Page 55 of Love By Design

“San Diego.”

Of course. Dear old dad never went far from home.

“Why now?” I asked.

“His mom passed. It was all in the will.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since yesterday.” My brother dove in for another hunk of ramen, and I twirled a few strands of noodles up around my chopsticks and managed a bite.

“Have you talked to him?” I asked. “What’s his name?”

“Drew. Andrew.”

“Not Covington?”

He shook his head. “Andrew Neil Calavert.”

“What a name,” I drolled. “What did Dad say about it?”

“He’s known awhile, but he respects the contact schedule so he was saving it for the next time we talked. He said Drew is an only child?—”

“Was,” I corrected.

Hunter rolled his eyes. “Was an only child. Would be open to meeting us.”

“What does he want from Dad? Or what does he get from Dad, rather?”

Hunter had managed to eat almost all of his ramen while Iprocessed the news of another sibling, and he shoved the bowl away from him with a grunt. He folded his hands together on top of his otherwise flat stomach and heaved a breath.

“He doesn’t want anything as far as I can tell. He gets added to the inheritance, but other than that…” he trailed off.

I finished eating.

“He wants to meet us?” I asked.

“He would be open to it.”

“What do you think?”

Hunter shrugged, and suddenly he was a teenager again, so young and unruly, so angry about the hand we’d all been dealt with mothers and a father like ours.

“I think whatever we do, we do together. We need to talk to Finn and Smith, but I wanted to talk to you first. I think Smith…”

“He’s not going to take it well,” I said.

Hunter shook his head.

I pushed the half-eaten ramen away and scrubbed a hand down my face. This was not the lunch I’d been expecting to have when Hunter had reached out earlier in the day. But I also shouldn’t have been surprised. Dad’s lack of affection for prophylactics was the most predictable thing about him.

“You want me to talk to him before Friday.”

“I think it would help,” he said. “I don’t want him to be caught off-guard.”

“If I talk to Smith separately, Finn will be pouty that he’s the last to know.”

“Shit, you’re right.”