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“What happens to the land when your parents pass away?” he asked.
“I have a cousin,” I answered. “On my mom’s side. He loves that land more than even I do. So I imagine he’ll get it. I’ll keep a fifty-fifty share of it, of course, because my parents wouldn’t allow all that land to go to anyone but their direct descendants, but if they do what I suggested…”
“That’s awfully nice of you,” Garnett said. “Not many people would’ve been happy to just give away something that brings in that kind of cash flow.”
“Mamasauce!” Quinn pushed through the door. Hot on Quinn’s heels were Atlas and Gable. “Is the washer empty?”
I snorted as Garnett left to help Quinn with his laundry, leaving Quaid, Quincy, Auden, Atlas, and Ande all staring at me.
“Where’d you get all those snack cakes?” Atlas asked curiously.
“Here,” Garnett came into the room with a box of Star Crunch and a box of Oatmeal Cream Pies.
My eyes lit up with excitement.
“There’s a snack cake tax today,” Quinn grumbled. “You have to give one to her.”
Then he pointed at me accusingly.
I took a bite of Auden’s tax and waved.
“What for?” Atlas asked, sounding grumbly.
Garrett ripped open his box and tossed me one, then snatched the box from his brother’s arms and did the same to his.
“What the fuck?” Atlas snapped.
He was really in a bad mood.
I stood up and walked the snack cake back over to him, tucking it into his box. “You look like you need this more than I do.”
“We want her to like us, At Last,” Garrett said.
Atlas grumbled something under his breath before saying, “Stop calling me At Last.”
And, seeing that this man needed something that he wasn’t getting at the moment, I walked up to him and hugged him.
I was a freakin’ hugger.
It drove everyone nuts.
My mom. My dad. My grandma. The classmates I’d just met. The lady at the convenience store who gave me a free coffee on my birthday.
Anyone and everyone who showed me even a hint of kindness.
He held his hands out wide when I came in to hug him and stood stock still for a few long seconds before closing his arms around me, squeezing tighter than I ever expected him to. Almost as if he was holding on to me like a lifeline.
“Are you okay?” I asked him when he finally let me go.
He shrugged. “Really bad call before I came here.”
He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t ask him to.
When I stepped back farther, it was to turn and lock eyes with Quaid.
He was watching me like he’d never seen me before.
“What?” I mouthed at him.
