Kent surveyed the rest of the lowly people—his siblings—at the table.
“Fucking hell,” he shouted, doing a double take at Sarah.
“Kent!” Momma exclaimed, and my sister barred her teeth like she was about to spring across the table and attack him.
“Easy,” I murmured, putting my hand on Sarah’s arm. Not that I wouldn’t be on Sarah’s side.
“I’m so sorry, Momma,” Kent crooned, apologizing to the wrong person. “Sarah. Your hair’s different, I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Yeah, doesn’t she look great?” I raised my eyebrows.
“Yeah, like I said, different.” He took the seat next to Momma, which put him directly across from me.
“Little brother. Look at you. You old enough for that beer?” He smiled disingenuously, or maybe that was his normal smile.
I made a show of looking at my watch. “Did your flight get in late, Kent? Or maybe your driver took a wrong turn?”
Smile flattening, he narrowed his eyes on me. “There was traffic in Knoxville. Something you’d know if you lived anywhere else but this podunk town.”
Kent flagged down a server who happened to be walking by. “I’d like a pour of Blanton’s, neat, in a Glencairn.”
The server hesitated, glancing at our table briefly, then back to the self-proclaimed prodigal son. “Sure, I’ll just . . . find your server.”
“So.” Kent looked between our parents. “Did either of you tell them the news?”
“We wanted to wait for you to share the happy news,” my momma replied.
“What news are you talking about, Momma?” Sarah’s face mirrored how I felt on the inside. Uneasy.
“I put in their offer on the condo in Florida, and it was accepted. It’s move in ready. Which means, once everything’s final, Mom and Dad are moving to sunny Florida!”
Sarah and I didn’t speak—shock tended to do that to a person.
“Oops,” my brother said, leaning forward and rummaging around the breadbasket, touching every single roll before taking the first one he’d touched. “Did you two not know? I know they were worried about their little boy. Didn’t want to move away and leave you here all alone.”
Momma’s smile was stiff, and Pop looked at Kent a little sharply.
Plastering an easy smile on my face, I leaned back, not wanting him to get the best of me.
“Pop and I talked about it. In fact, I have a place all lined up. Signed the lease this morning and move in on Monday.” It was a complete and utter falsehood, but I’d sleep on the couch in Sam’s pussy palace if it meant saving face in front of Kent.
“Son, there’s no need to do that. We haven’t even put the house up for sale yet. There’s plenty of time to?—”
“No, it’s time. But still count me in on whatever help you need. I’m only a few minutes’ drive away, until you move to Florida, that is.” I could see the worry in my momma’s eyes. We had a complicated relationship, sure, but it was mostly good. So, I took a breath and held up my beer for a toast. “I’m happy for y’all, really. This is supposed to be a celebration, right? Pop, congrats on another trip around the sun. You made seventy-four look great, but here’s to seventy-five.” Saluting my pop, I then raised my beer to Kent and gave him a stiff nod.
“I’m sure Kent will have your back in Florida, same as I have here.”
The threat in my eyes was clear: He better not fuck with them.
CHAPTERNINE
POLLY
“It’s a bird!”
“It’s a plane!”
Jenny rolled her eyes. “It’s a penis, you morons.”
