Page 90 of One and Only

“Here goes nothing,” I mumbled.

He picked up on the second ring. “This is Cameron.”

“Cameron, it’s Beckett.”

He was quiet on the other end.

“Beckett Coleman,” I said. “I’m Greer’s…”

He interrupted me before I had to attempt a label that wasn’t completely fraudulent. “I know who you are, Beckett.” I could tell he was smiling. “Everything okay? Didn’t expect a call from my new brother-in-law,” he said lightly.

I blew out a hard breath. “I’m not sure what to do with your sister, and I have no one to talk to about it.”

If I thought he was quiet when he answered, it was a whole different kind of quiet now.

“I’m going to regret answering this phone call, aren’t I?” he said.

“Most likely.”

He sighed. “What happened? Because I got a really weird call from her earlier about threatening some kid—”

I interrupted him. “She told you about that?”

“Greer does this thing where she tells someone when she’s about to do something crazy because then it makes her feel like she’s been given permission, but really, she just wants someone to know so she can feel better about it.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “That sounds about right.”

“She get in trouble?”

“Not with me and Olive’s mom,” I told him.

“So … what’s the problem then?”

I was so glad I couldn’t see his face. “I told your sister the day we agreed to this crazy plan that she wasn’t my type. Not even a little bit.”

It sounded a lot like Cameron choked on a drink of something. “You did not.”

“She said it back to me if that makes a difference.” I flipped on my turn signal. “And I think … I think maybe she’s more my type than I thought. But we started this entire thing on the premise of lying to the people we love because it felt justified in our heads.”

He made a quiet humming sound.

I kept talking. “None of that feels like the right way to start a relationship. It feels confusing. And like we’re set up for nothing but failure if we … let ourselves do what we want to do.”

“I will not talk about you having sex with my sister,” he interjected. “I have personal boundaries, and that is one of them.”

I exhaled a laugh. “That’s fair.”

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be, Beckett.” He sighed. “I love all my sisters. They drive me up a fucking wall on the regular, but I would move heaven and earth for every one of them. That said, I know how impulsive Greer can be. And how hardheaded she is when she wants something. And I’m no relationship expert, either. But if you feel like you’re starting a relationship on shaky ground, adding … physical stuff,” he said carefully, “on top of all theothercomplications…” His voice trailed off. “You’ve just gotta be honest with her. You’ll be fine if you just talk it through. She’s good at that.”

Everything he said rang true. And even if it didn’t help me to know exactly what I wanted to say when I got back home, I knew he was right.

All I could do was talk to her.

Be as honest as possible without causing harm.

I thanked him for his time and tried to sift through my thoughts when I pulled the car up to the house.

The barn doors were open, and I caught sight of her on the rower, white earbuds in her ears, some confusing configuration of straps wrapped around her chest and high-waisted black leggings over her long legs.

---