Page 24 of 6 Clues Your Nemesis Loves You

“Well, there was the amputation and the leprosy, and I’m pretty sure the gangrene was tough for her.”

Cal tries to skewer me with a dirty look, but he’s not Desmond. His scowl is more of a kind stare. “Can you be serious for five seconds?”

“Can you explain why you’re avoiding Jolene?” When he continues his polite staring, I huff. “She was your best friend, Cal. If you want to know how she is, call her. Don’t you want to hear her voice?”

“Whose voice?” Jake plants himself beside Cal and me.

“Jolene’s,” I say. “Pretty sure she asked you to call her too.”

At the mention of his ex, Jake’s posture snaps straight. “You’ve seen her? How is she?”

“Of course I’ve seen her. Windfall’s the size of a pincushion. She’s great, but she doesn’t understand why neither of you will call her. I don’t understand it either.”

“Just brings up bad memories,” Cal says quickly, his attention cemented to his shoes. “Dad stuff.”

“I should reach out.” Jake’s usual commanding presence gets as twitchy as my eyelid when I lie. “When we broke up, it sent me for a spin. Got in my head a lot during WITSEC. But yeah…maybe I will.”

I knock his arm. “It would mean a lot to her. Whatever happened between you two, it’s in the past.”

I have no clue why Jake and Jolene actually broke up. There were rumors that Jake cheated, but I know my brother. That gossip was the legendary Windfall rumor mill and nothing more. Plus, he and Jolene stayed friendly afterward. Whatever the dirt, he’s acting odd. And Callahan looks like he’s holding his breath, his face reddening and eyes watering as he continues studying the floor.

I kick Cal’s boot. “Suppressing your feelings will give you an ulcer. What the hell is up with you?”

He looks at me blandly, his expression schooled. “Have you finally told Maggie you’re obsessed with her? Pretending you don’t want her will give you an incurable case of regret-itis.”

“Speaking of beets,” I blurt, dodging his stealth attack. “The beet festival is coming up.”

“I hate beets,” Jake says, looking like I pissed in his mouth. “And no one mentioned them.”

“I mentioned them just now, and you two should come back for the Blood and Guts Festival next weekend. We’re planning a killer tableau. Could use your carpentry skills to make it extra gory.”

“Littlewing could use your skills too,” Des says, joining our circle. He slaps Jake’s back. “We hired Ricky to build our ropes course, but he needs help and is struggling to find workers.”

“Last I checked,” Jake says, “we live in Houston. Definitely can’t make the festival, and we can’t work here.”

“Last I checked with Cal—” Des elbows our introverting, breath-holding brother “—you’re almost finished a job. Nothing’s keeping you in Houston long-term. It would be great if you two moved back here. Max would love it.”

Cal and Jake keep their mouths shut, like they’ve both developed sudden-onset laryngitis. I’m not sure if their hesitancy to move back is because of their own Dad memories or if Jolene is the issue. Either way, Des is right. Having the family together would be awesome.

“I agree with Des,” I say. “You two should quit pretending you don’t miss Windfall. If you come back, Mom will come too. I know she misses this place and her friends here, hates not being around Max more. You two moving would give her the push she needs.”

We all look at the Bower matriarch, who’s chatting and laughing with E and Delilah, reminding me of her younger self. In her youth, she quit teaching science to raise us boys, gave us all her love and attention. When her life got turned upside down, she didn’t return to work. I think being with people was hard for her—the lying we had to do, her trust issues. She took up tutoring instead, quiet one-on-one work with kids, slowly building herself back up. I still think she’d be miles happier in Windfall, with us and closer to Max.

Jake and Cal continue their laryngitis routine, but there’s no denying the tenderness in their gazes as they watch Mom. My bet is they’ll cave. Do what’s best for Mom. I think they miss having us close too. We may be a dysfunctional family, who lives to torment and tease one another, throwing out tantrums and glares on a whim, but we’re five fucked-up boys who love one another fiercely in our own aggressive ways.

Regardless of their choices, I have my own dysfunction to handle. I need to decide how to deal with the Life Wrecker sooner rather than later. And then there’s Maggie.

Callahan’s retaliation to my Jolene taunt wasn’t off the mark. I thought avoiding Maggie since the elevator incident was the mature choice. Letting her get on with her life and gullible boyfriend felt responsible and level-headed. But I still can’t quit thinking about her. As teens, I never told her how much I cared about her—that I fucking loved her. I never risked asking her on a proper date, and I stewed over my cowardice for years afterward. If I don’t try harder now and offer more honesty, that case of regret-itis will definitely bite me in the ass.

I’ll be seeing Maggie next weekend at the Blood and Guts Festival, and I think we need to make a change to our family’s planned tableau. A bolder scene to remind Maggie of our secret pond nights and special connection. Let her know there’s another man who thinks about her and would love the chance to take her out. The change would take a ton of work, but something tells me my shark-imitating nemesis is worth it.

chapter nine

I shift my hips in a minuscule move. Enough that a one-inch tooth jabs my abdomen. “Could we not have made the mouth larger? This was built for a ballet dancer.”

“You are slender,” Sadie says, snickering as she looks through her phone at us.

I used to think she was Desmond’s better half. I was wrong. “I am not slender. I have lean muscle.”