“You know, I swear I remember you telling Knox thathewas your favorite brother back at Christmas,” I said instead. “For, quote, ‘giving you the gift of a brilliant brother-in-law named Gage.’”
“Oooh. You remember that, huh?Awkward. But a man can have more than one favorite, Webb,” he said fake-solemnly. “And nowyou’regiving me a brother-in-law, and I’m sure he’s equally cool.”
I thought about Luke, waxing rhapsodic about hydroponics, explaining bunk-boarding (or whatever the kinky colonials called it), and demanding that all hockey players be freed from the plastic boxes.
Hewascool, in the un-coolest, most fascinating way possible.
But I didn’t tell Porter about any of that either.
“Did you seriously come home just to give me shit?” I demanded.
“Nah. That’s just a side benefit. I actually came home specifically so Gage can help me not fail my class. But when I got here, Uncle Drew filled me in on the whole handfasting thing while I taste-tested his cinnamon rolls.” He leaned forward. “Ten out of ten, by the way. Porter-approved.”
I snorted. “I’m sure. What’s up with your class?” I demanded.
He rolled his eyes. “Of course that’s the one part of that statement you heard. Chill, Webb. It’s nothing you need to worry about. My professor is a pain in my ass, but whatever.” He brushed a hand through the air dismissively. “I’m not Aiden, okay? I’m a big boy, and I’ve got it under control.”
“Yeah, I know.” I ran my tongue over my molar and forced myself not to reply further. The truth was, I sometimes felt more like a parent than a brother to Porter—and to Hawk and Emma, too—which made sense since our dad had died when Porter was just sixteen, and Uncle Drew and I had been the ones who took care of them. But I had to remind myself that I couldn’t protect him from everything… just like I couldn’t protect Aiden from everything.
Still, I couldn’t help clarifying. “School’s going okay, then?”
“Yes. Fine. Mostly,” Porter said impatiently. Then his quicksilver grin reappeared, and he settled more comfortably against the wall. “But enough about me. Let’s talk aboutyouand what’s going on inyourworld.”
“My world,” I mused. The leather of my chair creaked as I got comfortable. “There’s a lot, Porter. Do you want to know what’sreallygoing on?”
“Fuck yeah. Tell me everything, especially about Lu?—”
“Well, the good news,” I said, speaking over him, “is that I think my custody suit is going to be settled soon because I agreed to Amanda having visitation, starting next week.”
“Oh,” Porter said, sobering. “Shit.”
“Mmm. Aiden lost his other front tooth finally, which is great, because Murray told me Aiden offered him five bucks to pull it with pliers.”
“Ooof. That’s something I would have tried.”
“Itissomething you tried,” I corrected him. “Muriel’s calving in four weeks, which means sleepless nights in my future. Maple sugaring is starting next week, and I’ve got a Scouttroop, a school class, and a group from the senior center in Two Rivers booked, but it looks like I’m gonna have to lead the demonstrations myself since Gwen’s baby came early. Uncle Drew keeps saying his attacks of breathlessness are just because he’s out of shape, but I’m not sure?—”
“Christ, Webb?—”
“I ordered scions of a dozen heirloom apple varietals that I want to start grafting up in the Pond orchard in a few weeks—”Assuming the Pond orchard is still mine, I thought but didn’t say. “—and they’re stuck on a truck in Wisconsin. Oh, and one of the gutters on the front of the house is sagging.”
Porter’s eyes had glazed over a little bit. “What I hear you not-saying is that you’re not gonna give me any tea about the handfasting.”
“No, what you hear me saying is that I have real shit to worry about… and so does Luke, believe me. This whole handfasting thing is just the Hollow being its usual wackadoo self, and Luke and I got caught up in it for a minute there. It’ll all blow over soon… unless nosy folks keep spreading rumors.” I gave him a significant look.
He sighed. “Disappointing. This means youhaven’tbeen harboring a secret attraction for Luke Williams, the guy you’ve been telling yourself you can’t stand for months and months, huh?”
“What?” I scowled, my heart suddenly beating faster. “No! I never… Who told you that?”
Porter blinked in surprise. “Dude. No one told me anything. I was just giving you shit. But…” His eyes widened. “Wait,areyou attracted to him?”
Why did people keep asking me that?
“Dinner, Sundays!” Drew shouted from the kitchen down the hall. “Aiden, come feed Sally Ann first, please.”
“No!” I told Porter fiercely. “I…” I made a frustrated noise and stood up. I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want to have to explain something I couldn’t wrap my own head around. “Don’t make this into something it’s not, okay? Luke and I cleared the air last night. We’re friends. We should have been friends all along. But it’s nothing more than that. And for fuck’s sake, don’t mention the handfasting in front of Aiden. Clearly even adults are starting to believe it’s real, and the last thing I need is for him to believe it, too.”
Porter shrugged uneasily. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but it’s not like he’s not gonna hear about it over the next eight weeks, Webb. Not the way people are in this town. Hell, not the way people are in thisfamily.”
