Summer Breeze Kisses - Addison Moore Page 0,112

on his jaw. He needed x-rays, but thankfully wasn’t hurt. I swore then and there I’d never hit my dad again, but, honest to God, I just came close.

“Nothing’s happening.” Dad tugs at Trixie’s hair just as she dives over me with a sopping wet hug.

“Did you talk to Mom? Is she still going through with it?” Her words come out in a childlike wail.

“Yes. I mean no. I didn’t ask her if she’s really going through with it. You know she is just as much as I do.” I glance over to my father one more time with his tired eyes, that beaten down look on his face, and my chest bucks with emotion. “Are you even going to try to stop her?”

The three of us look to Maximillian Toberman, a shell of the superhero he once was in our eyes. Once upon a time, our father was infallible. We were wealthy beyond measure, we knew nothing but the best, student loans were something we read about on the Internet, and now here we are living out some bad suburban fantasy, watching in horror as our mother readies to walk down the aisle with another man—watching in horror as she creates a whole new family, and it hurts like hell to witness.

“Well?” My sister’s voice wobbles as tears burn down her cheeks.

“No.” His hands clasp together as he tries desperately to force a smile to come and go. “I can no sooner stop her from marrying anyone she pleases than suggest what she might order off a dinner menu. I’m not her husband—and, her choice not mine—I’m no longer considered her friend. Am I thrilled to watch her do this? No. But I’m not about to stop her. If she’s found a shred of happiness, for God’s sake, I want her to steal it. I’m not too impressed with what I’ve done to her. I’m downright ashamed.” He turns his head away a moment. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to get some things together before heading to the office.” He takes off for the den before turning around. “Don’t be such a stranger, Rex. Nobody is angry with you. I miss you.”

We watch as he disappears down the hall, and Trixie wraps her arms around me once again.

“I don’t care about all of this bull anymore. I just want us to be a family again. If Mom and Dad can’t pull it together, I think at least we should.”

“I agree.”

Knox groans while staring me down. He’s been a bit harder on me than Trixie these days. As much as I’ve tried to protect our mother, he’s fiercely guarded our father.

“Don’t look at me like that,” I plead with him. The three of us were always close. I’m with my sister. Enough of this bull already.

“Like what?” He gives an indifferent shrug. His biceps bulge as he flexes. He’s grown out of that lanky little boy body and has beefed up enough to where he could play for WB when it’s time. He’s already starring on his high school team. I’ve told him so a dozen times already, but he keeps refusing. Knox loves football as much as I do, and I have a feeling the only thing keeping him from pursuing football at WB is me.

“Stop looking at me like you hate me.” There, I said it. I cut that wound open with the serrated, rusted blade of the truth, and it feels damn good even if I understand that we might die from the infection.

“Then stop acting like you hate the rest of us,” he barks back. “Dad didn’t do anything to Mom on purpose. He didn’t set her up for the fall like she thinks he did. He feels bad about what happened.”

“Then try to open up to her. She says you both give her the cold shoulder. She can’t get but a couple of words from the two of you. Somebody has to show her the affection she deserves.”

Trixie buries her head in her hands a moment. “I will. I don’t want to be like this anymore. I miss her. Even though we physically see one another, she’s right. I’ve pulled away. I’ve let all of this bull poison me.” She pulls me into a deep embrace. “I’ll change.” The chlorine from her hair stings my eyes, and I welcome the burn in an effort to shelter the tears.

“Thanks. I know she’ll like that.” I nod over to my brother. “We’ll get together soon. Everything