Even though I think she can date anyone she wants and shouldn’t be ashamed of her sexuality, the thought of her being with other people irks me. It’s fuckin’ hypocritical, considering the notches in my belt, but I can’t help it.
“The opposite. I mean, look at us.” He glances at Aiden and Alex. “No one stood a chance. Everyone was too scared to mess with the Benson’s sister.” He laughs quietly to himself, probably remembering something. “But there were a couple times she came home from college for holidays looking sad.” Then he winks at me. “It was a fun road trip for us.” He shifts his attention to Aiden. “That was the first time I saw Alex when I looked at my little brother. A damn beast, worse than him.” He looks at me with a twinkle in his eyes. “Warned you our dinners are weird.”
I laugh because, it’s a different sort of weird than I’m used to, but weird regardless.
“It’s alright.”
A few moments later, Stella brings out a steaming cup and offers it to me. I look at her hand like it’s a snake about to bite me. She smiles understandingly and pushes the mug toward my hand. “It’s my special tea. We gather and dry herbs with Leila every summer.”
I swallow the saliva and accept the offering. Leila made it.
Scratch it, fucker, her mom Stella made it, and you are in their house. You’re a sick fuck.
I take a sip, and flavor bursts in my mouth. “What is that?” I ask, looking inside the mug, expecting to find the answer.
“It’s lavender, mint, chamomile, and something very special.” She winks.
I sniff the steam. “What’s the special ingredient?”
“Love, my boy. It’s love.” With a huge smile, she walks away.
An annoying cackle sounds to my left—Kenneth watches me from behind the brim of his cup.
“What?” I ask.
He shakes his head and chuckles, not giving me the answer.
A couple hours later, we pull into Kenneth’s driveway. I’m about to open the door when he starts speaking.
“I don’t know how much you guys saw there.” His sigh is heavy. “But I see that you’ve changed. Even though I didn’t know you before, I assume whatever issues you had before the service multiplied when you came back.”
I keep quiet; I don’t think my answer is needed here. We both know he’s right.
“I know that because my brother came back worse than he left, and trust me, that’s saying a lot.” The chuckle that follows is sad. “And I’m not talking about his scars. I’m talking about this.” He taps his temple with his finger. “I did a couple tours and sure as fuck don’t want to go back there, but you both did. Alex wanted to escape his life here, and from watching you and that story you shared, I can tell you did the same.” He grips the steering wheel with one hand, and the other keeps tapping his knee. “But I just want to tell you that you’ve got a place here. Nomatter what. We know how to deal with the demons of the past. We get it.” He avoids looking at me while squeezing the steering wheel tighter. “You found the right place. Little Hope does that for people.”
“Does what?” I ask quietly.
After a long moment, he finally looks at me. “Gives hope.”
I swallow a sudden lump in my throat the size of a basketball and nod, showing my appreciation for what he just said. I fear that my voice would waver if I spoke now.
“Still, stay the fuck away from my sister,” he adds with a cackle.
I flip him off and climb out. It’s going to be a fun night.
Chapter Seven
ARCHIE
It was a fun night, indeed. We got wasted on bourbon Kenneth had stashed, and I’m fucked by the queen of all hangovers. I should have gotten used to it by now, but I feel like shit every morning after drinking. It’s getting worse and worse every time. I’m getting old, it seems.
Taking a few pills helps me survive the morning. And a gallon of coffee. The wedding is in a week—I didn’t intend to stay that long since I have a business to run (such a pitiful excuse since I have Cherry for that), so I talk to Alex on the phone and tell him that I’ll be back in a couple of days.
He doesn’t want a bachelor party, saying that Freya would give birth too soon if she heard that he went to a strip club, so weopted for a chill night with drinks at Kenneth’s place the night before the wedding.
The whole drive back to Boston, my mind drifts to Leila and how she changed once she read that damn message. I need to know what it said.
When I pull into my driveway, a big empty house greets me with its cold, unwelcoming windows. I paid a shit ton of money for it, hoping it would bring me peace since it was in my father’s family for many generations until he sold it.