benefits.
My wrist was going to sprain if I have to wave at any more people while I drove towards the town’s upscale residential area. Women blushed and whispered as I passed down the street. I smirked in the rearview mirror at a pair, who saw my look and burst into excited giggling. Small towns were too easy.
Seeing the sprawling home that I’d bought my parents sent a rush of pride through me. After years of them pouring their working class paychecks into my practices and games, it felt good to see a physical mark of my attempt to repay them.
There were half a dozen other cars in the driveway. I frowned as I climbed out of my truck and headed towards the door. This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting.
“Honey! You’re here!” My mother’s hug could rival my strongest teammate’s tackle.
Caroline popped up in the kitchen after I escaped Mom’s grip, who went off to grab Dad.
“Hey big guy,” she said with a smile. “How was your drive?”
“Long and boring,” I told her with a shrug and looked around. “Where’s Director Fiancé?”
“He’s a producer,” she corrected with a sniff. “He’s talking to the landscape architect.”
“Landscape?”
“We want to trim the hedges into our initials.”
“Money doesn’t buy taste, I guess,” I muttered. She narrowed her eyes at me, but she was smiling. That’s my sis, always able to take my punches.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Blaze. It’s going to look spectacular. We want our wedding to be absolutely perfect.” Her eyes seemed to darken after she spoke. “Well, as perfect as it can be.”
I groaned. “As long as I don’t have to dress in some ugly penguin suit.”
She laughed. “Not likely, but can you try to talk to Andrew a little? He’s not much of a sports guy, but he likes making movies about them.”
“That’s two very different things.”
“Is it really, though?” she mused and went to grab her glass of wine on the counter of the massive marble island that sat in the center of the kitchen. “Do you want a glass?”
“I’ll go for a beer.” I strolled over to the fridge and grabbed one from what I knew was my father’s stash – basic and local, no frills about it. I popped open the can with a grateful sigh. As I finished a huge swig, the weight of my sister’s eyes tugged at me. “Yes?”
“You seem on edge,” she said.
“I’d like to see your job on television,” I said, changing the subject.
Another laugh. “Okay fine, I get it. You don’t want to talk about. What else is new around here?”
Silence passed between us as I looked around at the kitchen’s interior. No expense had been spared for my parents, but they were still stubborn with a few decorations from our childhood home. I grinned at a hanged picture of Caroline and me in overalls, splattered with mud, and grinning like the day we were born. When I turned to mention it to her, I noticed she was staring at a different picture.
It was a candid picture of Caroline and Emma from their high school days. They’d been laughing at something. I think Caroline was dating some photography dude at the time. The photo was in black and white. Emma’s dimpled smile was in focus, but Caroline was a blurred splash of flying hair as she’d been laughing.
“I really miss those days,” she said softly. “I finally got to see Emma today.”
“Oh yeah?” I tried to push the excitement from my voice. “How was she?”
“Good. She looked great, as beautiful as I remembered her. A little tired maybe, but she’s always worked hard on her music.”
“She’s done with school?” I asked.
She shrugged, swishing her wine around with a thoughtful look. “I’m not sure, actually. She didn’t say much, and our meet up was over before I knew it. She’s a little reserved now. I kind of wish I met her alone, just the two of us for some girl talk, but I was dying for her to meet Andrew too.”
I licked my bottom lip and leaned forward with a feigned
Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson