Page 38 of My Best Friend's Brother
Chapter 14
The next morning flew by. Keke couldn’t tell what had happened if asked. She’d barely slept the night before. Bertie’s confession about her mom’s cancer gnawed at her from the inside. Her heart ached for both Bertie and Petey, while her subconscious guilted her over the promise she had made.
Keke made a point to sneak away from the kids at every opportunity to hunt down Mrs. Headley. She wouldn’t reveal that she knew the truth. Keke only wanted to help the woman, however she could. But Mrs. Headley was nowhere to be found. When Titus asked Keke if she’d seen his wife, Keke lied and said she was inspecting a trail. Keke figured Bertie would want her to keep the subterfuge.
She’d barely noticed Pete’s permanent grin. He seemed more at ease, with a pep in his step. He walked with more confidence, which only made him sexier.
He flicked a marshmallow at her from across the office. When she gave him an annoyed stare, he only grinned.
“You know ants live out here, right? You can’t be throwing sweet things around.”
“So eat it, or throw it away,” he said smoothly. He leaned back in the chair and put his feet up on the desk.
“What’s gotten into you?”
He shrugged, hands behind his head. “Happiness.”
Oh, great. Now she really couldn’t tell him about his mom, even if she had decided to go against her word. Keke had never seen him this…happy before.
“Nice walk, huh?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He chuckled. “We talked and held hands. It was…easier than I thought.”
“It always is when the person likes you,” Keke said dryly.
“I know, but you have it easy. Us nerds don’t. You’re beautiful and could get any guy. Unless we figure out how to harness the power of hot people, we’re doomed to live a life of solitude in loserdom, usually in our parents’ basement.”
Keke snorted and then laughed. “Only if you choose to. I’m a firm believer in people making their own choices. You get the life you choose.”
Pete crossed his arms over his chest. “I disagree. Some people don’t choose what happens to them. We don’t choose our parents or where we grow up. We don’t choose…illness, for example—unless it’s preventable.”
Keke bit her lip. He had a point, but she wouldn’t concede out loud. She stared at his handsome face. Although contemplative, it still had a glow of confidence and happiness she couldn’t destroy.
But she had to do something. An overwhelming urge to comfort him made her arms ache to hold him.
“You two,” Titus barked from the front entrance. “There’s a firepit near station seven that needs cleaning. And clear the path around there. We’re going to have a small group of children coming for a day trip tomorrow, and we can set them up there.”
Keke jumped from her seat, while Pete took his time rising. Maybe his newfound confidence lessened the effect of Titus’s intimidation.
Keke and Pete walked in silence to station seven. Keke groaned at the sight of the firepit. The last group didn’t bother to clean away the garbage. Even the grill was crusted with soot and charred food.
Keke yanked a plastic bag from the belt she’d looped it around. “This is going to take forever.”
“Look at it on the bright side, we get to steer clear of my father for a little while. He’s been on the rampage today.”
“I hadn’t really noticed.”
Pete gave her a curious look. “You haven’t? He’s been stomping around the site all morning.”
“He was looking for your mom earlier.” Keke silently chastised herself. Was she trying to break her promise?
“Yeah, I think that’s part of the problem. She’s been M.I.A., and he’s not happy about it. Wish I had whatever excuse she was using.”
Keke ordered her lips to stay shut. She scraped off the blackened gunk on the grill with a tool Pete had handed her.
“Tell me about last night?” Keke asked to keep herself from casually bringing up his mother and breaking her word to Bertie.
“It was great, like I said.”
