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"Yeah, I'm coming to the same interesting conclusion." My youngest brother sounded incredulous.
"Does Josh know?" Duncan asked.
“About the store?”
“About Hannah. Clearly there's something going on between you two if you told her about the store.”
Hannah and I hadn’t discussed telling others about us. All we did on Saturday was get our fill of each other. I hadn’t had any condoms, but I pleased her in other ways. And I still wasn’t done with her. The woman had a hold on me.
The room was completely silent. My brothers were watching me intently. I couldn’t lie to them. In fact, I didn’t want to keep this from them.
"There is something going on between me and Hannah. And Josh doesn’t know. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't run your mouth."
"I wasn't going to. I just want to be on top of things," Duncan said.
"Can we focus on the store?” Griffin asked. "Think Mom and Dad will want to run it together?"
"That’s for them to decide," I replied.
"Doesn't really matter," Wyatt said. "I think they'll enjoy it anyway. I heard them once talking about dividing the space back before the bank snapped it up. Mom wanted to offer pottery classes upstairs, and Dad wanted to continue the store on the ground floor. But back then, it didn’t work out."
I'd overheard that same conversation. It was probably part of why I'd always kept an eye on the market for the store. I had no idea my younger brother had heard that too.
"You never know. They might run it together after all. I think they're getting along better lately," Knox said. "Last time I went to help Mom replace a sprinkler in the garden, Dad was there as well."
I blinked. "That's news to me. They've been seeing each other without all of us inviting them to something? Or Jeremy being there?" Mom had never mentioned it, and neither had Dad. We saw Mom more often because she was happy to ask us to her house when she needed something done. Dad was different—he insisted he could do most things by himself. He mostly asked for help when he moved heavy or large items around. But I’d never heard of them helping each other out.
"I don't know if it was a onetime thing or not. I mean, Dad is good with the garden stuff," Knox said.
"Whatever the reason, I'm glad to hear it."
"I have an idea," Duncan exclaimed. "Let's ask them to come here next week after the meeting."
"That's a bit too official," Finn protested.
"Yeah," Griffin said, pointing at Duncan, "but they'll also bicker less if they're at the office."
I nodded at him. “Great idea.”
"Duncan, you're a genius," Wyatt said.
"Now, let's talk about Hannah," Griffin said. "Please don't run her off."
"What the fuck?" I asked, rearranging one of my cuff links. "That's none of your business."
"I like her. And sheisJosh’s sister-in-law. Besides, you're not what people like to call boyfriend material."
He was right. I wasn't. I never had been.
“This is none of your business,” I repeated. “Now, we’ve got a plan for Mom and Dad, so let’s wrap this up.”
Griffin cocked a brow but didn’t add anything else.
One by one, my brothers left the meeting room. I sat back in the chair, mulling over Griffin’s words. He was right, but he didn’t know the gist of it. He didn’t understand.
When it came to Hannah, I kept doing things differently from the way I usually did. That’s why, once I was alone, I immediately texted her. I felt a deep need to share personal things with her. I had never felt that way before.
Chase: I told my brothers about the store, and we're going to tell our parents together next week after the meeting.