“Farmer Finn,” she said, a smile in her voice. “Are you close? Do you share twinsie vibes and all that?”
His grip tightened once more, and he shook his head. “Not really. Even as a kid Finn was all about the outdoors and animals, and…that wasn’t my thing.”
That was easier to say than admitting to always being so sick and allergic to literally everything that going outside wasn’t worth the effort. And animals? No way. He liked them; he just couldn’t breathe around them unless medicated.
“So those are gym muscles, huh?” She held up her hands and donned a look of pure innocence. “Not judging. It’s just that youlooklike the outdoorsy type, so it’s surprising.”
He let the comment slide. “Allergy meds do wonders,” he said before he continued on in order to get the focus off him. “As to Gage, he’s the king of side hustles. He and Cole are majority partners in the rentals business, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg with Gage. He’s got his hand in a lot of things all over the area.”
Elias believed Gage’s obsession with income streams came from knowing what it was like to struggle as a kid. To not be able to play sports or go to summer camp or surf camp and do all the things his friends did growing up because they’d lived that close to the edge with a lot of month left after the paychecks came in.
With so many mouths to feed, no parents, and barely eleven at the time of the accident, Gage had seen and heard a lot that had probably left him with some deep-seated issues where money was concerned. His brother’s philosophy in life was the more money streams, the better because if one dried up, he could rely on all the others, which meant coming up with new things all the time. Gage’s endeavors were both admirable and exhausting.
“Who’s next?”
Quinley’s question pulled Elias away from the dark path his mind had taken. Undoubtedly they all carried some kind of trauma from losing their parents at such young ages, but as one of the younger kids, the thought of getting taken away and separated from their family had hit harder for him—for them—than the older ones.
How could it not when the younger ones were the ones CPS continually threatened to remove from their home because they’d be easier to place in the system?
Elias cleared his throat and shifted in the seat. “Hudson and then Isla. Hud graduates college in May and is still trying to figure things out. He wants to own a business like the rest of us but isn’t sure what direction he wants to go, so until he figures it out, he’s working around school at the station and for Gage.”
“And Isla?”
The mention of his kid sister brought out a rare smile. Man, he was proud of her. He was proud of all of his siblings, but Isla was a spitfire with a heart of gold, and she reminded him of their mother most of all. “She landed herself a great job as a nanny. Do you know Isabel Shipley—or rather, Isabel Shipley-Drake?”
“Yeah, actually I do. Her husband and my fiancé, uh, ex-fiancé, ran in some of the same circles. That’s who Isla is working for?”
“Yeah, she tried college but quickly figured out it wasn’t for her. She’s always babysat and loved doing it, and when the nanny job came up, she jumped at it. I see her being a professional nanny for life, or one day opening a daycare or nanny company or something. She’s great at it. They call her the baby whisperer. She says the Drakes’ rich friends keep trying to hire her away from them. She’s turned down some incredible offers to stay in town and be close.”
“You guys are seriously impressive,” Quinley said, finishing off the small bag of chips and shoving the trash into the bag at her feet. “But you didn’t revealanydeep, dark secrets.”
“We’re too busy to have deep, dark secrets. We work hard and are very aware of the fact that life can change quickly.”
She made a soft sound of empathy. “I suppose that’s normal considering your losses. Needless to say, I’m sure your parents would be so proud of you, all of you.”
The words were kind and soft-spoken, filled with empathy, but he wondered if they matched her true personality. He didn’t know Quinley except what he’d learned about her in the time they’d now spent together, but he had to wonder where that empathy was when it came to leaving her fiancé at the altar.
The act was…cold and unfeeling, and while he knew it wasn’t something she’d planned, he still found it off-putting and something he definitelydidn’tlike about her.
But Cole’s Ana didn’t seem the type of woman to hang around with shallow friends, and he knew from conversation that the two women had actually been friends since they were college freshman roommates. That said something. But what Quinley did today? Leaving her fiancé to face the mass of guests and reporters alone? Leaving her best friend a note to inform Lachlan?
Then again, he supposed he was the last one to know how a woman’s mind worked since he’d made it a rule to keep things with the fairer sex casual. To keep emotions from coming into play and making things messy. “Your turn,” he said before she could ask more questions. “Tell me about tomboy Quinley.”
Throaty laughter filled the cab of the truck and drew a reluctant glance from him. He supposed he liked that, despite the upset and trials of the day, she was still able to laugh, even if it was at herself.
“Well, I was awful. I would only answer toQuin, I refused to wear anything but boys’ clothes, I tried out for the boys’ summer league baseball team and wore my hat backwards because all the other boys did it. I even tormented my mother by spitting randomly because I’d seen some of the older boys doing it.”
A rough sound left his chest, surprising him. But the image? Yeah, he couldn’t see her doing any of that. Not when her face was still regally painted, and her hair, while out of its pins, framed her face, neck and shoulders in near-perfect waves. She looked the part of rich, spoiled princess. “Did your parents understand the reason behind your change in personality?”
Surely they’d been smart enough to catch on to her behavior and its cause?
“Honestly? I don’t think they noticed. Not at first. They were too busy grieving and…doing their own thing. They shipped me off to summer camp a few weeks after it happened and they blamed camp once I got back. When it was time to start school, my mother had the maid remove everything boy-like from my room when my father raged that I was embarrassing them and to make it stop. He…lectured us both for what seemed like hours even though it was probably only minutes and— My mother cried so much I didn’t argue.”
She said the words toward the window beside her, her breath fogging the glass. But what he could see of her expression made his fingers twitch, hand closing around the wheel like a fist.
Maybe because he identified with being the lost kid. She might have been an only child and he one of nine, but they’d both found themselves struggling to find their place, their identity. “Looks like you came out of it well enough since you work for him. I saw the ad campaign you put together for the limo business. It was impressive.”
“Thanks. My father says my campaigns are too emotional and female oriented, but when women are the majority when it comes to purchasing power, I try take it as a compliment because my campaigns tend to do better than the ones the boys club comes up with.”
