“Worth it,” she replies.
“So, you like it?” Cooper asks me, his eyes full of hope.
“I fucking love it, and before you ask, no, I’m not just saying that. I would obviously like to see the mock-ups you showed Larkin, but hell, man, this is exactly what we need.” I glance up at my siblings, heart full. “It represents us. As a family.”
“It does,” Palmer says, grabbing our hands and holding them tight.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
PALMER
“You see how this is a stupid post?” I say. “What is the point of it? There’s no engagement, no thrill behind the picture. It’s just a pair of hiking boots against a backdrop. There’s no feeling behind it.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Ford says, looking at the computer. Mom and Dad thought they took all the electronics, but they forgot about my computer upstairs.
I go back to the Instagram feed for Watchful Wanderers. “When you look at your profile page, you don’t really feel the brand; you just see things trying to be sold to you, sometimes with horrendous lighting. Everything bounces around—there’s no commonality.”
“She’s right,” Cooper says. “Your Instagram is atrocious. Who does it?”
Ford scratches the side of his face. “Our social media team.”
“They need to be fired,” I say, not even feeling sorry about it. “Look at your engagement—it’s not even close to where it should be for the number of followers you have. Especially with the new stores coming out. You should be boosting excitement. Look at REI’s Instagram.” I type it in and show him. “It’s customers enjoying the products; it’s setting a mood. You come to REI, you have fun, you have adventure. Compared to them, you’re like a Sears Roebuck catalogue.”
“Ouch, that hurts,” Cooper says.
“Tell me how you really feel,” Ford says with a chuckle. “Hell, how did it get this bad? How did I become so disconnected?”
“It happens when you bury your head in the sand and don’t address the real issue,” Cooper says. He motions among the three of us. “We’re the real issue. Mom and Dad built the foundation, but we burned the house down.” He elbows me. “No offense intended.”
I hold up my hand. “None taken.”
“Build on us, build on the business. We all were at our best when we were together.”
Ford looks between us. “Want to have a bonfire and s’mores by the water like we used to?”
“I’ll grab the supplies; you two start the fire.”
Together, we get up, and the boys head out back while I search Mom and Dad’s pantry. Like always, there’s a special s’mores basket full of the supplies and skewers we need. I quickly check on the date of all the food items—because you never know—and everything is good. I toss a few sodas and napkins in the basket and head out back, where Ford and Cooper already have a small fire going. Cooper moves some chairs around the pit, and I hand him the basket. We all take seats, and like the good brother he is, Cooper sets me up with a marshmallow.
This is exactly what I’ve missed. Hanging with my heroes, my brothers. Being present with them, nothing between us, nothing distracting us.
I’m the first to place my marshmallow over the fire, carefully roasting it with my good hand. Ford is next, putting his a little closer to the flames, but not enough to roast it. Then Cooper sticks his skewer in the flames, sets his marshmallow on fire, and lets it burn.
“Oh my God, I forgot you were a deviant.”
Cooper blows out his marshmallow and smiles at me. “The best way to eat s’mores is with a burnt marshmallow.”
Ford and I glance at each other before I say, “We do not agree.”
Cooper makes his s’more while Ford glances up at the house. “I’m going to miss this place. It was our first real home. Our first safe place. It holds so many memories—I can’t imagine saying goodbye to it.”
“It was one of the reasons Mom and Dad didn’t want to sell initially, because they knew what it meant to you and me, Ford. This house, this safe haven,” Cooper says. “But they can’t keep up with it.”
Ford nods. “I can understand their decision. If Dad can get more help in the city, then I want him to move. A house is a house; we can replace that. We can’t replace Dad.”
“Hey, remember the time you decided to go skinny-dipping with Mallory Henderson when you thought Mom and Dad were sleeping?” I ask Ford.