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We’re all settled with a drink and some small talk when a knock on the door has me hopping to my feet. I open it to admit Maxon and Keeley. The man’s face is unreadable. He would have made a hell of a poker player.
“Hey, everyone.” He shuffles into the room, Keeley’s hand tucked in his as they settle on the sofa. “We’ve got some news and I thought we should all be together.”
“Did the DNA test results come in?” Griff asks.
Maxon pulls a small FedEx envelope from his suit pocket. “Yeah.”
That one word has gravity. They all understand if Evan is truly their brother, this will shake up their small, dysfunctional family.
“Open it,” Harlow prompts. “We should know the truth.”
“Yeah.” Still, Maxon hesitates.
“Sweetheart?” Keeley murmurs.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “I just…don’t know what to think. It’s not Evan’s fault that Dad is a dishonest, wandering-dick asshole. We can’t blame the kid for his father’s sins. Otherwise, Griff and I would be labeled grade-A assholes, too.”
“But you’re mad, anyway,” Harlow supplies. “I get that.”
“We have to be the bigger people here,” Griff says. “If we cut him off because Dad was a son of a bitch, are we any better?”
Britta beams at him. “Thank you for listening to me.”
He kisses her on the nose. “I do every once in a while, you know.”
Maxon sighs. “Maybe Evan is a good guy. He seemed okay on the phone.”
“But it’s weird to wake up one day and suddenly be, like, I have another brother,” Harlow points out.
“Exactly.” Maxon points at her. “But this isn’t about me—or any one of us. We have each other. He has no one, and we should give him the benefit of the doubt.” He turns to his wife. “See, I’m listening to you, too.”
Keeley bestows a smile his way and a kiss on his cheek.
I hang back, glad to see that the older Reeds—the happily married ones—are coming to the right conclusion. It doesn’t escape me that Harlow is still unsure.
“Open the envelope.” Griff nods at the mail his older brother holds. “Let’s find out once and for all.”
Even I’m holding my breath as Maxon rips it open and extracts the letter, his eyes scanning the page. He swallows, folds it up, then looks at his siblings. “He’s one of us, no question.”
The words reverberate around the room. The silence that follows is a bomb, and we all recoil, absorbing the news. Not that any of the Reed siblings seem surprised, but the news makes everything more real.
“Do you need to let Evan know?” I ask finally.
Maxon nods. “I guess we do, though he was already convinced. What’s the etiquette for feeling out the brother you’ve never met to see if he wants to join the family? I never read Emily Post’s advice on this kind of mess.”
“Is there a right or wrong way for something this fucked up? I guess we just call,” Griff suggests.
“If you’d rather deliver the news in person, you’re welcome to invite him here, give him the news on neutral ground without any gawking onlookers,” I suggest. “It’ll be quiet. You guys can just…talk.”
Maxon whips out his phone. “Griff?”
“It’s a good plan.” The younger Reed brother turns to Harlow. “But I don’t want to bring him here if you’re not comfortable.”
She lets out a big breath, then nods. “If he’s one of us, then…call and invite him.”
With a curt nod, Maxon excuses himself to the patio, fingers tapping the screen of his phone. The silence in his wake is long and heavy.
“Does anyone want coffee? Tea? A big ol’ bottle of booze to wash down this revelation?” Harlow offers with a wry tilt of her mouth.
