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Xander
A minuteafter I rejoined my brother and his friends, Peyton slipped back into the house.
“There you are, sweetie. Hot cocoa?” Fee asked her.
“No, thank you.” She hovered away from us, inching toward the door. Like a deer caught in the headlights, she had big doe eyes brimming with panic.
“It’s good to see you, Peyton.” My brother’s wife, Hailee said.
“You too, Mrs. Chase.” I’m just going to—” She thumbed to the door and bolted toward it, but not before her startled gaze slid right past mine.
I was a dick before, outside. But I didn’t have time for teen girl drama. From what I knew about Peyton, she’d had it rough. And until that night down by the river, she’d hidden it well.
She was one of my niece’s best friends, so I’d been around enough over the last three years to notice her. Peyton liked to be in the spotlight. She liked the attention and praise. But there was something else lurking behind her bubbly blonde veneer.
“Xan?” Cam’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, and I blinked over at my brother.
“Yeah?”
“I said, are you okay?”
“What? Yeah? Sure.” I drained my beer, hating the way his eyes crinkled with disapproval.
“Did you talk to her?” he added.
“What is there to say?”
“Don’t be a dick.” He tsked. “She’s been through a lot. A little sympathy would go a long way.”
“Cameron,” Hailee shook her head discreetly.
“She thanked me; I said no problem.” My shoulders lifted in a dismissive shrug. “Life goes on, right?”
He glared at me, but it wasn’t anything new. Cameron had been riding my ass my entire life. Fourteen years older than me, he’d practically raised me. Our relationship was complicated to say the least, but family was family, and he was the only brother I had.
“Got any more beers?” I asked Jase, and he flicked his head toward the refrigerator. “Help yourself. But you’d better not roll into work tomorrow hungover. The quarter-finals are right around the corner.”
“Relax, boss,” I sniped. “I know the rules.”
Jase had given me the assistant coach gig at the high school after me and Cam got into a huge row about money. As in, I had none, and he was sick of bailing me out. But he didn’t know what it was like for me. He had an amazing wife, good kids, and friends who loved him.
My brother had it all, while I’d spent the last ten years slipping deeper into his shadow.
“Glad to hear it,” Jase grunted. “Everyone is expecting us to bring home that championship again.”
“You put too much pressure on yourself.” Fee wound her hand around his waist and leaned up to kiss his jaw.
Something inside me twisted. I’d never had that, never wanted it. But I wasn’t twenty-one anymore. Getting drunk at Bell’s and picking up a different girl every weekend had lost its appeal a long time ago. So while I had no plans to settle down, watching my brother and his best friends with their women and families did remind me of everything I didn’t have, and probably never would.
“How are things with Kaiden?” Cam asked Jase.
“He’s my star quarterback and my daughter’s horndog of a boyfriend… how do you think things are?”
“You haven’t killed him yet.” Fee smirked. “I’d call that progress.”
“He’s a good kid, he is,” Jase let out a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “But the idea of him and Lily… See, I can’t even say the words.”
“I don’t envy you,” Cameron said. “I thank God every day that Ashleigh hasn’t gotten herself a boyfriend yet.”
