Page 34 of South of The Skyway

“So confident you can just neglect your responsibilities?”

Laughter forced up my windpipe as I shook my head. “Nothing is more important than being present at the moment. And I’m not neglecting anything but a needy pack of siblings.”

“That’sallyour siblings?” she balked in blatant disbelief.

“The family text thread has been erupting all day. Mom and Dad are booking tickets to come down two weeks before Salmon Fest, right before the season starts, and the sibs are debating who’s coming with, who’s meeting up, and who’s holding down the fort—or, dry dock, rather.”

After two pointed blinks, Brexley asked, “You’re close?”

“For the most part. We have our…scuffles. But we show up when it actually matters.”

“You’ve mentioned the doctor—”

“Jeanne,” I supplied, earning a nod as she continued.

“—and Jameson. He’s a fisherman, too, right?”

“Right. He’ll be captain when Dad retires.”

“And Elora.”

“Designated know-it-all.” That earned an endearing slant of her mouth. On the rare occasion I earned a full-tooth smile, she had a pearly-white set that would make dentists pop open champagne. But I was learning to appreciate any indication she found joy in something. Even if it was big, nosy family trivia. “She lives in Portland, but I don’t think she’ll last much longer. Too chaotic.”

“Who else is there? Are any of them at home?”

“The youngest four are eighteen, twenty-one, and twenty-three—Maverick, our twins Leighton and Kaia, and Finn. Mav graduates high school in May, and I assume he’ll hightail it off the island the second he possesses his diploma. The twins are dominating the local Honors College. Finn is about as hard to keep track of as Jeanne, always off on some adventure. I think he said Philly or New York was up next. We’ll see. He works remotely. So, the plan changes weekly.” I chuckled, that endearing fondness growing in my chest as I worked down the list. “Alessandra goes by Alice. She just wrapped up hersecondbachelor’s degree and came home to figure out her next step. But she’s self-contained. They’re almost empty nesters.”

“Hence the move?”

“Hence, the move.”

“Okay, so Jeanne, Jameson, Elora, Alice, Finn, Leighton, Kaia, Maverick, and you. That leavesthree?”

“Hadlee’s in Idaho at the moment, though it’s hard to keep track. She likes to travel. Van life—social media, travel blog, something or other. Paxton is in Chicago until his contract is up. Not sure where he’ll go, but my money's on him heading back home. Axel is home and has his own place down the street from me and Jameson. Works the boat every summer, but he takes off to travel for the winters. And then there’s Broderick.”

She held up a hand in protest. “I thought you said twelve. Now there’sthirteen?”

“I mean, if we count all the people that we pseudo-adopted, you’re looking at more like sixteen.” Broderick had been a bonus brother since we were practically in diapers and Elora and Hadlee adopted Max as one of our own, his omnipresent chatter as much a part of the house as the rest of us. Between best friends and cousins, our house had always been filled well beyond capacity.

A genuine grin dawned on her stunning face. “Pseudo-adopted?”

“Juniper has a habit of collecting strays.”

“Now wait, who’s Juniper?”

“Mama bird,” I said simply.

“Ahh, so who’s Broderick?” She questioned, humor tugging at her lips. Well aware we sounded like a freaking circus attraction, I soldiered on.

“My best friend since we could toddle.”

“Nice.”

“You don’t stay in touch with your siblings?”

“Never met them.”

She said it so simply my heart seemed to stutter. My loud, obnoxiously nosy brood of crazy siblings were as much a part of me as any other aspect of my upbringing. I couldn’t fathom not even knowing them. Keeping my tone light, I asked, “What?”

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