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Sighing, I force myself out of my truck and up the sandy driveway. It’s just turning to spring on the Georgia coast, and the sky overhead is miles and miles of unbroken gray steel. I feel the light patter of raindrops as I bound up to the front door. The raucous sound of laughter immediately washes over me as I elbow my way inside.
See? I tell myself. It’s not so bad.
I enter the high-ceilinged entryway and spot my mother. Holding Charlie on one hip, she turns and breaks into a huge grin when she spots me.
“River!” she crows. “I was wondering where you were. We’ve been waiting on you to start eating.”
“Sorry,” I say. I rub my hand on my khakis and smile as I bend down to kiss her on the cheek. “Glad to be here, Mom.”
“Uncle River!” Charlie bleats. He slides down my mom’s hip. I kneel down and throw my arms out. Charlie runs into my embrace and hugs me hard.
“Hey, little man. What’s up with you today?” I sweep his shaggy mop of dark hair away from his face.
He grins at me like I’m paying him to show me as many teeth as he can. “I’m going to science camp this summer!”
“That’s exciting. You’ll learn about dinosaurs, I bet.”
Excitement lights his grin. “And sharks! It’s gonna be cool.”
“I bet.” Before I can say another word, Cole calls Charlie’s name. Charlie races off toward him, and I shake my head. “That kid is so excited about anything science related. Plus, he’s smart. He’s probably going to be a nuclear physicist or something.”
My mom gives me another side hug. “Undoubtedly. Now come on into the living room. Eden is here visiting from New Orleans. You didn’t get to see her much because she left the engagement party so early.”
“Really?” My sister’s presence is a surprise. “I thought Mark had her under some kind of spell that prevented her from visiting,” I joke.
My mom gives me a tart look, and warns me in a low voice. “Be nice. I don’t want you offending her, or Mark, with your razor-sharp sense of humor. He could be your brother-in-law someday.”
“Come on, Mom. Even you can’t want Eden to settle down with Mark. He’s so completely dull.” I make a face as we step into the living room to join the rest of the family. Mom’s jaw tightens and I stop her, leaning in close to whisper. “I promise I’ll play nice.”
The words are something to ease Mom’s mind. I fully do not mean a word of my promise.
She gives my shoulder a quick squeeze before Charlie calls her away with a squeal. “Mimi! Mimi! Come see!”
My gaze slides around the room. Eden catches my eye first and gives me a little wave. She’s wearing a light pink dress with a puff decoration on one sleeve that’s the size of her head. Typical Eden; no matter what everybody else is wearing, she’ll be dressed to the nines in something ostentatious.
I make a beeline for her, and give a hug while trying not to crush the delicate pink pouf on her dress.
She pulls back with a soft smile. “You’re looking like a million, zillion bucks.”
I grin. “I take that as a huge compliment from the girl that always looks like she just wandered off a runway in Milan, and may be very lost.”
She wrinkles her nose and elbows me, then turns to her boyfriend beside her. “You know Mark, of course.”
Even though he is a good six inches shorter than me, Mark somehow manages to look down the bridge of his nose at me. His tweed coat and his black slacks are somewhere between not quite matching and clashing atrociously. He looks as if every exam proctor I ever had was smashed together to create a single, exceedingly dour, adjunct professor.
“How could I ever forget Mark?” I ask, offering a handshake. “The man, the myth, the legend.” Apparently, if I can’t be sarcastic, I’m overly complimentary to the point that it becomes trite.
Mark takes my hand with an expression bordering on distaste. “Hello again, Brooks.”
I cough into my hand to hide my surprise at Mark casually mixing me up with my younger brother. My family went to Big Sur for a week, five years ago, and invited Mark along. It not like he’s never met me. It’s also not like Eden and Mark weren’t at same damn party as I was at last night.
Then again, there are a lot of faces in our family. “Err…”
Eden grabs Mark’s hand and squeezes it. “You mean River, honey. Brooks is over there.”
“Hah! River and Brooks. I get it.” Mark squints at me and shrugs. “Sorry. You Bennetts are confusing sometimes.”
“There’s nothing to get. Brooks’ given name is?—”
