Page 11 of Where She Belongs

Tate arched a brow. “Ouch.”

“Just think about it, okay?”

“But you said⁠—”

“Logically, I stand by my previous statement. I don’t think it’s worth the trouble. But…” Jason placed his hands on Tate’s shoulders and gave him a little shake. “As your brother, I should be telling you to go for it. That’s what brothers do, right?”

Tate chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what brothers do. But it doesn’t matter because I’m too busy.”

Jason opened his mouth, probably to argue, to die on this hill, but Tate stopped him by mirroring his stance and clapping his hands on his brother’s shoulders.

“I’m too busy pretending I’m in love with Hawaiian pizza.”

His brother snorted.

“Just don’t tell the girls. I don’t think they’d ever let us buy it again if they realized you’re the only one in our family with such eclectic tastes.”

“Deal.”

Tate patted him again then pulled away. “One good thing came from tonight, though.”

“What?”

“Did you see how many people turned out? I swear everyone and their dog came.”

Jason didn’t miss a beat. “There were no dogs in that room. I would’ve noticed.”

Tate laughed, shaking his head. “Just another one of those sayings, Jase.”

“Well, it’s a dumb saying.”

More laughter. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right about that, too.”

“I’m right about most stuff.”

Tate climbed in behind the wheel of his truck and grinned at his twin. Yeah, Jason was right about most stuff. But worse than that, he knew it.

CHAPTER FIVE

Rylee wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Then she scowled at the current bane of her existence. The kitchen sink wasn’t draining. The standing water hadn’t been noticeable until after she found the dishwasher leaking. According to an internet search, dishwasher seals could fail when they weren’t in use for a couple years.

So now she was prying at the pipes under the sink. Unfortunately, the wrench she had was just barely able to wrap around the part she was supposed to loosen but she couldn’t get enough leverage to turn it. She’d been at this for a good thirty minutes with no prayer of being able to fix the problem. Maybe she should buy some Drano? She’d read online that people used it to clear a clogged pipe.

Her phone rested on the floor, mocking her with video after video of easy fixes. And she had never felt so unprepared to be an adult. Did she have money to call for help? Yes. Roxanne had seen to that.

But that wasn’t the point.

If her father was here, he’d know what to do. He’d be able to fix the clogged sink. Heck, he’d be able to fix the dishwasher.

Rylee settled back on her behind and crossed her legs. She rested her head in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees. She’d been here for less than a week and already she was floundering. There was a large list of things she needed to repair or update, and it continued to grow.

Taking a deep breath to center herself, she considered calling her aunt. But then thought better of it. Roxanne would simply tell her to swallow her pride and hire someone. Rylee didn’t have any friends she could call because most of them would tell her the same thing.

She thought about heading over to Lydia’s to see if her brothers could help, but she nixed that idea, too. She didn’t want to become dependent on her neighbors for something so simple. She reached for her phone and closed her eyes briefly before tapping on her aunt’s contact number.

“Rylee, dear! I was just about to call you,” Roxanne answered. “How is everything going? Is the house treating you right?”

She winced, then forced herself to sound chipper. “Absolutely. It’s just like I remembered. Sorry I didn’t call you when I got in. I had to unpack and I went through a few things⁠—”