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I frowned. “I don’t know, man. Colt pushes me and pushes me…”
“I know. I just want us to hear him out tonight. Be open to why his attitude has been so shitty lately. Maybe if he feels heard, the way Mel felt heard today, we can mend some fences and we’ll all be happier for it.”
“My brother, the optimist,” I teased. “Watch out, or I’ll have to tell everyone you’ve turned into a big softie.”
“Oh, fuck off,” he said without heat before turning to place our order for a pitcher of beer and four glasses.
I helped him carry everything back to the table, where the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
“All right, let’s get this party started,” he said.
“Fun,” Colt said, his words so dry I snorted a laugh.
“It’s like going on a date with your parents, huh?” I said.
Colt cracked a small smile, which felt like a breakthrough. “Are you Mom or Dad?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“Beck’s obviously Mom,” Andi said with a smirk.
“Bullshit I am!” I exclaimed. “Wes is fun-loving, but I’m the one who keeps everyone in line. I keep us organized, I clean up the messes, I…oh, shit. Iamthe mom.”
Everyone burst out laughing, and I tossed a coaster at Wes. “You should appreciate me more!”
“Total mom words,” Colt choked out.
Andi wiped at her streaming eyes, huge smile on her face.
With the ice officially broken, Wes poured us each a beer. We sat and drank and joked around for a few minutes, just letting everyone get comfortable. But eventually we had to discuss the elephant in the room.
Wes cleared his throat. “Okay, so, let’s talk about why we’re here. You two have been having problems, and Colt’s not happy at work.”
The mood at the table grew more serious, though it was still nowhere as tense as it had been when Colt first arrived. I counted that as a good sign.
Andi nodded. “I mean, that’s pretty much why we’ve been having problems.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Colt hates his job.”
“I don’t hate it,” he defended. “I just…I don’t feel great about the job, or me, or…”
“Or?” I prompted.
“Or you,” he admitted. “You’re always on my case, Beck, and I need to vent to someone when I go home. Andi is my girlfriend, so I bitched about it, but she’s also your sister, so she defended you, and it became this ugly cycle we couldn’t break.”
I looked between them, stunned. “Are you saying…you guys have been on a break because ofme?”
“I wasn’t going to let Colt talk shit on you all the time, Beck. You’re my family.”
My throat grew tight, and I had to take a drink of beer to hide my expression. I didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t that Colt was pissed at me either. That didn’t surprise me. It was that Andi stuck up for me. I’d always loved her like a sister, but I’d also kind of assumed since she had Wes, I was just kind of a substitute when the real thing wasn’t available.
We’d gotten a little friendlier since she came to stay with us, but I never would have dreamt she’d put her relationship on the line just to have my back.
“Andi, that’s really sweet, but I don’t want to be the reason you two can’t work it out.”
“You’re not,” she said. “But Colt needs to understand I won’t listen to my brothers be disrespected.”
