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“How am I getting back home?”
“I’ll buy you a plane ticket. Hell, I’ll buy you a plane. Just go pack.”
I practically ran into my room, excited at the prospect of spending some one-on-one time with my brother. I had no idea when I’d see him again after he left, so I would take any time he wanted to give me.
No matter how big of a jerk Jack could be to girls, to me he was a really great brother. Which was why I hated hearing people talk shit about him. They didn’t know the real him, the great guy underneath the cocky attitude and big-shot bravado.
I tore my room apart, searching for my own duffel bag in my closet and under my bed, but it was nowhere to be found. Frustrated, I walked back into Jack’s room.
“I can’t find my—” I stopped short at the sight of my duffel bag on his bed, already halfway filled with shoes. “Bro, you have my bag.”
Jack gave me a grin and a shrug. “Sorry. I’m bringing most of my shit. Ask Gramps to borrow his. I’m sure he has one.”
Without another word, I found Gramps in the living room and asked him for a bag. Gran told him to stay in his chair and she’d bring it to me.
Gran was the best, always taking care of her three guys. What would she do when there were only two left?
• • •
Jack woke me up at seven, insisting we both shower, eat, and get on the road by eight at the latest. I heard him on the phone and assumed he was talking to Cassie.
Gran and Gramps were both in the kitchen, wearing matching robes. Gramps sipped at his first cup of coffee of the day and read the newspaper while Gran fussed over the stove.
“New robes?” I looked at them, unsure what to think.
Gramps grinned at me. “Ma bought ’em. Said they were cute.”
“They are cute.” Gran twirled, and the blue-and-white checked pattern spun with her, nearly making me dizzy.
“Can’t argue. Plus it’s better to just do what she asks.” Gramps smiled as he went back to his newspaper.
Jack entere
d the kitchen and put his cell phone in his pocket before looking at me. “You ready to hit the road?”
“I haven’t even eaten yet. You said I had to eat.”
“Well, now you can eat on the road,” he started to say, but Gran clucked her tongue at him.
“I’m making eggs and toast. You can spend ten minutes with us before you go.”
Jack looked at me, his eyes begging for help, but I sat down at the table instead. I knew who was boss here.
He scowled before looking curiously at Gramps, and then to Gran, and then back at Gramps. “What the—”
Gran held her spatula in the air. “Don’t even say it, Jack!”
“I was just going to say what great robes you two are wearing. Did you buy some for me and Dean?”
I shot him a warning look and wished I had something to toss at his head.
“No. But there’s always Christmas,” she teased.
Five minutes later, Gran had breakfast ready. The four of us sat around the table in the kitchen, eating in silence. The mood was somber, as if this was our last meal together, and no one seemed to want to address the simple fact that nothing would ever be the same.
I refused to be sad about it because I was too damn happy for Jack. But still, it sucked to know he’d be gone until September.
Jack rushed through his food, shoveling it into his mouth like he was desperate to escape. I had only finished half my plate when he rose to his feet and told me that we needed to beat the morning commute.
