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“Did you see his face when he stood up and looked at himself in the mirror?” Cat asked.
How could she not? “Yes.”
“He looked like he’d seen a ghost. And trust me, Casper is darker than he is. But my point is, it’s like he didn’t recognize himself.”
She’d noticed that too but wouldn’t admit it. “Sometimes people can get lost in their life.”
“Don’t I know it,” Hannah said.
If she didn’t get the final say in, they would all veer off to another path and then circle back to her and Brent.
No, that’s nuts. Therewasno her and Brent. She’d just met the guy and cut his hair. End of story.
“Harmless or not. I’m not into doing that. It’s not how I operate. Besides, Brent came in here for a haircut and he’s gone. By the way he looked when he showed up, I probably won’t see him again for another six months...if not longer.”
Cat went to open her mouth, but Addison walked in. Perfect timing.
“Hi, Addison,” she said. “Hannah tells us you’ve got a date tonight. Want to fill us in? Some of us have to live through others.”
“Yeah,” Jenna said. “Tell me you are going out with some hunky doctor or something.”
Addison grinned and looked at Hannah. “Thanks.”
“Sorry,” Hannah said, looking sheepish. “Vivian is trying to get the attention off of her and the hot guy she just made over.”
“Okay,” Addison said. “I guess I can take one for the team.”
“I’ll be right back,” Vivian said. “I just want to get a drink.”
She snuck in the back and grabbed a drink to cool herself down, because yes, there was something about Brent Elliot that drew her curiosity in a way she’d always sworn she’d never have.
When she came back, Addison was in the chair, the smock on and Hannah mixing some bleach to lighten her future sister-in-law’s hair.
“Tell us all about your date,” Jenna said. “It’s a doctor, right? I want it to be a doctor so badly.”
Thank God Jenna jumped on the train and would now become the conductor and she could just blend into the background like she’d tried to do so much in her life.
3
A Gentle Reminder
“Oh my God. You listened to me,” Brent’s mother said when he walked to the back of the house where his brother was sitting with his father, snacks on the coffee table.
He felt his face get red but pushed it off. “Brent always listens to you,” Tyler said. “He’s the favorite kid. We know that.”
“Ass,” he said to his brother. He’d never been the favorite kid. Tyler either. That was Maureen. But Maureen was gone now and nothing could bring her back.
“Your brother looked like he’d been living in a cave for a year,” his father said. “Your mother came home and I couldn’t get her to stop yapping about it for an hour. She’d hoped he’d go get cleaned up, but she wasn’t positive, nor did she think you’d show up today.”
He held his father’s gaze. “I always show up. You know that.”
“But you aren’t always really present,” his mother said.
He didn’t need that thrown at him. It wasn’t an insult as much as a gentle reminder that he’d shut down for a long time after his twin died. How could he not when it felt as if part of him was ripped from his soul?
Move on, his parents had tried to tell him. Maureen had too. Those last few months, they’d been inseparable while he’d held her hand and watched her wither away. He’d made a promise to her he’d live his life for both of them.
And he was. Or he did the best he could once he crawled out of that hole of despair.
