The First Time is the Hardest: An Austin Brothers Novella (Austin Brothers Series Book 1) Read Free

Mila? No nicknames, no jokes, just Mila, Chase, Tanner, and Colton and wherever the hell you’re taking me.”
    “Sure thing, Mila.” He held up his hands and winked.
    We hadn’t even been traveling for more than ten minutes when Colton pulled over and stopped his Ford pickup on the outskirts of town.
    “Everyone out,” he said.
    I climbed out and tilted my face skyward, letting the rays lick my face. Something about the sun gave me hope, and I imagined Lucas smiling down at me. I was doing that a lot lately—picturing his face, seeing him as I went about my day. Maybe it should have freaked me the hell out, but it didn’t. I wasn’t ready to let him go yet. Not totally.
    “Know where we are yet?” Tanner’s voice perforated my bubble, and I followed his eye line across the fields.
    “This is … you brought me to …” Too choked to finish, I hugged the brother standing nearest to me. Colton wrapped his arm around me and said, “We know how much the two of you loved this place.”
    I followed my brothers down the footpath until the lake became visible, glistening in the sunlight like diamonds. When we reached the water’s edge, Tanner unrolled a large blanket and Chase set down a basket. “We brought supplies.”
    “You guys. This is … wow.”
    “Mom may have had a helping hand.”
    I sat down, tucking my legs to one side of me. I hadn’t been down here in years, since before I left for Tulane, but it was one my favorite places to come with Lucas. We’d ride our bikes all the way out here and spend sticky summer days swimming in the water and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. More often than not, my brothers came along, and once or twice, Ryan even hung out with us. But it was irrevocably our place.
    “God, I miss you,” I whispered, staring out across the lake. How was I supposed to watch them lower Lucas into the ground tomorrow? To say my final goodbye?
    Tears welled in my eyes, but a voice said, “I’m starving. What did Mom pack?” Chase rustled beside me, and I smiled unable to remain unaffected by his chipper mood. I knew what my brothers were doing. This was a distraction. They were attempting to give me a little slice of normal at a time when everything had gone to shit.
    “Sometimes, I think I came out wrong.” I batted his hand away and reached for the basket, pushing down my grief. “I should have come first to keep the three of you in check.”
    “But then who would we look out for?” Tanner said.
    “Face it, Mils. You’ll always be our baby sister. Ain’t no getting away from that,” Colton, the eldest of us, said.
    “You had to go all dad on our asses, didn’t you?” Tanner nudged him playfully.
    “Speaking of, where is my gorgeous niece?”
    Something flashed over my brother’s face. “Mary Sue is watching her at the ranch. I didn’t know if it was the right place for a child.”
    “It’s okay, Colt. You did the right thing. A funeral is no place for a child. But I’d like to come out and spend some time with you guys after … well, after it’s over.”
    “Sure thing. You know Ami can’t wait to see her Aunt Mila.”
    I served the picnic out on the blanket, relishing in doing something so normal and menial. The ache was still there, right where my heart beat, but being with my brothers eased the pain. And being in the one place that Lucas had loved just as much as I did made the sliver of peace I felt in his bedroom blossom into comfort.
    Everything would be okay.
    It had to be okay.
    ~
    After spending the day out at the lake, reliving childhood memories and telling stories, Colton drove us home. As we passed the Gennery’s house, I spotted a lone figure sitting out on the porch. It wasn’t Carol, and it was too young to be Peter.
    Ryan.
    “Pull over,” I said.
    “What the …?” Colton muttered swerving to the right to stop.
    “I won’t be late.”
    “Mila.” Chase’s hand landed on my arm as I reached for the door handle. “Are you sure