Page 2 of Duress (Birch Falls #3)

DANE

“ B ro… brO! Two o’clock. Hottie in a red dress.” My buddy Scott jabs his elbow into my ribs, causing beer to slosh out of the red solo cup I’m currently filling. I extend my arm just in time to avoid getting soaked in shitty light beer.

Glancing up, I turn my attention to the direction he indicated, but all I see is some of our teammates from football.

I’m not sure what hottie would even be here.

My mom agreed to let me host a party as long as I kept it under control, so I just invited some of my closest friends from football, their girlfriends, and a few other friends from Forensics Club.

Most of the girls here are either in a relationship or are practically like a sister to me.

“No, your other two o’clock,” Scott slurs, as he not at all discreetly gestures with the hand holding his own red solo cup full of beer. He had a flask under his gown during our graduation, so he has a head start on all of us. I predict he will be passing out by the firepit first.

“That’s eight, dipshit. Not two. How in the hell did you manage to graduate without having to do summer school?”

“Fuck if I know.” Scott shrugs, chugging his beer before swiping the keg tap out of my hand and going back for more.

The hottie in the red dress turns around, and I realize it’s Everly, my sister-in-law. Well, that doesn’t change anything. All of the girls here are spoken for or like a sister to me. Or are a sister.

“That’s my sister-in-law, you jackass,” I mutter under my breath.

Everly is married to my dickhead half brother for some unfathomable reason.

She is sweetness and light, where he is cold and dickish.

I don’t get what she sees in him. Sure he’s some up-and-coming hotshot lawyer and is decently good-looking.

I guess. But he’s also the biggest douche in existence.

I gave up on us having a brotherly relationship years ago, when I finally was old enough to realize he wasn’t just ignoring me because of our age gap, but because he actually seems to hate me.

He puts on a good show for appearance’s sake for Mom, but we both know the score.

If Everly is here, that means Bryce is too.

I scan the crowd of people scattered throughout our backyard but there is no sign of him.

I watch as Everly scans the party, a canned cocktail in hand.

Her posture is stiff and uncomfortable, like she knows she doesn’t belong here, at a party full of high schoolers.

Her face lights up with relief when her hazel eyes land on me .

“I’m gonna go say hi to her. I’ll be back.” Scott shrugs and takes his beer across the yard where a game of Asshole is happening.

“Congratulations!” As soon as I’m within reaching distance, Everly wraps me up in a hug.

Her hair smells like the flowers from Mom’s garden.

She presses a brief kiss on my cheek before pulling away and beaming up at me with genuinely proud smile.

“Graduating with Summa Cum Laude honors! We are so proud of you, Dane!” She says we but I know Bryce gives zero shits about what honors I graduated with.

I’m surprised he’s even here, based on how he couldn’t leave the graduation ceremony fast enough.

“Thanks, Ever. I appreciate it.” Glancing around, there is still no sign of Bryce.

I don’t wanna leave Everly alone feeling awkward at a party where she doesn’t know anyone, so I keep the conversation going.

“I didn’t know you all were coming to the party.

I figured Bryce had more important things to do than hang with a bunch of drunk eighteen-year-olds. ”

Everly flinches a little at the barb directed toward my brother.

I think she knows we don’t get along, but she tries so hard to fix the rift between us.

There is some innate sense of goodness in her that insists on trying to fix broken things.

Even if it isn’t her fault it’s broken. There is so much empathy in this woman; I don’t know how she can carry feeling so much for everyone all the time.

Or how in the hell she wound up marrying a cold-hearted dickhead like my brother.

“We are heading to dinner soon, but I wanted to come by and congratulate you in person. Bryce dragged us out of the football stadium as soon as the ceremony ended, and I didn’t get to tell you there.

You know how he is. Impatient and irritable in crowds.

” Everly gives me an apologetic shrug before sipping from her drink.

“Where is he now?” I grab one of the canned cocktails from the drink cooler, and we drift over to the fire, finding a pair of empty chairs next to it.

“Inside, talking to your mom. Said he had to talk to her about the house or something. So what are your plans for the summer? Caroline said you weren’t fully committed to the college thing?” She turns toward me, our knees barely touching, her expression nonjudgmental and genuinely curious.

When Everly gives you her undivided attention, it’s like the sun is shining only for you.

She has the ability to give you her focus so completely it makes the rest of the world disappear until it’s just the two of you.

Her ability to make me feel seen and heard is probably the biggest reason why I agreed to go to therapy after my dad’s death and stop my asshole spiral.

God knows Bryce threatening to send me to some sort of military school after I was almost expelled for fighting didn’t help.

I get he was just trying to scare me straight, but I was grieving and angry, and my mom was lost to her own grief.

I needed someone to care about how shitty my life was.

Not tell me to suck it up and be strong.

“I’m gonna take the summer to work and save up.

I want to avoid student loans as much as possible.

But I’ve got a lot of college credits already thanks to dual enrollment, so I think I’ll just get an associates in Criminal Justice at BFCC before joining the police academy.

By the time I finish the associates and graduate from the academy I’ll be twenty-one, the minimum age to become a police officer. ”

Everly’s eyes widen in surprise at my plan. I hadn’t told anyone I was thinking of going into law enforcement. Especially not Bryce. I don’t want to deal with his judgment of my career choice.

“I didn’t know that was something you were into.”

“My granddad, Mom’s dad, was a cop. He retired with a good pension.

The pay is decent, and it doesn’t require a four year degree or a lot of student loan debt.

I figure it’s best to get a career going ASAP so there is less stress on Mom supporting me.

She’s not working, and Dad’s life insurance policy won’t last us forever. ”

Everly’s eyes soften at the reminder of why I have to think so practically about my transition into adulthood. She is so pretty in the firelight right now. I lick my lips absently, wondering what it would be like to kiss her.

“Oh Dane, you know Bryce and I are always here. We are more than happy to help if you really want to go to college.” Her hand rests lightly on my forearm, and it lights me up in a way it absolutely shouldn’t.

I know she only sees me like a brother and wants to take care of me because of that, but I can’t help but wonder what it would feel like for her to touch me in a very non-brotherly fashion.

I let out a derisive snort at her earnestness that feels mean.

“As if Bryce gives two shits about me going to college. No, I won’t rely on him for anything.

” Everly’s gorgeous mouth pops open as she sucks in a surprised gasp at my retort.

There is a flash of hurt that barely registers on her face before she pulls her hand back.

I reach out and stop her, holding her hand in mine, not ready for her to break contact the between us.

The high ABV of my drink, making me forget how to hold my tongue around her.

“You are so sweet, Everly. You are the kindest, most empathetic person I have ever met. How in the hell did you wind up marrying an asshole like Bryce? You’re too good for him.”

Everly bites her bottom lip, and her eyes shine brighter with tears. Shit, I made her cry. I open my mouth to apologize, but Scott, the drunk fuck, barrels into me from behind, wrapping his arms around me in a sloppy bro hug.

“Dude, come on. They’re gonna start playing Truth or Dare. You don’t want to miss this. I’m gonna dare Grayson to streak across the football field tonight.”

I want to stay and apologize to Everly for being a dick, but she’s already up and moving away from me.

“I should find Bryce. Go have fun with your friends, Dane. Congratulations again.” And with that, she’s gone, and I might have irreparably changed the dynamic between us.