4. Briggs
brIGGS
“Briggs!”
My little sister, Everly, jumps on me and tightly wraps her arms around my neck. She’s not so little anymore. She’s twenty-two, going to community college, and dreaming of becoming a baker.
Just like my girl.
Everly has always looked up to Layla since she was a small kid, and I know they talk on the regular.
Everly goes up to Buttercup & Brioche and sometimes bakes with her.
My girl has looked out for her while I’ve been gone playing in the major leagues, and whether she wants to admit it or not, it was for me.
It was because of all the shit that happened.
“Man, you’re heavy,” I tease, putting her back down on her feet. “You ain’t thirteen anymore.”
“Nah,” she replies, smacking my chest lightly. “I’m datin’ and everythin’.”
I immediately frown because it’s every brother’s nightmare. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
I stare at my sister, and she’s as pretty as a stamp.
One that you collect. Pretty green eyes that pop with her long lashes, dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, still reminding me of how she used to wear it as a kid, and she definitely is not the thirteen-year-old I left behind before heading to Tennessee.
She’s grown.
Still nope.
“Adeline!”
Everly smiles up at me, loving every minute of not only my dismay about this revelation, but also that it’s going to be hell for me.
Period.
“What in God’s name, Briggs?” my older sister scolds me seconds later, showing up from the kitchen and glowering at me because I know it has everything to do with me being loud in her space. “I ain’t your woman, don’t be hollerin’ for me like that!”
See.
I point at Everly. “She said she’s datin’.”
Adeline blinks. “Yeah…and?”
“Who?”
“I dunno some city boy named—”
“No.”
“Briggs, don’t start,” Everly complains, even though she can’t hide her sheer amusement that I’m seconds away from throwing a damn fit over the shit that’s been happening since I’ve been gone. “I texted you about him.”
“The hell you did,” I argue, because I would’ve remembered. And promptly ended it. “You know damn well, I wouldn’t let you date anyone.”
Both of my sisters stare at me like I’m way off base.
I’m not.
There is no man alive who is good enough for either of my sisters.
And, for Everly, no boy.
Because she isn’t dating a twenty-year-old who has his shit together. There ain’t no damn way. I still don’t have my shit together, and I’m grown as hell.
I scowl. “What’s his name?”
“Caleb.”
“Where’s he from?”
“Maryland.”
“So, it’s a long-distance relationship?”
“No, he moved here.”
Well, I do have eight days to scare him away. More than enough time.
“Where?”
“The old Scotchton house.”
“Why?”
“Briggs…” Adeline cautions, already fully aware where I’m going with this because I’ve done it to her ass over a dozen times.
And good thing.
My older sister hasn’t found a man worth a damn either, and I’ve been right about all of them.
Too self-absorbed.
Too lazy.
Too dependent on their mother.
Too needy.
Too pathetic.
“His daddy wanted to get out of the city,” Everly explains. “His brother lives here.”
“Who’s his brother?”
“Briggs Holden Kerrigan,” Adeline begins to ground out, clearly done with my side portion of bullshit. “There ain’t gonna be any nonsense happenin’ here while you’re in town. You’re gonna leave, and we’re gonna have to deal with it.”
“I ain’t gonna break anything…he’ll need.”
Adeline looks at me and then suddenly spins back around toward the kitchen. “You ain’t eatin’.”
My stomach suddenly speaks for me, and my feet immediately move to follow her because I’m starving. “Well, hold on now, sis. I promise I won’t hunt him down tonight.”
“You ain’t gonna hunt him down at all,” my sister orders, her wavy hair bouncing purposely and pissed offed against her back. “Or I’m gonna break somethin’ on you.”
Fat chance.
However, I don’t feed into that. My sister has been known to chase me down with numerous objects before, and she has a good track record of connecting said things with really necessary places.
“He’s really nice,” Everly tries to convince me from behind. “You’ll like him. He’s comin’ to dinner Sunday night.”
No, he’s fuckin’ not.
“Briggs ain’t comin’,” Adeline drawls, wrapping up her loaf of bread with her back still turned. “He can’t seem to control himself lately.”
“I can control myself just fine,” I retort. “As long as he doesn’t…”
Exist?
I don’t know, but I don’t like it.
“Briggs, please,” Everly begs me, pulling at my sweatshirt to get my attention. “I was so excited that you were gonna finally meet him.”
Fuck me.
I’ve never been one to disappoint my sisters.
Well, except for when I get into a fight during a game…or outside of a game.
So, Everly asking me to chill out and focus on what she’s got going on, I have to. I have to because I need to stay connected and in the know.
But I wasn’t in the know about the boyfriend.
“He make you happy?” I force from my lips even though it doesn’t matter. He’ll disappoint her, and she’ll be heartbroken.
“Yes,” she replies without hesitation. “Very happy.”
“He smart?”
“I’d say so.”
“Unlike you,” I hear Adeline mutter, back to fixing whatever it was she was making.
I ignore her.
“He go to school?”
“He graduated already.”
I glower. “How old is he?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Adeline…”
“He went to a four-year community college, Briggs,” she drawls. “Shut up.”
“Briggs,” Everly pleads, this time with her eyes, and she pushes her lips out just a little, and I don’t know if it’s on purpose or organic. “I promise he’s like no one Adeline’s has dated.”
Said sister turns on her heels and pops a hand on her hip. “Excuse me?”
“Sure,” I manage to push past clenched teeth to save my youngest sister from our older one’s wrath. “I’ll meet him, Ev.”
Then bury him.
“You’ll like him,” Everly insists, as if it’s going to convince me otherwise. “He’s like you.”
