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“Mia,” Dad’s voice dipped to a warning. “Stay out of that. The Vega’s are—”
I lost it. “You know, Dad, all my life, I thought the Vegas were trying to undermine us, that they were evil and jealous and wanted what we have, only to know that you were just as nasty to Orville Vega. I get he was just as passive-aggressive and nasty to you, but why was no one the bigger person here? Did you not get tired of this? I mean, in almost what, ninety years, isn’t it time to give this up?”
“Mia!” Dad snapped. “What is wrong with you? What’s gotten into your head today?”
“I just—had enough with this one-upping each other!” I replied.
Dad’s eyes narrowed. “Is that boy, Ethan Vega, getting into your head? And yes, Mia, I know you two are talking with each other. It’s all over town, by the way. Mark my word, Mia, if you let your guard down and let him get under your skin, you’ll be blindsided when he stabs you in the back. Mark my words.”
I made to reply that Ethan wouldn’t do that—but how did I know that for sure?
“What I don’t know is why this is keeping on,” I asked. “Isn’t there a time to get over this and move on?”
“Tell that to the Vega’s,” Dad growled, shaking the paper out with extra force. “They’re bad people, Mia.”
“Funny,” I stood, hating that I was calling my dad out. “The pot calling the kettle black.”
I left the room, fuming, and went to the kitchen to get a make a cup of tea. Mom was out running errands, getting groceries, and whatnot, and I was glad for that because if I unloaded on her, she was going to go to Dad, and that would not help anything.
Tea in hand, I went to my room, closed the door, and got into my bed. My phone lit up with a text from Ryan.
Barely made the deadline. Professor Neutron has no idea it’s an overnight job. I may or may not have used illegal accelerants.
I laughed.Don’t tell me any more about this illegal stuff. I’m a snitch.
The three dots danced, and Ryan replied,I won’t tell you about the human cloning experiments then.
Snorting, I said goodbye and then called Brodie. He answered on the third ring. “Please tell me you have that bottle of wine for me.”
“Even better,” I replied, gazing into the teacup. If only the amber liquid was a wishing well, and my wish to make sense of all this going on would be answered. “Remember when I told you about Ethan Vega?”
“Mister Sexy with the long fingers, yes…” Brodie replied, and I heard the tap-tap-tap of his keys in the background. “What happened?”
“We…we had sex,” I admitted. I heard a crash and a muffled curse. “Brodie?”
“I just slapped my pen holder over,” he replied. “but don’t mind me, tell me what happened before, during, and after. And if you skimp on the details, I demand three bottles instead of one.”
So, I told him—explicit details omitted, of course—and then added, “He said he wanted to marry me, Brodie, but that’s impossible.”
“Well—” Brodie hedged. “Are you even open to the idea?”
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “In a different world, yes, but…it’s a big mess. Ethan and I just found out something strange and mysterious about my family. My dad’s great-aunt just seemed to vanish from the family’s records.”
“Oh,” he said shortly. “But I think you should be more concerned about you and Mr. Sexy’s confession about wanting to marry you.”
“I suppose,” I replied, “I’ve got to go, Brodie, but I’ll tell you what happens, and you better not be writing a story about me. If you have turned me into some modern-day Juliet or something—”
“No worries about that,” Brodie replied, and I had hope for a split second. “I’ve already written it, published it, and it has four hundred reviews on Amazon.”
I huffed. “You… you infidel!”
“I think you mean traitor, but I know you love me anyhow,” Brodie cackled. “I will have that bottle of wine as well.”
“Goodbye.” I laughed and hung up the phone.
Reaching for the cup, I took a sip and paged through Sarah’s diary. I read passages about long days of mind the home while the men worked, illness, and ruined harvest, but then the tone changed.
…The way he looks at me…
