Page 35 of Seeing Harper

“Can I just finish?” Easton said.

“Yeah, finish this tree, then we’ll go work with the seedlings and the saplings,” Travis said, almost dropping Dillon to the ground before holding back. “If I let you go and you jump on either of your brothers again, I’m going to let my Tiger out. You hear me?”

“And then I’m calling your mom,” Scotty said.

“Fine,” Dillon said.

“What was that? Was that a yes, sir?” Scotty demanded.

“Yes, sir,” Dillon said begrudgingly.

“No more fighting,” Travis said, letting Dillon down, and watching as he strode off toward the back of the tree farm.

Scotty put Easton down and he scowled at both of them as he reclaimed the shears he’d dropped and knelt beside the tree he was focusing on again.

Scotty and Travis shared a roll of the eyes as they shook their heads.

Travis looked over toward Evan, still in his Tiger form, lounging on the ground with his feet in the air.

“He don’t even care.”

“Not at all. He only shifts to fight them both off.”

“Take a walk… I gotta open the greenhouse for Easton,” Travis said.

“Honestly, if only one of them could shift, I’m glad he’s the one who got it,” Scotty said as they walked away.

“Why’s that?” Travis asked.

“The other two always pick on him, the shifting is what saves him most days. And he’s a lot more level headed, he won’t use it if it’s not necessary. Dillon’s the hothead, the last thing we all need is him shifting and whipping some human’s ass. And Easton, he’s not really concerned about it either way, until Dillon riles him up over it.”

“Did it ever bother you?” Travis asked, as he finally unlocked the door and left it open as he stepped inside, followed by Scotty.

“Sometimes. But only when I wanted to be seen as an equal to other shifters, and I thought I wouldn’t be because I couldn’t shift. Other than that, I usually moved in human circles anyway until Riley moved to town. I didn’t need a Tiger.”

Travis shook his head. “But that’s what I was talking about to Dillon. You do have a Tiger inside. You just don’t shift into him. He can still guide you, still makes you strong, still has heightened senses. You just can’t walk in his form. Doesn’t mean he’s not there.”

“I know that, and he’s saved me on more than one occasion. Took me a while to realize it when I was younger, but then I didn’t have two brothers to fight with all the time either.”

Travis stood there, looking down at the planting table as he thought about their lives. “No, you didn’t. You just had me and I wasn’t much of a brother,” he said sadly.

“You were a great brother. You still are. You just got a little lost there in the middle,” Scotty said, smiling at his brother as he walked past and flicked his ear.

“I wish I’d been different when you needed me. I regret that,” Travis said.

“You should take a little of that reflection and consider how you’re going to feel in ten or twelve years when your girl is successfully living her life — no thanks to you. You think you feel regret now? It’s nothing like it will be then.”

“No thanks to me?! I’ve done nothing but support her!” Travis said.

“You’ve done nothing but try to control her so she’d do what you want her to do.”

“You don’t get it.”

“I do. You don’t get it.”

“Where’d y’all go?” Easton asked, walking into the greenhouse.

“Getting the planting table ready for you so you can start a few seedlings of your own and raise them until they can be transplanted,” Travis said.