Chapter 3 #2
My mom is the fucking best. Even now, at the age of thirty-two, she’s still taking care of me, and I’m not just talking about the food that randomly appears in my fridge after a long, forty-eight-hour shift.
I know that’s why she called me on my ride home when she could have easily texted to remind me of the gathering.
She calls to keep me company while I drive so I don’t fall asleep.
“Damn, Mom. If I get a ticket for speeding, it’s your fault.”
She chuckles. “Don’t blame your lead foot on me. We both know you got that from your father.”
A gravelly laugh fills my truck cab. “No one would believe it if I tried to tell them otherwise. You’re a saint for putting up with that man and then having four kids just like him,” I tease.
My dad had a wild streak a mile wide growing up, and everyone said my mom was crazy getting together with him.
The truth is—and he’d be the first person to admit this—it took the love of a good woman to help him grow up and settle down.
Now, he’s a damn good father and husband.
“Well, if the crown fits…”
I bark out another laugh.
The drive back to Cooper Town goes quickly, thanks to chatting with Mom.
We catch up on what’s happening with my siblings, my parents, and even their neighbors.
By the time I reach the welcome sign at the edge of town, I feel pretty relaxed, yet alert, thanks to her.
I mean, I haven’t once thought about the woman who shall not be named in the last hour. That might actually be a record.
“I’m getting ready to pull into my driveway,” I tell Mom, turning my truck onto Oak Street.
“Good. Go inside and heat up some breakfast, take a shower, and go to bed. Don’t forget to set an alarm for five.”
Smiling, I reply, “Yes, Mom.”
“Don’t sass me, Collin Andrew Miller.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” I respond, earning another bark of laughter through the speaker.
“Right,” she sasses, not believing it for a second. “Anyway, get some rest, and we’ll see you later.”
I pull into my driveway and park in front of the garage. No reason to put it away when I’ll be leaving again later. “Sounds good.”
“Love you,” she states, which I repeat before we disconnect.
Grabbing my duffel bag off the seat behind me, I head for my back door and step inside.
Familiarity wraps around me, like it always does when I get home after a two-day shift.
I drop my bag in front of the washer to deal with later and go straight to the fridge.
The container inside has a Post-it on top with a heart, and like always, it makes me grin.
I rip off the note and set it on the counter before placing the plastic container in the microwave and pressing the button for one minute.
I don’t even wait for the beep. The food is still cold after about thirty seconds, but I don’t care.
I’m starved. I grab a fork and dive in, closing my eyes and savoring the first bite of homemade biscuits and gravy.
Thank God for Mom.
It’s loud before I even have one foot inside the door.
“’Bout time you got here,” my youngest brother, Camden, hollers when I enter the kitchen.
I glance at my watch. “Dinner’s at six,” I remind him, noting I’m fifteen minutes early.
“Yeah, but the food’s ready now and we’ve been waiting on you,” he argues, reaching his hand inside the chip bag and pulling out a fistful.
Ignoring his obnoxious chewing, I head for my sister and press a kiss to her cheek. “Happy birthday, brat.”
Charli rolls her eyes. “I’m twenty-nine.”
“And still a brat,” I argue, setting a card in front of her.
She immediately rips into it, not even bothering to wait until later, where there usually is a designated time to open gifts around the consumption of cake. “Oh, thanks,” she says, shaking the gift cards out of the card without even reading the message.
“You’re not even gonna read it?” I ask. “I spent all that time picking out the perfect card.”
Lies. I literally just grabbed one.
My sister just rolls her eyes a second time. “I call bullshit. You just grabbed a card. Wanna know how I know?”
I take a seat and wave my hand. “Enlighten me.”
She holds it up and points to the big gold letters on the front of the card that read “Happy Birthday, Granddaughter.”
I bark out a laugh and reach for some chips. “You may have a point.”
“But seriously, thank you. These are my two favorite places,” she states, confirming what I already know. She loves fancy coffee drinks from the little corner shack near the bar and shops the bookstore often.
“Finally!” my twin brother, Cade, announces dramatically as he enters the kitchen.
“Shut up,” I grumble before shoveling chips into my mouth.
He falls into the chair beside me and takes the bag of chips. “So, we thought we’d head up to Chuck’s Place after this,” he says with a mouthful.
I don’t say a word, not really wanting to go up there.
“Heard there’s a hot new owner, so we all thought we’d go check her out.”
I can feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look his way.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us,” Cade says, filling the silence with his words, like always. “No worries though. It’s all anyone is talking about.”
“When do you work next?” Camden asks, smiling at me from across the table.
I shrug. “Don’t know. Chuck usually texts me, but as you mentioned, he doesn’t own it anymore.”
“So, are you not working there?” Cade asks, his blue eyes penetrating past my defenses.
Again, I lift my shoulders casually. “I don’t know. Haven’t talked to her.”
“But she is hot, right?” I narrow my eyes at my twin, who just laughs. “She is!”
“I didn’t say that,” I retort way too quickly and with too much venom.
He just grins that cocky little smirk of his. “You didn’t have to.”
Charli leans over and smacks my arm. “We’re all going. It’s for my birthday.”
I exhale and close my eyes, knowing there’s no point in arguing it now. If Charli wants to go, then we’re all going. “Fine.”
“Yes!” Cade hollers, throwing both arms up in the air victoriously. “I can’t wait to meet the new hottie. She’ll fall hopelessly in love with the twin who actually got all the charm and good looks.”
I just stare at my brother. My identical twin brother. “You’re an idiot.”
He shrugs and grabs more chips. “Maybe so, but I bet by the end of the night, I’ll have her number.”
I don’t take that bet.
Why?
Because the thought of him getting Lizzie’s number and calling her sits in my gut like a lead balloon. It’s a picture I don’t want to see, a thought I don’t even want to enter my brain.
But maybe that’s just what I need to get her out of my mind.
My brother and I have never fought over girls.
Well, not since fourth grade and we both fell hopelessly in love with Missy Johnson.
I shared my grapes with her and Cade his Cheez-Its.
It caused a huge issue at home between brothers, considering we lived in the same bedroom.
It was at that moment we vowed to never let a woman come between us. If one brother saw a girl first, they got first dibs, and that was that.
Except…
I saw Lizzie first.