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The thought warms me but also scares me. Dave is only two years older than I am, but he knows what he wants out of life. He has goals. He works with his dad on the financial end of the Steel empire.
Seems like everyone knows who they are except me.
Brianna’s a rancher, a cowgirl, who will work alongside her father, Talon Steel, in the Steel orchards. Jesse and Rory, of course, are musicians, their true calling. Donny’s a lawyer, and Callie is going to law school.
Then there’s me.
Madeline Jolie Pike.
I don’t have a clue who I am or what I want to do with my life.
My college major is English. I couldn’t decide sophomore year, and I had to make a choice. I like English. I like reading and writing, and I’m good at it. But I have no clue what I want to do once I’m done with school.
That’s me. Always the odd one out, and I’m sick and tired of it.
I turn at a gentle touch on my shoulder.
Dave stands next to me. “Doing okay?”
“Yeah.”
“We’re all here, so we’re going down to baggage claim. You ready?”
I yawn. “I suppose. What time is it anyway?”
“A little after midnight.”
I nod and follow Dave and the others through the concourse to the terminal where we get our luggage and go through French customs. It’s so late, and apparently we don’t look threatening, because we pass right through, getting our passports stamped.
Paris.
This was the part of the tour I was most looking forward to. Just Brianna and me tooling around on the Métro, visiting the sights, noshing on baguettes, and drinking French wine.
We can still do some of that since Jesse will be in rehearsal much of tomorrow—or today, rather. But Dave and Brock will probably join us, and that should make me happy.
Which it does.
Sort of.
I don’t labor under any delusion that Dave Simpson will fall in love with me. He’s the last of the Rake-a-teers and still very young at twenty-four. Brock’s the same age, though, and he fell hard for Rory.
But Rory is Rory—the most beautiful woman in our hometown of Snow Creek, Colorado.
She’s my older sister, and I love her, but envy creeps into me more often than I’d prefer. Not only is she beautiful, she also has the voice of an angel.
Then there’s my middle sister, Callie. She’s beautiful too, but what truly sets her apart is her intelligence. She’s a genius, always has been, and Mom and Dad always knew she’d do great things. She’s marrying Donny Steel and going to law school.
Jesse, of course, stands out because he’s the only boy in our family, and he’s crazy talented as well as handsome.
Then, bringing up the rear, is the baby of the family.
Me.
Maddie, who has no special talents, no special gifts.
Bree told me my gift was empathy, how I feel so much for others. Frankly, I think she was just trying to appease me. My three older siblings are all spectacular, and I…
I’m just not.
