Page 139 of The Maxwell Brothers

For some reason, that made me feel ten years old.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about this one.”

“If you say so.”

I knew that voice. It was heryou-know-nothingtone, and it usually meant she had some insider info I didn’t. I waited for her to go on, but she just wished me a good morning.

After hanging up, I finished my coffee, looking out the window. The view of the busy street energized me.

I was rinsing out my coffee mug when my phone rang again. This time it was Reese. I immediately answered.

“Hey, superstar goalie,” she greeted.

“Right now, I’m the benched and suspended black sheep.”

“Uh, sorry. I always put my foot in my mouth this early in the morning. Umm… how are you?”

I laughed. “What did Gran do, put you on my case?”

“No, we’re doing it of our own initiative.”

“We? Who else will call me today?”

She snorted. “I’m not at liberty to say that.”

“Okay, let’s hear it.” I went into my living room, sitting in the armchair overlooking the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows.

“There’s nothing more to it. I’m just checking on you.”

“Malcolm isn’t giving you trouble, is he?” Although we’d taught her ex a lesson, you just never knew if the moron would be coming back for more.

“No, not at all. I’m just… lonely lately. Kimberly is in Paris, and my best friend turned out to be a snake, so…”

I swallowed hard, shifting to the edge of the armchair. Everyone was focused on me, but they should have been rallying around Reese instead, the way we did right after she canceled the wedding six months ago. She hadn’t gotten over it yet; that was something that took time.

“You do have all of us,” I pointed out.

She chuckled. “I know. It’s just… hard.”

Alarm bells went on. I was going to put Luke on the case. He was the closest to Reese and Kimberly, and he had a knack for these things.

He always rallied us to get into trouble as kids, but here was the thing: he’d honed the skill of assembling us all together into an art.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said sincerely.

“Hey, don’t let me get you down. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

I went to shoot Luke a quick message after the call ended,

Tyler: Hey bro. Can you check on Reese? She seems a bit off.

Luke: Will do. How about the game?

I frowned, scrolling back. That’s when I realized I already had a message from him, plus another one from Travis and one from Declan. At least they were more subtle than Gran and Reese.

I appeased everyone with messages before heading to my physical therapy session.