Page 122 of In Case You Didn't Know

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

I look over at Linc. My pal. My closest brother. “This isn’t an ambush,” he tells me quickly, as though he can sense my unease. “It’s just… we’ve been talking. About you.”

“And we realized we’ve made some mistakes,” Myles says. “You’ve always been our little sister. But I think we forgot you’re also a grown up. A woman with her own dreams. And… we would like to be part of that. If you’ll let us.”

I open my mouth. This is it. “I can explain,” I say quickly. But Myles holds his hands up.

“It’s not your fault,” he says. “It’s all ours. We should have realized how excluded you felt. How hard it was to talk to us.”

“But I…”

“We want to help you build a cabin,” Linc blurts out.

I blink.

“What?” I look around at them. “Is that what you think this is about?”

“We all built our own cabins. Helped each other. Just as soon as we became adults.” Myles gaze catches mine. “You should have one, too. We didn’t even think about it. And that’s our faults. So we want to do that for you. As soon as possible. Work on designs, order the materials. Do it together.”

I’m not sure what I expected when I walked in here today, but it wasn’t this. A table set for me, a toast in my honor. And now this. An offer to be their actual sibling. Their equal.

To have my own place around the lake.

As a kid, I longed to be part of their tight knit group. They were all so much fun, so grown up. But also so much older than me, they were my dads more than my brothers.

But this offer. To build something permanent. Something mine.

Something they want to share with me.

It’s making me want to cry.

“Are you sure?” I whisper, the lump in my throat back with a vengeance.

“Of course.” Myles blinks. Because my brothers are many things. Overbearing, loud, mildly allergic to emotions. But they’ve never been disingenuous. And the way they’re all looking at me now, like they’re excited to make me part of this…

It makes my chest feel full.

I bite my lip because the last thing they need is for me to cry. They can only cope with so much emotion.

“Thank you,” I manage. “That means a lot.”

Linc gives me the softest of smiles. “We miss you. Whenever we’re together it feels like there’s something missing because you’re not there. We want you to have your own space. One that we can help you build. It’s important to all of us.”

I nod. “I love that, I really do.”

And then I pause, my finger tracing the rim of my wine glass. Because they’re being so open with me. They deserve the same respect.

“But there’s something you should know,” I say, taking a deep breath.

Linc’s face immediately falls. “Shit, are you pregnant?”

My mouth drops open. “What? Where did that come from? No. It’s not that.”

“It wouldn’t matter if she was,” Brooks points out. “She’s an adult, she can do whatever she likes.”

They start talking over each other again, and I have to pick up my spoon and hit it against my glass to get their attention.

“Can you all shut up?” I ask them. “I’m trying to talk here.”