Page 85 of The Route to You

Elle tilted her head. “Like what?”

“Trees. The sky. A nice sandy beach. Motorboat or two.”

Giving an exaggerated sigh, Elle waved at Quinn. “You talk some sense into him. I’m going to go put Tara in bed.”

Quinn gave him a grim look as Elle went up the staircase. “Come on in.” He gestured back toward the kitchen.

“You don’t have to give me the lecture,” Kyle said, following him. “I’ve heard it a million times from Elle, Liddy, my mom, Isla . . . hell, even Callum called me. Pretty sure Liddy gave him a script to read, but it was still the same messaging: go back to a desk job where I can develop a vitamin D deficiency and a bad coffee habit.”

Quinn chuckled as he set the wine bottle on the counter and started twisting the cork out. “Just give it some time. Once the accident is a few more months behind you, they’ll relax.”

They might relax, but in the meantime, he was eating through his savings to pay for his cell, his car . . . food. Quinn had never experienced what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck— let alone when there was no income coming in— so he probably wasn’t the best person to listen to.

He watched Quinn pull a wineglass out from a cabinet, thankful for the reprieve.

“Care for some cabernet?”

Kyle nodded and settled against the counter. Elle and Quinn’s house always spoke of domestic bliss—a charcuterie board set up on the white marble, a baby monitor turned on beside it with a view into Charlotte’s nursery, family pictures on the wall that had gone out in last year’s Christmas card.

Something about it had always made Kyle feel equal measures of comfort and discomfort. He was happy for his sister, of course, but the contrast between them made it clear why his family thought of him as the loose cannon. Living with his parents had been necessary after the accident—he needed help, and the lease on his apartment had expired while he’d been in recovery.

But now it meant he’d opened himself up to literally everyone in his family deeply involved in his business.

Quinn brought a glass of wine over toward him, and Kyle sipped it, watching the legs run down the side of the glass. “Thanks,” Kyle said. “I think it’s probably time I start looking for my own place again. Maybe that’s what I’ll do tomorrow morning—go apartment hunting.”

“Elle and Liddy are just worried for you,” Quinn said, slicing into a thick block of aged cheese on the board in front of him. “But that will probably help you. It can’t be easy going from total independence and a carefree existence to living with several mother hens fussing over you.”

“We are not fussing,” Elle’s voice came as she came back downstairs. She shot Quinn a look of disapproval. “We’re concerned. That’s different.” She helped herself to a slice of cheese.

Kyle held his glass by the stem and swirled the wine. “Look, I’m not saying it’s realistic for me to get back into something like Pathways —I know that. Being on the non-production end makes it much harder to get it back up and running. But I just think there are more options I should consider before committing to a job in computers, even if it’s safer.”

“Like what?” Elle lifted the charcuterie board and gestured for them to follow to the adjoining living room.

“I don’t know,” Kyle admitted and sank onto a comfortable sofa with large, pillowy cushions. He let the glass settle into his palm. “But not an office. I honestly don’t think I can go back to corporate America.”

Elle glanced at Quinn and reached forward for a small bunch of grapes. Quinn’s sharp look made her slow. “All right,” Elle said. “I won’t push. And I get it. I really do. It’s hard enough figuring out your own life without having to deal with everyone else giving their opinion.”

“Good girl,” Quinn said with a chuckle, sitting beside her.

Elle gave him a mock glare, but curled comfortably against him anyway, legs tucked up on the couch cushion. She glanced back at Kyle. “Speaking of what we’re filling our time with, the farmers’ market is tomorrow. I want to grab some flowers for spring.” She batted her eyelashes prettily. “Do you think I could borrow you and your truck?”

Quinn gave his head a small shake, acknowledging his wife’s conversation redirection.

“I might be apartment hunting tomorrow morning, but I’ll need to see what’s out there before I commit. Sorry, Elle,” Kyle said.

“Oh, that could be fun.”

Not.

“What about in the afternoon?” Elle asked hopefully.

Kyle grimaced, hoping this wouldn’t lead to something he didn’t want to talk about. “Uh, actually, I have plans in the afternoon. PT and then I’m helping a friend assemble some furniture.”

“Who?” Elle quirked her brow.

And this is exactly where I was hoping it wouldn’t go.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth. He didn’t want to tell Elle about Sloan’s sudden reappearance in his life again. But if Sloan was in town permanently, it might eventually come up. Better to tell her now than to make problems later.