Page 85 of Crossed Lines

“No PDA. Got it. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Alright.”

I start to walk back to the truck when I stop and turn back. “Sawyer?”

“Hm?”

“Love you. You really are the best brother.”

“Love you, too, Wills.”

“Remember, don’t touch me while he’s here,” I remind Beck. I gave him a rundown of mine and Sawyer’s conversation this afternoon. Beck seems hopeful that Sawyer will come around, but I can tell he’s trying to not be too hopeful. It’s a good sign that Sawyer agreed to come. I don’t think he would’ve done that if he was looking for a fight.

“Yeah, I know. I don’t have a death wish,” Beck says as he flips one of the steaks on the grill. I figured we should have one of Sawyers favorite meals—steak and baked potatoes—in an attempt to make this dinner somewhat enjoyable for him.

I glance at the clock. Six-twenty-eight.

“He said he’ll be here, so he’ll be here,” Beck tells me. He’s been trying to keep me calm since he got home from work, and I was panic-cleaning his house. As if Sawyer is going to judge our relationship based on the cleanliness of Beck’s house. Which honestly was pretty clean to begin with, but I scrubbed and scrubbed again.

“I know. I’m just nervous.”

“Everything will be fine.” He pulls me in and kisses me right as the doorbell rings. I quickly push Beck off of me as if Sawyer can see us through the door. Beck just laughs at me as I run off to let Sawyer in.

My brother stands on the other side of the door with a look of indifference on his face, which I guess is better than the scowl I was expecting.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” I say and open the door wide for him to walk through.

He mumbles something under his breath, but I don’t catch what he says. Knowing him, it was probably something about how he didn’t want to be here.

“I made baked potatoes with all the toppings, and Beck is grilling steaks.”

“Alright.”

My shoulders slump a little bit. I was hoping he’d be a little more open tonight, but that’s clearly not the case. He’s come with an attitude.

Beck walks inside from the back holding the platter of steaks. He and Sawyer stare at each other for one awkward moment before Beck gives in first. “Hey, man. Medium rare, right?”

Sawyer nods and says, “Yeah, thanks.”

This is so awkward, and it’s killing me a little inside, but I know we just need to get through this initial part and then things will calm down. I hope.

“Ok, let’s eat!” I start first, grabbing my steak off the plate and then getting a baked potato and going through the toppings bar I set up in the kitchen. It’s a lot for only three people, but I wanted to make sure I had every option either of them wanted.

I sit down at the table. Beck follows and sits in the chair next to me. Sawyer takes his time making his plate before finally coming to the table and sitting across from me.

We eat in silence, and I rack my brain trying to come up with a safe topic for us to discuss.

“What job are you working on now, Sawyer?” I ask.

“A house.” Cool, really working with me here.

“What kind of house?”

He sighs. “A custom-built house for a family a little outside of town. A ranch style.”

“That sounds cool.”

“Yeah, should be done around the end of January.”