He might as well be polite. The guy was, after all, his brother, even if Derrick hadn’t seen him in years and years. Wyatt had gotten out of Kansas, much like Derrick had, at the earliest possible opportunity.
“It’s a nice wedding,” Wyatt said, and just when Derrick was sure that he’d been right, that Wyatt had come around, Wyatt had to go on speaking. “It’s a shame it will never work out.”
The words themselves weren’t all that bad, though they weren’t exactly cheerful, either. The really offensive thing was the sound of Wyatt’s voice. He might say it was a shame, but the glee in his dark eyes said anything but. He really couldn’t have sounded any more pleased about that.
“I think Malcolm and Kyle will be fine, actually,” Derrick declared. He had no real reason to defend his brother’s relationship. Malcolm wasn’t even being particularly friendly to him these days, had apparently still not forgiven him for going off to school, but he was still Derrick’s brother. And despite his initial jealousy of Kyle, he quite liked the tiny, snarky lawyer, too.
“Sure, if they survive the money stress,” Wyatt commented, his tone completely casual, but his gaze was fixed firmly on Derrick. And that was when he realized what was going on. He really should have seen it before, he was too smart not to, but he had been so distracted by Logan’s bullshit that he’d missed it.
“You can just stop right there,” Derrick told his brother, and for a wonder, Wyatt did stop speaking. Maybe he was just so startled to actually be stopped. From what Derrick had heard, his brother had made quite the name for himself in business, and he likely wasn’t used to being spoken to like a misbehaving child.
“What? I’m just saying …” Wyatt tried to rally himself, but Derrick wasn’t having any of it.
“You’re still trying to convince us to sell the place,” Derrick accused. “Dad’s still alive, you jackass. Come on. Do you know how tacky that is, to start trying to divide up a man’s assets before he’s even dead? He’s your dad. Come on.”
Wyatt seemed to, in an incredibly rare state of affairs, actually found himself at a loss for words. Derrick gave him one more look, disgusted, and turned to walk away.
“Just think about it, Derrick. It’s your money, too. And medical school isn’t cheap.” Wyatt called out after him, though he had to speak quietly so that no one would hear them, and for a wonder, he didn’t follow, either. “What’s this family done for you, for either of us? Call me if you change your mind.”
Derrick just shook his head and kept walking. Wyatt was so transparent, it wasn’t even funny. All the subtlety of a brick to the head. Did he seriously think that was going to work? That Derrick would turn against the rest of his family to take Wyatt’s side?
Though come to think of it, he had no idea how Craig felt about it. Not that it changed anything. Not that it meant he was going to think about it.
Although Wyatt was right about one thing, medical school wasn’t cheap. So far, he’d been getting by on scholarships and part-time jobs, and he hadn’t needed to touch his student loans too hard, but once he was in med school, it was going to be much harder to hold down even a part-time job.
Not that it mattered. He would do it, and without sabotaging the family that he still, despite everything, cared about.
