He grins. “Right. Dumb question.”
“Why do you ask?”
“Caleb’s coming in.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He takes another drink. “I haven’t seen him since he moved to L.A.”
“Does he like it there?”
“I think so, yeah. I’d be surprised if he ever moved back.”
I don’t miss the longing in his voice. Holden misses his older brother more than he’s willing to admit, which is something I can relate to. Both of my adopted older brothers have moved away too, so our family get-togethers are not the same as they used to be.
“Sucks that things have to change,” I say quietly.
He catches my eye. “Sometimes, yeah. Other times, I think it’s needed.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
He gestures to the open sky. “I needed this, Kor. Today, I mean. I needed a break from routine.”
I fold my arms under my head and lie down, humming. “Yeah, I think there’s only one thing that could make it better.”
“Let me guess. It’s food?”
I gasp and kick his leg.
He rolls to his side, laughing.
“Remember that seafood restaurant we went to a few years ago?”
Holden squints. “You’re gonna have to be more specific. There’s like a thousand seafood places in San Diego.”
“The one right on the pier with the water beneath us. I think it’s called Calypso. We sat outside facing the ocean, and a gull tried to steal Hattie’s bun.”
It finally clicks, and his eyes widen. “Oh! Yeah. And they had those garlic butter shrimp skewers and the clam chowder that you made me try.”
“Which you loved,” I point out.
“Mmm, no. I tolerated it.”
I scoff. “Liar.”
He grins. “Okay, fine. It was good.”
Holden hates clams, so when I insisted he try it, he assumed that meant it didn’t taste like clams at all. I was right, of course. The food was delicious.
“We should go there for dinner when we get back.”
Holden shrugs easily. “Sure, but only if you buy me a drink.”
“Deal.”
2
HOLDEN
