Page 46 of Mason's Run

He eyed me and grinned. “You really think you could take me, old man?”

We were stopped at a red light that I knew was extremely long, so I slipped into park and my arm flew around my brother’s neck, pulling him into a headlock. He struggled for a minute, but there was no way he was getting free.

“Uncle!Uncle!” he cried finally, tapping the armrest in surrender.

I laughed, releasing him.

“Guess you’re buying lunch,” I said.

“Joke’s on you,” he grumbled. “I was planning to, anyway.”

“Yeah, right…” I said in disbelief. My brother was a notorious cheapskate – always had been. “I can’t remember the last time you paid when we went out.”

“That’s different,” he said, one hand running through his hair as he checked his reflection in the sunshade mirror. “I act as your wingman when we go out. Can’t have our nation’s veterans go too long without getting laid.”

“Isodon’t need your help in that department,” I growled, as we pulled up to the Circle.

“Really? Then when was the last time you got laid?” he smirked at me.

“None of your goddamn business,” I said, merging into traffic.

“That long, huh?” He said, pityingly. “Poor baby.”

“Fuck you,” I said, but without much conviction.

“Nah, even if I wasn’t your brother, you’re not my type,” he teased, looking me up and down appraisingly. “Though you are in pretty good shape for an old guy.”

“Again,fuck you.” I growled as I turned on my blinker.

We parked at the restaurant and walked in. There wasn’t much business at this time of day. They were primarily a breakfast place, so were at their busiest first thing in the morning. The hostess seated us, took our drink orders and gave us menus, then told us our server would be with us shortly.

Kaine studied me as I looked over the menu.

“So, how are you doing?” he asked. “For real, I mean,” he added.

“I’m fine,” I said. “How have you been doing?”

“Uh uh. This talk isn’t about me, it’s about you,” he said.

“This ‘talk’?” I asked. “Who said we were having a ‘talk’?”

“Um, well…” He squirmed a little uncomfortably in his seat. “Mama D might or might not have asked me to get in touch with you today…” he said sheepishly.

“Uh oh,” I said and sighed. “What now?”

He eyed me from across the table, his normally laughing grey eyes serious for once.

“Mom’s worried about you. She thinks you aren’t sleeping,” he said.

I sighed. I loved my parents, but they were a little too perceptive at times.

“…And she wanted me to ask you what’s going on with this guy, Mason,” he added.

I glanced at him sharply.Fuck. The last thing I wanted to do was discuss Mason with my baby brother.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I lied through my teeth.

“I call bullshit,” he fixed his gaze on mine. “You know exactly what I mean. The whole fam saw the way you guys looked at each other last night. It was hot enough in that room to start a fire,” he laughed, fanning himself with the menu.