“Me,” the twins say in unison.
As Ella serves up food for everyone, I notice that my father and brothers are watching her every move. The twins are smiling. Dad looks pleased. East seems upset, though. Is he not glad that Ella’s back? He lost his freaking mind after she ran, so shouldn’t her presence make him happy?
“Why so quiet, East?” Dad prompts once we all start eating.
My brother shrugs. “Got nothing to say.”
The twins snicker. “Since when?” Seb cracks.
Another shrug.
“Is everything okay with you?” Dad pushes.
“Uh-huh. Everything’s A-okay in Easton Land.”
His cheerful tone worries me. I know my brother. I know he’s hurting right now, and when he’s hurting, he gets out of control. After Mom died, he hit the bottle hard. Then he started with the oxy. The gambling. The brawls. The never-ending stream of hookups.
Gideon and I managed to rein him in. We flushed the pills down the toilet. I started fighting more so I could keep an eye on him when he was down at the docks. I thought we’d gotten him under control, but now he’s spiraling again, and it kills me to see it.
Dad gives up on East and turns to Sawyer. “I haven’t seen Lauren around lately. Did you two break up?”
“Nah, we’re still together.”
That’s all Sawyer is willing to share on that subject, and Dad once again hits a wall. “Reed? Easton?” he prompts. “How’s the season going? I’m hoping to catch the game this Friday. I’ve already asked Dottie to clear my schedule.”
I can’t hide my surprise. Dad used to come to all our games when Mom was alive—they’d sit behind the home bench together and cheer like maniacs—but ever since she died, he hasn’t stepped foot in the stadium. It’s like he just stopped caring. Or maybe he never cared to begin with, and Mom was the one who dragged him to the games.
Beside me, East is equally skeptical. “What’s your angle?”
Dad’s expression collapses. I think he might be genuinely hurt. “No angle,” he says tightly. “It’s just been a while since I’ve seen my boys play.”
East snorts.
An uncomfortable silence falls over the table, until Ella finally breaks it in a tentative voice. “Callum,” she starts. “Can we talk after dinner?”
“Of course. What about?”
She stares down at her plate. “Um. About my…inheritance. I had some questions for you about it.”
“Of course,” he says again, but this time his expression is brighter.
The rest of dinner passes quickly. Afterward, the twins disappear into the game room, while Ella and my dad duck into his study. That leaves me and East to clean up. Normally, we’d be trying to make the task less boring by cracking jokes and talking about bullshit, but East doesn’t say a word as we load the dishwater and shove the leftovers in the fridge.
Fuck. I miss my brother. We’ve hardly spoken since Ella came back. Hell, we were barely speaking before that. I hate it. My life feels unbalanced when East and I are on the outs.
He closes the fridge and stalks toward the doorway, but I stop him before he can leave the kitchen. “East,” I say roughly.
He slowly turns around. “What?”
“We ever gonna be cool again?”
Either I imagine it, or I glimpse a flicker of remorse in his eyes. But it’s gone before I can be sure. “I need a smoke,” he mutters.
My chest sags in defeat as he turns away again. But he doesn’t walk out. He speaks without looking at me. “You coming?”
I hurry after him, hoping my eagerness doesn’t show. But hell, this is the first time he’s wanted to be around me in ages.
We leave the house through the side door and walk out to the carport. “Where we going?” I ask.
“Nowhere.” East flicks the back latch of his pickup, then hops up to sit on the truck bed. He fishes a small tin out of his pocket, flips it open, and pulls out a neatly rolled joint and a lighter.
After a beat, I hop up beside him.
He lights up and takes a long hit, then speaks through the curls of smoke that seep from his lips. “You got Ella her job back.”
“Who told you that?”
“Wade.” He passes me the joint. “I went over to his place after school.”
“Thought he had a threesome lined up.”
“Turned into a foursome.”
I exhale a cloud of smoke. “Yeah? I thought you were only interested in tapping Royal exes these days.”
He simply shrugs. “Nobody ever said I was smart.”
“Nobody ever said you were vindictive, either,” I point out quietly. “I get it. You’re pissed at me, and that’s why you made a move on Abby. But Savannah? You know Gid’s not over her.”
East has the decency to look guilty. “Wasn’t thinking of Gid when I hit on Sav,” he admits. “Wasn’t thinking at all, actually.”
I hand the joint back. “You gonna be honest and tell Gid about it?”