worked her ass off to make ends meet.
With his winnings, Shane bought her a nice house with a white picket fence and set her up with an income so she wouldn’t have to worry about food or bills. She kept working as a receptionist for a while, but everything changed when a coworker needed a place to stay to escape an abusive situation. Opening the shelter had breathed new life back into Mom. It was good to see her happy again. Helping those women gave her a purpose.
After that, Shane sent Brodie money that allowed him to keep travelling. Brodie had been making use of different programs that needed people to volunteer in foreign countries in exchange for room and board. But with money available to him, Brodie’s travel plans expanded. Sometimes I think Shane regretted funding so much of that because Brodie was hardly ever home now.
I’d argued with Shane about doing anything for me, but he paid off my student loans. I’d tried to stop him there, but then my dream car showed up in my driveway with a gigantic bow on top.
He bought the bar and contributed to charities around town, and in general was a far better human being than I was. Because his newest project was Archer’s former best friend, Clayton Cross, who should’ve been locked up for theft or something for the way he ripped Archer off and sank their business.
“What am I even doing here?” Just looking at Clayton had me angry on Archer’s behalf and I barely knew him. I felt no sympathy for him, even though his actions had finally caught up with him.
Shane put his arm around my shoulders and steered me away from Clayton’s hospital room. Archer was down the hall in the waiting room, eating chips he got from the vending machine.
“You’re helping me. I won’t bring him into my house, but he has nowhere to go. I’ve paid his bookie, but he can’t return to where hewas or he’ll just fall back into the same patterns and end up dead next time.”
I cut Shane a scathing look. “How is that your problem?”
He glanced at Archer. “I love him, Kieran. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Again, how does that make Clayton your problem?”
Shane sighed and wiped a hand down his face. “Archer might never forgive Clayton, but he also might never forgive himself if he feels like he let something bad happen to him.”
“You hired me to be the voice of reason. So here’s a reality check. Clayton is a gambling addict who got the shit kicked out of him by his bookie. I know you think you can just bring him home and feed him soup and make it all better, but you can’t throw money at this and make it go away, Shane.”
He scowled at me. “I know all that, okay. I might be idealistic, but I’m not stupid. That’s why I’ve attached conditions to my assistance. He gets a place to stay, but he can only have a flip phone, one of those ones that doesn’t do anything but call people. You know, old school tech. He gave Archer the keys to his place and Archer packed his shit for him. And confiscated his computer. He’s going to therapy and joining a support group.”
“And you’re paying for all of it.” A sigh ripped out of me. “This has bad idea written all over it.”
“You’re really going to hate this next part.”
Shane looked like he was bracing himself. A feeling of impending doom sat in my stomach like a stone.
“Mom’s taking him.”
“You’re fucking joking.”
“I didn’t ask her—she offered. She called and asked if I could fix something and I said I’d do it when I was back in town, and then she just got the whole story out of me. You know Mom.”
The truth was I did. There was no keeping a secret from her. She’d ply you with sweetness and understanding and, before you knew it, you were spilling your guts to her. It was magic. Sometimes I thought it was black magic.
