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“He’s experiencing memory problems. It happens a lot to old people,” Curt said.
If not for the children present, he’d tell his brother just where he could shove his comment.
“He’s not old, Curt,” the unknown girl said, looking back at his brother before he could come up with a suitable non-explicit response to Curt’s insult.
Taylor laughed. “Reese, Curt’s only teasing his brother.”
“But he is older than me,” Curt added.
Mystery solved. The girl belonged with Taylor. He’d have to ask Curt later why he hadn’t told him his new girlfriend had a daughter. “Wrong. I said I was on my way home. I never mentioned Virginia.”
Other than Dad, Uncle Warren, and his friend Jen, no one knew his plans. He’d held off on sharing them with anyone else, even Mom, in case something unexpected happened. With everything on track, he saw no reason to keep quiet any longer.
“Then you’re going to see Mom and Dad?” Curt asked.
He hadn’t thought of his parents’ house as home in a long time. “No. I’m headed to North Salem,” Brett answered. “I bought a house there about a year ago.”
“Really?” Jake asked.
Brett thought he’d told his cousin, but evidently he hadn’t. “Yeah, your brother-in-law checks on it once a month or so for me.”
He’d met Sean O’Brien, Jake’s brother-in-law, at his cousin’s house not long after Jake got married. They’d hit it off and become friends. When he’d decided to buy a place in North Salem where both Jake’s brother-in-law and mother-in-law lived, Sean had offered to check in on it and let him know if any problems developed. Thankfully, none ever had.
“Sean never said anything to me,” Jake said before turning to his wife. “Did he tell you?”
Charlie shook her head. “Nope. Where in town is it?” Charlie had grown up in North Salem and made regular trips back to visit her family whenever she could.
“Union Street. Not far from the police station.” Since he’d known the house would be vacant for at least a year, he’d figured owning a home virtually across the street from a police station was a bonus.
“My friend Jessie and her husband live on Union Street,” Charlie said, picking up the little boy now standing near her, solving the mystery of which toddler was Jake’s son.
Brett hadn’t spent enough time at the house to meet any of his neighbors. In the time he’d owned it, he’d only stayed there a handful of nights, the most recent being when he’d come home for his cousin’s wedding in June.
“How long are you staying up here this time?” Curt asked. “If you have time, come up and visit us. North Salem isn’t far from Pelham.”
“Permanently.” He’d spent a fair amount of time preparing for this transition, but saying the word still felt strange.
Jake laughed at him. “Nice one. You almost had me. You went a little too far though. Everyone here knows you didn’t retire from the Army. It’s stuck with you for life. What are you really doing up here this weekend?”
Fair enough. Since the day he entered West Point, he’d never let on he intended to do more with his life than serve his country. And until the past two or so years, he hadn’t considered it himself. “I didn’t retire, but I’m no longer on active duty either. If I’m needed, they can call me up, but I don’t see it happening.”
“You’re serious?” Curt asked, still sounding suspicious.
Brett nodded. “Affirmative. I plan to run for Senator Marshall’s seat next year.”
Few people knew the longtime United States Senator from Massachusetts didn’t intend to run for reelection when his term ended the following year. However, since Senator Marshall happened to be good friends with his uncles and dad, he’d learned of the man’s plan more than a year ago. “That’s why I bought the house in North Salem when I did.”
“Dad mentioned Richard wasn’t going to run again,” Curt said. “Half expected him to suggest I move back to Massachusetts and run for it. Not that I ever would, but we both know that wouldn’t stop Dad from trying.”
It was no secret Jonathan Sherbrooke still wanted his sons to follow the same path so many Sherbrooke males had been taking for years. For a long time, Dad had been content his younger son worked in the financial world at least. However, Curt’s recent decision to leave his position at Nichols Investment to be a full-time author baffled the man.
“Let me see if I’ve got this. You’re moving to North Salem and running for Richard Marshall’s Senate seat next year?” Jake asked.
His cousin still didn’t sound as if he believed anything Brett had told him. And Brett understood Jake’s lack of acceptance. In many ways they were a lot alike. Neither had followed the path their fathers had wanted them to, and neither had ever exhibited any interest in entering politics. Trent had always been the one they expected to follow that particular Sherbrooke tradition.
“Did you take a blow to the head recently?” Curt asked before Brett answered Jake. “You detest politics.”
His brother was wrong on that front. He didn’t hate politics. Rather, he disliked most of the politicians serving in Washington. Brett saw that as a big distinction.
