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“Okay, what’s going on?” he asks, rounding on us with his arms crossed.
I close the door and take a step toward him. “Hey, buddy.”
“Don’t ‘hey buddy’ me,” Brett says, pointing at Daisy. “Why is my sister in your cabin at eight in the morning?”
“It’s a long story.”
Brett throws up his hands. “I’ve got time. Try me.”
I’m about to speak but then Daisy stands up, her hands trembling slightly. “I came up here yesterday afternoon for a walk in the woods. I got caught in a trap and hurt my ankle. Lincoln rescued me.”
Brett frowns. “Are you hurt badly?”
“No. I’m fine. It was just a little rope burn.”
There’s a pause while Brett digests this before he says, “Well that still doesn’t explain what you’re still doing here the morning after.”
Daisy gulps nervously. “I…I stayed the night.”
“Why? If it was just a small rope burn, why didn’t you just come home?”
She shakes her head. “No, you don’t understand, I…I wanted to stay the night. With Lincoln. I’ve always…I…I’ve always liked Lincoln. And now we’re…well, we’re…”
Words well up inside me, and before I can stop myself, I say, “I’m in love with your sister, Brett.”
They both turn to look at me, Daisy wide-eyed and Brett confused.
“You’re in love with my sister?” he repeats.
“I love him too, Brett,” Daisy says, her voice trembling with emotion. She’s speaking to her brother, but her eyes are on me. “I always have. He’s the only guy I’ve ever wanted.”
There’s silence for a long time. Brett looks between us both, an expression on his face that I can’t read. Daisy looks like she’s hardly daring to breathe. We both sit stock still, waiting for Brett to start shouting. But he doesn’t. Instead, he takes a step toward the chair by the fire and sinks into it, shaking his head.
“Well, that figures,” he says.
I stare at him. “Brett, do you understand what we’re saying?”
He nods slowly. “Yeah. I understand. You love my sister and she loves you.”
Daisy is gawking at him as she asks, “And you’re not…mad?”
Brett draws in a deep breath as he looks at his sister. “You really think I didn’t know about your crush on Lincoln? You could barely string two words together in front of him.”
Daisy’s mouth falls open. “You mean you knew the whole time?”
“Well, you weren’t exactly subtle.” Brett rolls his eyes. “Lincoln never seemed to suss it but to me, it was obvious as hell.” He grunts out a laugh. “Mr. Lopez my ass.”
Daisy shakes her head like she’s trying to clear it. “I don’t understand. You’re really not mad about this?”
Brett shrugs. “I mean, it will take some time for me to get used to it. But I had a feeling that when you saw Lincoln again, something might happen now that you’re older. Plus it was pretty obvious when you kept staring at each other when we got pizza.”
“But…but he’s your best friend!” Daisy splutters. “And the age gap? I thought you were going to be furious.”
Brett looks almost sad for a moment. “Maybe I’d be furious if I didn’t know how it feels. But I do. I know how it feels to love someone you shouldn’t.”
I frown. In all the years I’ve known Brett, I’ve never known him to talk like this. “What do you mean? Who are you talking about?”
Brett seems to snap out of his trance. “Nothing. Nobody. Look, I’m not mad, okay? If Daisy’s happy then I’m happy.” He turns to me. “Just don’t hurt my little sister, Linc. There are plenty of places to bury a body on this mountain.”
