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“You’re so nice,” he mumbled. “And so pretty. So fucking pretty.”
Despite my annoyance, my cheeks heated. “It’s good to know that when you’re drunk, you’re nice.”
“How do people not see you, Amy? How do they only see your turdhead of a brother?”
I paused. “Did you just say turdhead?”
“Yes. It’s what he is. A big, fat, fucking turd. And you’re nothing like him.”
“Thanks,” I said quietly. They were words I needed to hear, and yet he wouldn’t remember them in the morning. “Let’s get you to bed before you come up with any other ideas of revenge for my turdhead of a brother.”
“I don’t like revenge,” he said with a sigh. “I hate it, actually.”
“Whatever you say,” I hummed. As the only sober person in the room, I knew the truth. This wasallfor revenge, and when he was sober, he would remember that too.
“I wish Calvin would stop trying to ruin my business. I wish he didn’t exist so we didn’t have to deal with him,” he said as we got to the guest room and he took off his shirt. I averted my eyes out of respect and ensured he made it into bed before shutting the door.
The words didn’t hit me until I was alone.
Ruin his business? I knew Calvin was stealing physicians, but I didn’t know it had gone that far.
And I knew my husband wouldn’t tell me if I asked.
I hated secrets, and I hated that he hid things from me even more. If my brother was doing something to him, I needed to know. I needed to prepare for the fallout that I’d be in the middle of. That was how things always went when it came to Calvin.
And now that I knew there was more, it was time for me to try to figure out some of what he was doing.
Chapter Sixteen
The next morning,I put out water and ibuprofen for Levi before checking my mail. The house that Calvin planned to demolish was still standing tall across the street. I’d been keeping an eye on it, not sure why Calvin hadn’t followed through. A more naive version of me would think that he was having second thoughts, but I knew him too well for that.
I’d been so busy with wedding planning and the subsequent honeymoon that I’d put the house’s inevitable fate in the back of my mind, but now that things had slowed down, I was ready to investigate.
There was a note on the door that hadn’t been there a week ago.
The driveway was empty, and my curiosity spiked. I had to see what it was about. Abandoning my mailbox, I walked over and got close to the front door.
Notice of historical significance. Demolition delayed.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s what you deserve, asshole.”
This was probably the one time the government actually helped someone instead of making things harder.
Well, they helpedme.I’m sure Calvin wasn’t happy with them.
I skipped back to the mailbox and grabbed everything. I was on top of the world. Nothing could bring me down.
It was then, of course, that I finally saw my mail.
Calvin and our parents had a bad habit of sending out fancy invites for the parties they held—if there was enough notice.
The one for Dad’s retirement was tossed straight into the trash the second I got it but they always texted the night before as a reminder.
And this time, there was another, but it was from Calvin.
Calvin Willard is happy to announce that the stocks of the company have gone up. We’re throwing a party to celebrate that as well as some recent changes to my life.
And I hear Amy is married. Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the wedding. So we will be celebrating that too.