Stepping in, I took a deep breath. “Thanks for making time for me.”
“That’s what family is for.” She held the bottle even higher, wiggling it a little. “Early dinner first or should we jump to Mr. Cuervo right away?”
“I had a late lunch.”
“Yeah, I’m not really hungry either.”
I sat on the couch in her living room, still feeling like shit. Ryker and Hunter arrived within minutes of each other. Ryker brought a wine bottle, Hunter champagne.
Tess sighed. “Thanks for the supplies, boys, but wine and champagne aren’t enough tonight. This is a job for tequila.”
They all stepped in the living room, zeroing in on me.
“What are we drinking to?” Ryker asked.
Hunter just observed me, narrowing his eyes. I was sitting on a corner of the couch. “I don’t think we’re here to celebrate. Is this a pity party?”
I groaned. “No.”
Tess gave me a small smile. “It kind of is, though. But don’t worry, I can make any kind of party fun.”
Turning to Hunter and Ryker, she pointed a finger at them.
“You’re not allowed to hassle him or prod him with questions,” my sister declared, voice stern.
Ryker laughed. “You mean to tell me you didn’t do that already?” A few seconds later, his smile faded. “Oh, shit, you didn’t.”
“Okay, clearly we’re out of our depths here. Tess, you’re running this show,” Hunter said.
My sister nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent plan.”
“We’re good drinking buddies though,” Ryker said. “So let’s start doing shots and not talk.”
One hour later...
“Well, shit, cousin. Wouldn’t want to be in your shoes,” Hunter said.
“I don’t want to be in my shoes either.”
Sometime between the third and the fourth shot, I had spilled my guts. To my dismay, they all started to give me advice.
I didn’t want advice. I just wanted to forget about it.
I turned to Tess. “Please make them stop.”
My sister jutted out her lower lip. “I don’t think I can. Lost my authority after the third Jose.”
“Look, man, having someone to share everything with... it’s life changing,” Ryker said.
“Definitely,” Hunter added.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Tess said loudly. “I think he knows all that. Don’t rub salt on wounds.”
Hunter nodded slowly. “Yeah, right. You’re right. I knew there was a reason I was appointing you captain of the ship.”
I could taste tequila on my lips, and my throat was burning. It had dulled the mind and the senses, which was good. It did not, however, lessen this strange pressure in my chest that only appeared when I was thinking about Laney.
“Don’t know what ship that is, because mine just went down,” I declared.
Tess clasped my right hand, looking straight at me. “Brother. She is special to you. Some people search forever for someone to look at them the way you look at Laney.” Her voice was uneven on that last syllable, cluing me in that she was referring to herself. “And she looks at you the same way.” She pouted, shaking her head. “I don’t like this. You need us to cheer you up. I vote we rehash some stupid things we did in our youth. That’s always a lot of fun.”
Ryker stretched on the couch, grinning. “If only we’d known years ago that our stupid ideas would be useful eventually, I would’ve had a reason every time Mom asked, Why did you do this?”
***
Next day, I woke up with a remarkably clear head. Then again, we hadn’t had too much to drink yesterday, just a few shots each. I was in Tess’s guest room. Hunter and Ryker had left late last night.
Looking at my phone, I discovered three missed calls from Laney, and about ten messages. I shut off the screen quickly, without reading them.
Fuck, I was turning into a coward.
Well, no. I was afraid of what she wrote back. I could own up to that.
I got out of bed, heading straight to the living room. Tess was there, lying on the floor on her belly, typing on her laptop with one hand, holding the phone to her ear with the other one.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later,” she said the second she saw me.
“Tess, you don’t have to drop everything for me. Go back to your call.”
I was already feeling guilty for basically hijacking her day yesterday.
“Mmm, no. Operation: Taking Care of Cole is still going on.” Rising to her feet, she smoothed her pink dress, pointing with one thumb over her shoulder to the dining table.
“I woke up early and made banana bread. Want some?”