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“What?” Brianna asks.
“I have a text from Maddie. She and I were supposed to have lunch today, and I totally spaced it.”
Brianna frowns at me. “Dave, please don’t lead her on if you don’t intend to pursue a relationship with her.”
I look up from my phone, scowling. “Jesus, Bree. How is this any of your business?”
“It’s my business because Maddie is my friend and Jesse is her brother. I can’t bear to see her get hurt.”
“It’s not my intention to hurt her or anyone.”
Brianna cocks her head, narrowing her eyes at me. “Could you be honest with me about one thing?”
I shrug. “Sure. I guess.”
She crosses her arms. “What the hell do you mean you guess? You can or can’t. Yes or no, Dave.”
“Fine.” I sigh. “I’ll be honest.”
I know what she’s going to ask.
“Do you have any feelings for Maddie? Feelings that could evolve?”
I close my eyes, run my hands through my sweaty hair. “This isn’t something guys talk about.”
She scoffs. “Do I look like I give a damn? She’s my friend. And because of our stupid family business, she lost out on her trip to Europe.”
“Uncle Joe’s disease is not stupid family business.”
“I know that, and you know that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about Pat Lamone and all this other crap. Wendy Madigan. Doc Sheraton and Brittany. All of it.” She shakes her head. “Do you know how hard it was for me to leave Jesse?”
“The family said you didn’t have to come home, Bree.”
“And you know how much that pisses me off? Acting like Brianna’s just the youngest of the bunch so we don’t really need her? I hated it.” She pounds a fist to her chest. “This is my family too, and I’m just as much a member as any of the rest of you. So yeah, if you and Brock were needed here, then so was I. That doesn’t change the fact that I hated leaving Jesse. But I’m here. You’re here. And so is Maddie. And I want to know. Do you feel something for her?”
“I don’t know.”
But the words are a lie, and my cousin wastes no time on calling me on it.
“That’s bull,” she says.
“Fine. It’s bull.” I take a deep breath and let it out. “Yes, I’m having feelings. I’ve always liked her and have been attracted to her. I wouldn’t have… You know… If I didn’t.” I shake my head. “You know how weird it is to be talking to my female cousin about this?”
She rolls her eyes. “Get over it. We’re having this talk whether it’s comfortable for you or not.”
At this point, I’m too exhausted to fight with her.
Brianna and Uncle Tal do their share of work inside to run the orchard business, but they’re also used to working the land. Used to the outdoors. Me? This isn’t what I normally do. Sure, I’m in good shape. I keep my muscles up at my home gym, run a few miles every day, but I’m not used to eight hours of hard manual labor.
“Yes,” I finally say. “I’m feeling something. After that near brush with death on the plane, I realized that I didn’t want to lose her.”
She walks up to me and pokes me sharply in my ribs. “Then don’t fuck this up, Dave. Maddie’s been through a lot. Did you know she’s decided to go back to college?”
“Yes.” The thought of her not being here sends waves of sadness through me. Of course, she’ll only be in Grand Junction. That’s not much farther than the trip between our houses. “If she wants to go back to school, of course I support her. This way she’ll be able to finish up her last semester.”
“Yeah, I think it’s a good thing. Angie, Sage, and Gina are home right now, but they’ll be going back to school too. Not tomorrow with Maddie, but probably later in the week. Maybe next week.”
“Our family business screwed everything up,” I say. “But even if it didn’t, we’d all be home to support Uncle Joe.”
