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Nick had a thick textbook open on the table in front of him, with a notebook beside it. He looked irritated, and he was watching Gabriel break Oreos into a bowl of milk.
“You know,” Nick was saying, “you could actually make dinner for a change.”
“I am making dinner.”
They hadn’t spotted him yet.
Hunter didn’t exactly want to remedy that.
But Casper didn’t care, he just followed Michael into the kitchen, his tail waving like a banner behind him.
Hunter watched their expressions change, saw their eyes follow Casper as his nails clicked across the ceramic tile, then watched them swing their gazes around to the kitchen doorway.
The silence lasted about three seconds.
Then Gabriel’s expression sharpened, and he said, “Look, Michael brought home a dog and a—”
“Gabriel. Leave him alone.” Michael grabbed a bowl from a cabinet and filled it with water.
Hunter had no idea how this was going to go, and he didn’t really want to be standing here, waiting around to find out. He could sit on the front porch while Casper got a drink.
Before he could move to take a step, Nick cleared his throat. “You help Mike with a job or something?”
“Yeah.”
“Want something to drink?”
Hunter hesitated, like this could be a trap. But Nick was just looking at him, waiting for an answer.
So Hunter shrugged. “Sure.”
Then he tensed, realizing he’d probably walked right into it, that Nick would say something shitty like, “Too bad,” or he’d throw a glass of water in his face, or—
Or he’d just walk to the fridge, fetch a bottle of Gatorade, and toss it.
Hunter snatched it out of the air but hesitated before unscrewing the cap. “Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Gabriel watched this whole exchange. “What the hell are you doing here?”
There was something reassuring about the hostility. This, Hunter could deal with. He took a sip and made Gabriel wait for the answer. “Your brother blocked my car and forced me into his truck at Home Depot.”
Nick’s eyebrows went up. He looked at his older brother, who was dropping into a chair at the end of the table. “Really.”
Michael shrugged but didn’t say anything. He reached for the package of Oreos.
“Gee, Mike,” said Gabriel. “I’m sure that didn’t look sketchy at all.”
Michael didn’t answer him; he just looked up at Hunter. “What are you going to do tonight?”
Hunter shrugged and leaned against the doorjamb, swirling the Gatorade in the bottle. “I’ll be all right.”
“What’s tonight?” said Nick.
Then the front door slammed, and a pair of feet came down the hallway. Hunter moved to the side, and Chris appeared in the doorway, his eyes narrowed. “You’re here.” He tossed car keys on the counter. “Well, that was a wasted trip.”
Hunter raised his eyebrows. “Meaning?”
