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“So how about those Lakers,” Noah said.
Buster howled and threw a cloth at him. “We don’t talk about that team in here!”
Ryan lowered the brim of his hat, and Buster glared at him.
“I’m giving you one time in here wearing that, then it’s gone. Remember your roots, boy.”
“Yes, sir.” Ryan snagged the next cup of coffee and then asked for a muffin. Buster waved to the cabinets.
“Help yourself,” he said before launching into a discussion about the last play of the game he’d watched last night.
Ryan leaned on the counter and listened, offered the occasional comment, and thought that this would have been his life had he not left. Faith went toe to toe with the guys.
When she’d been younger, she’d had a vulnerability about her that not many saw. He had, because he’d watched her like he was now. He’d asked her about it once, when they’d been alone. Why sometimes she looked nervous, or worried. She’d gone quiet, and he’d wondered if she’d answer him.
“Because I’m not sure who I want to be or if I’ll ever be enough like Noah is.”
Those words had been whispered, and he’d not really understood what they meant as a teenager. He understood them now. Understood that finding your identity was hard.
She caught his eyes, and her chin rose, almost as if she knew what he’d been thinking. Did she still believe she wasn’t enough?
“So, Ryan, how does it feel traveling without your entourage?” Faith asked. The words had a bite to them.
“I’ll manage,” he said, lowering his cup to the counter. “And now I need to go find my sister. Good to see you all.”
“Yeah, well, we do takeout if you’re unable to cook.”
She was needling him just like the others, but he knew her jabs had an edge to them.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. But I can cook.”
“No way. Really?” She clutched her chest.
“See you guys around.”
He walked out the door and wondered why he felt so conflicted. His emotions were all over the place, and he’d only been back in town a matter of hours.
Coming home had seemed like the right thing to do, but if it was going to stir up a whole crapload of emotion, he wasn’t sure it was.
Chapter 4
“What’s that about?” Noah asked Faith as the door closed behind Ryan.
“What?”
The problem when you were a twin was they often knew you better than you knew yourself. He was talking about Ryan and why she’d been on edge around him. Faith knew it, and also that deflecting her brother would not be easy.
“Don’t give me that crap; you know what.”
“Fight, fight, fight,” Buster chanted. “You two haven’t gone at it in front of us for years now you’re respectable. I’ve missed it.”
“Me too,” Jake said, taking off Rose’s jacket. “Go play with Uncle Buster’s toys, honey. Food is on the way.”
Faith watched the little girl walk to the toy box.
“Unlike you losers, I’ve always been respectable,” Noah said. “Now answer my question, Faith,” he added.
“He upset Hope. I don’t have bow down and kiss his feet just because he’s this famous rock star.”
