“And I know that makes me look like an ass,” I say, moving my fork around my food, a nervous habit I tend to do when I’m uncomfortable. “You know, the fact is that I’m betting on my brother to fail before he even has a chance to, but I have to at least try to protect him from himself.”
“Does this feeling you have, the need to protect him, circle back to his divorce and what happened with Dealia?”
“Yes,” I answer honestly. “From the beginning I knew they weren’t going to last, but I never said anything. I just . . . I saw how they differed, how she wanted more, and I knew he wasn’t going to be brave enough to leave his circle and make it happen. He’s always been cautious despite the grand plans he has in his head. I was afraid the same thing was going to happen with the rebranding. That it would be another instance where he has these ambitions but never does anything with them. I couldn’t take the chance.” I take a sip of my coffee, letting the hot liquid burn down my throat. “It was obvious Cooper wanted nothing to do with talking about the store last night.”
“Which is understandable—it must be a raw topic for him.”
“I’m assuming it is, but we haven’t talked about it since. And then when we were having dessert, Mom and Dad broke the news to us that they plan on selling the house and we have a month to say goodbye to our childhood home. And”—I let out a sigh—“we’ll have to clean out our rooms.”
“What?” Larkin sits taller. “They’re selling? Why?”
“They said the house is too big for just them, which I can understand. It’s large, but I have a cleaning service come by every week. The yard is taken care of every week too. I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the house being too big or if the house is too lonely.” I can understand what lonely feels like. Being in Denver, I can understand having a space that feels so empty, and not wanting to be there all the time. But at least that’s something I put on myself. My parents didn’t ask for this loneliness, and that breaks my heart.
Larkin nods. “I was going to suggest the same thing. If you think about it, they really just have Cooper. You visit as much as you can, but I know you rely on FaceTime, and when was the last time Palmer visited?”
“I’m not even sure.”
“Maybe the house holds memories for you, but maybe it’s too painful for your parents to stay there when their children are never home anymore.” Larkin shrugs. “But that’s just me guessing.”
“It’s a pretty good guess.” I take another sip of my coffee, trying to ignore a twinge of guilt. “And then of course Palmer flew off the deep end about our parents moving, took it harder than I expected. I think there’s something going on that she’s not telling me.”
“Like what?” Larkin asks, her blue eyes so intent that I can’t help but feel completely comfortable sitting here, talking about my family.
“I don’t know. There was panic in her eyes when Mom and Dad said they were selling the house, but it wasn’t the kind of panic I was expecting . . . it’s almost like them selling is going to hurt her more than just losing the memories. When I asked her about it, she of course denied everything. Then proceeded to fall off the picnic table, put a gash in her forehead, and break her wrist.”
“Oooh, ouch. Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.” A small smile pulls at my lips as I peek up at Larkin. “She sure did enjoy hitting on your brother, though.”
Larkin’s eyes widen. “Stop! She did not, did she?”
“Yup.” I nod. “Said he belonged in GQ. Wanted to press his chin dimple.”
A roar of laughter falls past her perfectly pink lips. “Wow, Beau did not tell me that. Ugh, I’m so mad at him now.”
“At least we can count on him for doctor-patient confidentiality.”
“I need to know everything that happened. Was he blushing? Did he let her touch his chin dimple? Did he tell her he thought she was pretty? Because he says that to me every time he sees her. Even when I was texting him this morning, he mentioned how nice she looked, even with a cut on her forehead.”
It’s no secret between Larkin and me that Beau has always thought Palmer was pretty. Two years older than her, he’s a medical phenom, having accelerated through his program to the point that he was able to have a practice of his own at just twenty-nine. But for all his accomplishments, you’d think he was still a shy teenager. He’s always been smitten with Palmer but has never made a move.