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His laughter rings out in my small car, grating on my nerves. “Turn right here.” He points, and I follow his directions. “You think I have a big ego?”
“You know you have a big ego.” I head down a winding road, and the house comes into view. It’s big and beautiful and what Gillian’s always deserved.
“A big ego to match a big?—”
I slam on the brakes, and Emmett catapults forward, hitting his head on the dashboard.
Gillian stands in the middle of the road, her arms crossed.
“Shit.” Emmett touches his forehead and pulls his fingers away, examining them as if he expects to find blood.
My sister’s eyes are focused solely on Emmett. Then a fist knocks on the window. Ben stands outside.
Emmett opens the car door and steps out. “Damn it, Gilly Bean.”
She walks around to Emmett, disregarding him and sliding into the passenger seat before shutting the door and locking it.
“Hey,” Gillian says kindly, as though she didn’t just resemble a crazy serial killer from the movies about to chop us into pieces.
“Um, hi.”
“Go ahead and keep driving. I’ll direct you on where to park.” She gestures with her hand.
I do as she says because she’s always had that disciplinary mom persona. After my mom took off, I knew what Gillian would let me to get away with and what she was really firm on. When she was younger, before she had Clayton, I could manipulate her emotions about not having my mother figure in my life, and she’d loosen the reins on me a little, but those days are long gone.
“Park over there.”
I park my car. I didn’t really want to come here first when I rolled into town, but Gillian said she wanted to see me and give me the key to her house in town that she’s offered to let me stay in until it sells. After that, I’m not sure where I’ll go.
We both slide out of the car.
“Go home, Emmett,” Ben says as they walk toward the car.
“You’re playing two against one, calling Gilly Bean on me.” He’s still holding his head. What a baby.
“Emmett, I don’t have food for you,” Gillian says, hooking her arm through mine and leading me toward the stairs.
“I just ate. Which reminds me, I have to get my food out of your car.”
“Good, do that, then keep on walking back to your house,” Ben says.
“We have a guest. I wanted to welcome her back to Willowbrook.”
“You’re not the Willowbrook welcome crew,” Gillian says over her shoulder, climbing the stairs with me in tow.
“Uncle Emmett!” Clayton comes out of the house and tosses a football to the person closest to his mental age.
“Shit, Clay, give me some warning,” Emmett says.
“Thanks, kid,” I say and dislodge from Gillian to accost Clayton with a hug.
“Aunt Briar,” he whines as I splash kisses all over his face like I used to when he was two years old. “Come on.”
“Oh sorry, I heard you had a girlfriend. Is she the only one who can kiss you now?”
He squirms out of my hold.
By the time I’m done, Gillian and Ben are inside arguing about Emmett being here—Ben’s saying he can’t control his brother, and Gillian’s saying he better try. So I’m caught off guard when Emmett overthrows the ball, and Clayton has to jog away to get it.
