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“Yep. Four of them. You can have two, if you want.”
He grunted again. I’d take that as a “yes.”
He went ahead of me up the stairs, and Daisy’s surprise at his appearance was tinged with happiness. I wasn’t sure if Reed got how much his sister loved him, but dear god, it affected me almost as much as watching her walk away had. Viscerally. A deep-down knowledge I’d never be the same.
“Did you smell the food?” Daisy asked her brother.
“Nah.” He walked into the kitchen where she was taking down a third plate for him. “Miles texted me. He said you have extra. Is it okay I’m here?” He glanced back at me. “You’re all dressed up.”
“Yep. You’re always welcome.” She spun, her dress moving with her. “Don’t I look nice?”
“You always do,” he mumbled, tucking his hands in his pockets. “I’m just gonna take my food and go, if that’s all right. I was in the middle of something.”
Daisy’s mouth opened, probably to deny him, and I shook my head. Not because I didn’t want him here, but because I thought it was better not to force our company on him. I also got the vibe he was trying to give us alone time. It was the opposite of what I needed right now, but I’d let him do what he felt was right.
I placed the heavy bag on the counter. “Have at it. Just leave a few scraps behind for us.”
As he loaded up one of Daisy’s Tupperware containers, she told him about the luncheon and how many cards she’d passed out. She even told him about meeting my mom. The descriptor “bitch” was not used, but it was heavily implied.
I watched them both, so at ease with one another, and envied the hell out of them. This was what I’d always wanted with Weston, but we’d been set up to fail by having toxic, emotionally unstable parents.
I clicked my fingers, realizing what was different about Reed. “Where’s your vest, Reed? I thought it was part of your uniform.”
In the middle of packing his eggrolls, he stilled. Instead of answering, he continued, quickly stuffing what he could in the container and cramming the lid on top.
Daisy went on alert, her attention jerking from me to her brother. “Reed? Is your ve—”
He backed away from the counter, his head down. “I just didn’t feel like wearing it, all right? Don’t call the fashion police or whatever.”
Little fucker.
He ditched us like his feet were on fire, leaving Daisy staring after him, and me looking at her.
“He didn’t have it on the other day either,” she murmured. “I didn’t think anything of it until now.”
I stood in front of her, cupping her tense shoulders. “Maybe he spilled something on it or lost it and doesn’t want to tell you. He’s a teenage boy. My former people are gross and messy.”
Her exhale was slow and shaky. “I hope that’s all it is. At least school’s out. He’ll get a break from the shit he gets there but doesn’t tell us about.”
Alarm bells rang in my head. “He’s being bullied?”
“I suspect, but he won’t talk to me about it.” She humphed. “Even though I know exactly what it’s like.”
I pointed at her, anger weakening my knees. “You were bullied, Cupcake?” She nodded, and my chest hurt.
“Beau and Landry made it through school without being picked on too badly. Beau because he never gave a shit, and kids could tell. And Landry…well, you met her. She was the quintessential, all-American cheerleader. Then came me, Quinn, and Reed. Our feelings were too big, and we couldn’t fit in to save our lives—” She broke off, swallowing hard.
“Quinn?”
“My sister.” She studied the remnants of our Chinese food. “She had it really rough and got mixed up with a crowd who didn’t care about her.”
“What happened to Quinn?”
“She died four years ago.”
Aw, hell. As hard as Weston and I fought, if I lost him, I didn’t think I would be whole again. Yet, here was Daisy, carrying on and following dreams. Whitney Mae was still kind and welcoming. Landry had her cute kids and nice husband. The Dunhams were resilient. I didn’t know how they did it, but Jesus, I ached for them.
“How old was she?” I asked, wanting to know more about this sister I’d never meet.
