“I’ll get our bags,” Sophie says as she steps forward.
“I’ll help,” Emily says, though she’s pale and moving slowly.
What the hell did Levi say to them?
He weaves through the crowd, grabs his bag and sets it on the ground. I assume, when he pulls up the handle, that he’s going to roll away with it and leave us to get our own bags. Instead, he passes it to Emily and points back toward me. Emily rolls it over with a giggle.
“Levi told me hungover people shouldn’t have to work,” she says.
“He would say that. How are you feeling?”
“Tired.” She leans her head against my shoulder. “I’m sorry I snuck out last night. I shouldn’t have gone to that party.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders and squeeze, relief flooding me. We’re going to be okay. “You’re still grounded when we get back to Catalpa Creek.”
“I know. I deserve to be grounded. Levi helped me understand that.”
The eye roll is reflexive. Honestly. “He did? And how did he do that?”
“He told me a story from when he was my age about sneaking out to a party his older brothers had gone to. They were all drunk and acting like idiots. He decided he never wanted to look like them.”
“So, what? He never got drunk?”
“Right,” Emily says. “He makes sure he’s always in control. He said it’s the only way to be sure you’re keeping your cool. And he said, it’s even more important for me because there are bad guys out there who will take advantage of a drunk girl.”
Guys like Dawson, I think, but manage not to say. She’s not ready to hear that. “Levi’s right, Emily. It’s not as much fun, but it’s smart to stay aware.”
“Trust me, Gentry. I never want to drink again. I hate throwing up. And none of my friends drink, anyway.”
It cannot be this easy, but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief if it gets us a peaceful trip. And maybe, just maybe, Emily really means everything she’s saying. Which would be very inconvenient for my well-reasoned logic about Levi being a bad influence on my sisters. “That sounds like a great plan.”
***
Brodie meets us near the entrance to the airport. He's just as tall and broad as I remember, and he opens his arms wide with a big smile as my sisters run to him. He hugs them hard and lifts them off the ground until they’re shrieking with laughter.
I can’t help smiling at my big brother. He can be undependable at times, like I told Levi, but he inherited our father’s charm. Unlike Dad, though, Brodie’s a good guy at heart.
“Hey little sister,” he says after he sets the girls on their feet. I step into his hug and breathe him in. He teased the hell out of me when we were kids, but he was also always my biggest defender when it mattered.
He lets me go and gives Levi a side hug, slapping his back. “Good to see you, bro,” he says.
“You, too,” Levi says. “Can’t believe you’re actually getting married.”
Brodie huffs out a laugh. “My younger self can’t believe it either, but you’ll get it when you see the chick I scored.”
“Brodie,” Sophie squawks, still smiling. “You can’t say that. It’s sexist.”
Brodie shrugs, unbothered. “Trust me. She’s definitely my better half. As long as I acknowledge that, how sexist can I be?”
Brodie worked half a day at the office, so he’s in a suit, and he looks weary. Like it’s already been a long day.
He sends us money every month, which has made it possible for us to stay in Mom and Dad’s house. It’s fully paid for and has been since Mom paid it off with an inheritance from her parents when I was just a baby. Maintenance of the house is pricier than I’d ever imagined, though.
Brodie’s only visited a few times in the past two years, since I’ve taken over as guardian, but that’s more than he visited when Mom was still at home, so I don’t complain.
Brodie claps his hands once. “You got everything? Ready to go?”
“We’re ready,” I say.
