AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Maybe I would like to follow your thoughts. I would like to go where your head has taken you.”
I swallowed. “Just then, I was thinking about herbs I have at home that might help Charles.”
“You have stronger things?” He furrowed his brow. “Isn’t he going to get better?”
I nodded. “Yes, I do, but I was just in case kind of thinking. See? Not very interesting.”
“Ah, you follow things to their worst-case scenario. Okay. You know who else does that? Truett. I am more of a let’s look on the bright side sort of a person. He, and it would seem you, are plan for awful eventualities people.” He smiled at me.
If he wasn’t who he was, I might really like him. I shook my head. “Did you guys decide you would be the one stuck spending the most time with me? Like, you are naturally the most social, so it was decided you would wear me down, so you could get me to do what you wanted?”
Frederick blinked fast. “Not exactly like that.”
But it was something like that. I’d been right. I looked up at the blue sky. It was a beautiful day.
“Sloane, listen. I know that things…”
I didn’t want to hear it. I was so sick of the whole situation. Their anger, their rudeness, the manipulation. Them forcing me to do things I didn’t want to do. Or at least trying to. Pushing Frederick toward me so that I might like them better, on top of all of that? No. I wasn’t in the mood anymore.
It was a beautiful day, and I didn’t want to spend any more of it with them.
“See you later.” I took off on my horse as fast as was nice to her—it was a good thing she loved to run—and left them behind.
“Hey,” Oliver called out to me, but I didn’t stop. I was going home. If they followed, I would take care of Charles. If they didn’t, they could handle it themselves.
They got to my home about an hour after I arrived. By then, I was playing with Walter. Miri, one of our staff, met them out front with instructions to lay Charles down in my room and I would see them later, at some point.
That must not have set well because quickly afterward Truett and Frederick both appeared outside where I played with Walter.
“Getting a little tired of you riding off.” Truett sat down across from Walter. The baby smiled at him, and he was at least enough of a decent person that he smiled back.
I had made a whistle out of the grass, and I blew into it, which made Walter laugh, so I did it again. “I don’t really care.”
Frederick squatted down, placing a gentle hand on Walter’s back for one second. “Do you remember when Pascal was this young?”
“I do.” Truett nodded. “Although it was clearly a million years ago.”
Dropping his hand to speak to me, Frederick sighed. “What I was going to say…”
I held up my own to interrupt him. “I also don’t care. From moment one, you guys have either been hateful or manipulative. We don’t have to do any of this anymore. I am easy for you. I swear it. I want to be me, just allowed to live my life as I see fit, doing things that I’m good at. That is clearly—and most specifically—not being a partner with you of any kind.” I kissed my little brother’s cheeks. “In fact, one of you got hurt for the first time while you were with me, so perhaps I’m even bad luck for you guys. You need your reputation fixed? Give me what I want, and I’ll give you what you want.”
He pointed at me. “Let me finish. I like talking to you now. Yes, I am the easiest with strangers, so they decided it might work best if I tried to speak to you the most. But I’ve found I like you, that I think you’re interesting and talented, and at this point, I’m very glad to be around you. When you’re not running off or interrupting me, at least.”
Frederick sat fully down, and I glared at him. “And you expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “I do.”
Truett smirked. “That’s a lot of heated emotion from Freddie.”
Walter walked over to Frederick, sitting on his lap, holding a fistful of grass in what would be very dirty hands. My would-be husband let him sit right back down, and he started braiding the grass for him.
It was ridiculously cute, and I’d even accuse them of using my brother if they hadn’t come outside to find me doing the same thing. In my case, Walter was my shield from dealing with them. I sighed. “Do people call you Freddie? Or just Truett and the others?”
“Yes.” He smiled at me. “And he’s True.” I couldn’t really imagine calling Truett True. Out of all of them I found him the most intimidating. Maybe he was just quiet and a little cold. Or maybe he just felt more like overtly hating me.
“Do you have a nickname?” Frederick—Freddie—asked me.
I shook my head. “Not really.” Jayne sometimes called me Sloney, but I didn’t need to share that with them.
