“I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” I wasn’t, but it sounded better than Lachlan was gonna do whatever he wanted. As he loved to remind me, he wasn’t a kid anymore. He was a legal adult.
Downing a mouthful of coffee, I moved over to the butler’s pantry, where Juliet had already set up fruit, oatmeal, and scrambled eggs with bacon on the side. A little bit of everything.
Fresh guilt edged me. Juliet was used to feeding all three of us and for the last month, she’d just had me and I simply didn’t eat like Lachlan or Jonas.
“Juliet,” I said as I carried my plate and bowl back into the kitchen to eat. I could go out to the table but she was in here and I didn’t feel like eating alone. “Can I ask you a weird question?”
Wiping down the counter, she gave me a gentle look of reprimand. “You can ask me anything. Just don’t expect me to answer everything.”
Her smile softened her face. Juliet was in her mid-sixties and ruled the Tahoe house like she was Gibs’ mother. It was kind of funny that he would ask her permission to have a party or bring people in. Not even Mom crossed Juliet.
I sipped the coffee to cover my smile. Maybe I should mind my own business. Then again…
“Do you know why Gibs’ daughter Kaitlin doesn’t visit here?” Maybe it was because of us. That didn’t sit well, but I hated the idea that maybe we were the reason Gibs didn’t get to see his daughter.
“Oh, that sweet angel,” Juliet said with a sigh. “She hasn’t been here since she launched that band of hers. Have you listened to them? She always had the voice of an angel. Sang every single one of her dad’s hits before she was six.”
I made myself take a bite of the oatmeal as she wiped down the counters then pulled over a pan that had bread rising in it.
“I wouldn’t know any specific reason she hasn’t come for a visit. Between her tours and his, they were both just so busy. You know how he is when he’s got a new album recording, I’m gonna guess that sweet angel does too and there’s always something going on that she has to do.”
Juliet gave a little sigh.
“I do miss her, though.” A note of melancholy touched her voice, and I felt like an ass.
“Sorry, Juliet. I didn’t mean to depress you.”
“Not at all, dear. Now eat your breakfast. I’m going to slide this in the oven and check the shopping order. Do I need to send a car to the airport for Jonas?”
“No, I’ll pick him up. He wants to try for his license again this year, so I figured I’ll let him drive me back.” Jonas had a learner’s permit, but he hadn’t passed the first two driving tests he’d taken. Distraction was a big problem for him.
Distraction and temper.
“Hmm, take one of the sedans,” she said after a moment. “They have better safety features.”
I didn’t laugh. She wasn’t kidding, and it wasn’t funny. We definitely needed the safety features. Maybe…maybe letting him drive would open up some detente. He’d gotten angry before, but he’d never held out this long before.
Washing up the three dishes I’d used, I left them in the drying rack before heading to the garage to get a car. The airport was an hour’s drive down the mountain. On the upside, at least I’d finished my classes, so if Jonas was in a forgiving mood, maybe we could go hiking once he was back.
If not? Well, I had some books to read before senior year started. Senior year in college for me, freshman year for Lachlan if he decided to go to school, and senior year at the high school level for Jonas.
Once I had the car started, I hooked up the phone’s Bluetooth so I could input the address for the airport. I didn’t need the GPS specifically, but it would let my mind wander and keep me on target.
It wasn’t until I was halfway down the mountain that I realized I’d been bobbing my head, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel, and mouthing the words while listening to one of her albums the whole damn way.
Fuck.
Two
KC
“This is the right hotel?” I checked the information in their email for the tenth time.
“Yes,” Yvette said, without looking up from where she sat with her head back. I’d bet all the money in my business account her eyes were closed behind her sunglasses. “Drink your coffee.”
“She already finished it.” Aubrey punctuated the comment with a yawn, and I rolled my eyes at them. They’d come into town to help Ian and Frankie when I forwarded Frankie’s semi-freaked-out email to them.
“All of it?” Yvette frowned, then seemed to focus on me. I paced back and forth, checking my phone for like the fifteenth time. Their flights had landed. Were they running late? Frankie said they’d booked this hotel, but having stayed in my time-share, they might enjoy the house a lot more.
Especially with everything going on in her life. The fact her mother just died. I sent flowers for the funeral, but the chaos at the end of the year and Pen’s diagnosis had left me floundering.
“How much caffeine have you had today?” Yvette asked, the French lilt in her voice softening the words.
“Enough,” I told her. Sleep had been really difficult.
Really. Fucking. Hard.
I didn’t think I’d slept a full night since I discovered Douchebags One, Two, and Three were my stepbrothers.
Dicks.
All of them.
Irritating, judgmental fuckers.
Realizing who they were had slotted some hard facts into place. The instant dislike they’d taken to me. The shitty things they’d all said or done. Even the backsliding when I thought things were going well. They knew I was their stepsister and didn’t say a freaking word.
Fine.
They could have my father. It wasn’t like he had time for me anyway.
“Kait,” Aubrey said in a soft voice. She rarely called me Kait anymore, leaning on it when things were bad. Well, she wasn’t wrong to use it now. Things were bad at the moment. “You have resting murder face.”
“That doesn’t look that resting to me,” Yvette argued, and I sucked in a deeper breath of air.
Meditation and I did not get along. Nothing helped to take the edge off, and running in L.A. wasn’t as easy as it had been in Connecticut. I used the treadmill—a lot—but all I was getting was faster.
A limo pulled into the loop in front of the hotel. It wasn’t the first limo to put in an appearance since we got here. The driver opened the back door. At the flash of a familiar blonde head, I bolted for the door.
Following the blonde was one of her boyfriends. Frankie had four of them, and it was singularly amazing. The one with her was the one she sang with. Like Frankie, Ian was also blond. Excitement poured into my system like an adrenaline dump.
I’d been dying for them to get here and now they were! I crashed into Frankie with a hug that threatened to topple us both. Fortunately, she reacted to keep us on our feet. “You’re here!” Granted, I could have been pithier but I was practically vibrating. Looking after Ian and Frankie was exactly what I needed, a distraction and something I could actually do to help.
I let go of Frankie so Yvette and Aubrey could greet her. Blowing a kiss to Frankie’s boyfriend, I said, “Hey, Ian!” Then I pivoted to face Frankie again, who looked more than a little dazed.