Page 10 of When We Were Reckless
“All the more reason to hang out with us for the summer. I know it’s not what you want to be doing but have you got something better to do?”
“I can think of a million better things to do.”
“Name one.”
I propped my booted feet on the railing and stared up at the clouds skittering across the blue sky. Mason didn’t need me to work at the brewing company. I’d known him for twenty years, so I knew there had to be something more to this. “What’s going on?”
“We hired Quinn for the summer.”
“And?”
“And… she’d kill me if she found out I told you this.”
I sat up straighter. “Told me what? What’s going on? Is she sick again?”
“No, nothing like that. Quinn is okay. We want to try to convince her to stay in Texas.”
“I thought she was going to UCLA. She has her heart set on it.”
“Yeah, I know. It was one thing when you lived out there. We knew you’d keep an eye on her. Be a friend. Drop everything if she needed you. But now that you’re back in Texas, we’re nervous as hell about letting her be so far away with nobody to look after her. If something happened to her again… fuck, I don’t even want to think about it. Last time, if we hadn’t found her in time, she wouldn’t even be here, man.”
I took a deep breath and let it out as my eyes drifted shut. I could envision Quinn in that hospital bed. So pale. So small. Hooked up to all those tubes and machines that were keeping her alive. Quinn had always been so brave, so optimistic.
You’re a fucking asshole, Jesse.
I wanted to punch myself in the face for treating her the way I had. Not just last night. But Christmas Eve. I’d kissed her back. I’d kissed a high school girl. My best friend’s little sister. I’d kissed her soft, pouty lips as my hands skimmed over her tight little body, and I’d palmed her ass and pulled her closer.
How fucking low could I sink? What kind of man had I become?
But I still didn’t get it. “Nobody wants that. We all want her to be happy and healthy. But she has her heart set on going to Cali.” I knew this because she’d told me on Christmas Eve. And every other time I’d seen her before that. “It’s her dream.”
“I know it is,” Mason said quietly. “But she can always go live there after college. She’s just too damn young to be on her own right now. And you know what a daydreamer she is. So if she forgets to take her meds or doesn’t eat right or take care of herself, her body could fail her again.”
Her body was fit, and she was stronger than anyone gave her credit for—not only physically but mentally and emotionally. Quinn knew who she was and what she wanted, and at only eighteen, that was pretty damn impressive.
“What does any of this have to do with me working at the brewery?”
“She loves you, man. She’s loved you since she was a kid. Remember how she used to follow you around and tell you she loved you? She was like six or seven with those cartoon hearts in her eyes.”
He laughed at the memory, and I usually would have joined him. But now, I couldn’t laugh because I’d thrown it back in Quinn’s face. And why? Because I was so fucking bitter and angry that I felt the need to lash out at a girl who didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Quinn was goodand true. Not a liar or a cheat. Not cunning and manipulative. She had never done a single thing to hurt me.
“Holden and I figured if you spent some time with her this summer, it might be easier to convince her to stay in Texas. You said this was home, and you’re planning on staying, right?”
It was home, and I was staying. For now, at least. Until I figured out what to do next. “I don’t think this is such a great idea.” In fact, I knew it was a shitty idea.
“It’s the best we’ve got. I hate to ask for favors. I know you have a lot of shit to deal with, but if you just do me this one solid, I’ll owe you.”
“Quinn isn’t a little kid anymore. Pretty sure she doesn’t even like me that much.”
He laughed as if I’d just told him the world’s funniest joke. “Yeah, okay. But at the end of the day, you’ve always been a good friend to her. Like another big brother but not half as annoying.”
I took another stab at trying to talk him out of this. “Why don’t you just tell her the truth? That you’re worried about her, and you want her to stay closer to home?”
“We’ve told her. Pretty sure that’s why she’s so hell-bent on leaving. She wants her independence, and she wants to get away from her overprotective brothers. But we only do it because we love her.”
I knew that. The Cavanaughs, like the McCallisters, had always adhered to the motto that family comes first. We were loyal to our siblings, we did whatever we could to help each other out, and we were always there for each other. So I understood why he thought this was a good idea even though I knew it wasn’t. He loved his sister and would do anything it took to make sure she was okay.
“We don’t want to play the guilt card. We want it to be Quinn’s decision. I know it’s a long shot. But it can’t hurt to try.”