“You’re makin’ it worse,” I answer honestly, glancing down at her because, fuck me, I hope not.
If that kid reminds me of one piece of my DNA, he’s done. One slip of something I would say, if he likes baseball, he’s definitely out, and—fuck it, I’m never going to like him.
There, I said it.
“Why?” Everly asks with clenched brows. “You’re amazing.”
Adeline scoffs, causing me to press my lips together because, geezus, really? She’s supposed to be my biggest fan and supporter, which is a good and bad thing.
My sister has zero issues ripping me a new asshole every time I fuck up. And I have no problem telling her that the guys she dates are a bunch of tools with small-dick energy.
“Anything you wanna add, Adeline?” I prompt because I’m all ears. Obviously, she has something to say. I’m a man with abandonment and anger issues, fully protective of my sisters because I don’t trust our father to be.
He wasn’t there for me during the hardest time of my childhood.
“Not at all,” she claims. “The floor is all yours.”
“It’ll be fine,” Everly insists. “I promise.”
You can tell him to be fine all you want, but I’m the issue.
“Fine,” I somehow get out. “What are we havin’?”
“Roast and mashed potatoes,” Adeline replies. “And Daddy’s comin’.”
I’m out.
It’s right there, at the tip of my tongue, when Everly wraps her arms around my waist again and squeezes me nice and tight.
“Thank you, Briggs,” she beams excitedly in my ribs. “I really can’t wait for you to meet him.” She releases me and sprints toward the other side of the house. “I’m gonna go text him now.”
Great.
Just fucking perfect.
The refrigerator hums in the kitchen, and Adeline is still staring at me like the nutjob I am.
It still doesn’t resonate with me because she knew I wouldn’t like this, but she’s forcing me to partake anyway.
“You are gonna be nice, right?”
“Why the hell would you invite Dad to somethin’ you know I’m not gonna like?” I bark out because I haven’t spoken to that man since I left Magnolia Ridge.
And I plan on keeping it that way.
“Because y’all need to squash this nonsense, Briggs. And I’m tired of bein’ in the middle of it.”
“Then don’t,” I retort sharply. “I’ve been tellin’ you that for years. Since I was eighteen, in fact. Let it go.”
“He’s changed, Briggs.”
“Not in my book.”
“Because you won’t talk to him.”
“Would you?” I grind out. “Would you if he blamed you for Ma’s death?
Would you if he told you every single fuckin’ day that I wasn’t allowed to cry because I didn’t earn that right?
Because I was a man at eight and I didn’t need consoling?
Would you, Adeline? Because our perspectives are different, and you know they are.
And I’m glad he wasn’t a dickhead to you and Everly, but he was to me.
And then I had to save our home because he couldn’t manage to take care of all three of us and took out that second mortgage with a balloon payment on it.
So, no, I don’t need to squash anything.
But I’ll sit at that dinner, and I won’t utter but three-word answers, Ad, and that’s all I can give you.
Don’t ask me for anythin’ more. I can’t. ”
Sadness reaches her eyes, but she bobs her head for me anyway, stepping forward to finally give me a hug and a hello because she hasn’t done that yet.
“Okay,” she mumbles in my shoulder. “I missed you.”
“I’m sure you did. What do you need fixin’ now?”
She chuckles but doesn’t pull away from me. “My washer is makin’ a funny noise, and I need an oil change.”
“Micah Wolfe not at the auto shop anymore?”
“No, he is,” she replies softly. “But it’ll give you somethin’ to do.”
I already have enough to do.
And that’s Layla.
“I’ll start on it tomorrow,” I deadpan because I’m not going to tell her no.
“You doin’ okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah?” She finally pulls away and looks up at me. “It was about Layla again, wasn’t it?”
Eh.
She’s referencing the fight that got me suspended, and I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t broken Cruz’s arm.
I don’t regret it.
In fact, I’d love to break his other one. I might get that chance if he shows up in Magnolia Ridge.
“Always is,” I answer honestly and leave it at that.
“You see her yet?”
“Yep.”
Her brows fly heavenward. “And?”
And, my sister wants a miracle.
However, that’s going to take a bit more time and ass-kissing to get that to happen and work.
“Same ole shit,” I drone. “Different day.”
My sister’s face wrinkles up. “You do anythin’ to change that, Briggs?”
“Yeah. She isn’t gettin’ what she wants.”
She frowns. “Briggs, you’ve done enough. I know you love her, but—”
“But, what?”
Her mouth opens, but she promptly closes it. Probably because I’m a lost cause when it comes to Layla. That I’m not going to give her up. No matter the costs to both of us.
“You’re being cruel, Briggs,” she finally says. “Let her move on.”
“To who? Cruz?”
“No,” Adeline quickly quips with a shake of her head. “She hates that guy.”
“Not as much as I would like.”
“Layla isn’t you. She was brought up differently. She may have lost both her parents, but her Uncle Ben has really been good to her, and he’s tried to raise her the best he could—”
“If he’d stop judging me, then maybe she could be happy. We’ve never been able to fully move on and have a relationship because he’s too busy condemnin’ me to death.”
“You taunt him, Briggs. You’ve never once sat down and tried to have a talk with him.”
“He won’t look at me, nor will he say more than four words other than ‘stay away from my niece’, so there’s five.”
“Then, make yourself useful and do something while you’re here. These eight days could be vital.”
“Not enough time.”
Adeline perks a brow. “You’re tellin’ me you’re not that creative?”
“Oh, I am,” I assure her. “But it’s gonna piss Layla off.”
“Is it going to end in you two being together?”
“Probably.”
“Then do it.”