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“Grayson does the same thing, you know. Lives on what he makes, keeps everything else in the bank. It’s the only way he can justify marble and gold fountains with inlaid pictures of Jackson’s face for him to piss on.”
“His girlfriend is going to take him for everything,” Lowell shared gleefully, gratified by his father’s laughter. He was the fourth son, the middle son, lost in the crowd, and he had very rarely ever received one-on-one time with his father, but Lowell thought he understood why the entire town sought him out.
“She is an excellent asset and he needs to hold onto her with both hands. And if he’s stupid enough not to, then he deserves to be taken for all he’s worth. Why is it that you need to live on the other side of the moon, exactly? I never really understood that.”
Lowell sputtered, not expecting to be challenged.
“Because of the airports! And work! I’m not covering potato festivals in Idaho, I’m flying into different parts of Asia and Oceana, Europe.”
His father held up his hand.
“I’m not arguing with you, I am just asking the question. Hypothetically speaking. If you’re in a relationship with someone here and they are not willing or able to move overseas long-term, are you willing to negotiate and be flexible. That’s a simple yes or no, I don’t know the specifics of your job, because you don’t share them with anyone, Lowell. But it’s something to consider. You’re the only one who can decide the rest. The only one who can decide what you want to do, where you want to go, who you want to be. I have wanted to leave you in the woods, drop you off at the bus station, put you on a boat and push it out to sea. But if there is one benefit to having a family like ours, it’s that you’re never alone, no matter what stupid choices you make. You can rest assured that your brothers have made their fair share.”
Liam arrived shortly thereafter. Lowell realized, listening to his inane high school chatter, he had been so preoccupied with being someone else’s little brother, that he had forgotten he was someone’s big brother.And you've done a piss-poor job of filling the role all these years.Trapp breezed through the door shortly thereafter, carrying their breakfast order, and Lowell was surprised by the addition of Jackson and Grayson a short while later.
Jackson had been at the house almost every night for the past two weeks, strategizing with Grayson, working on tells and beginning debate preparation. Lowell had initially panicked, wondering if his brother was going to hold his shifting allegiance against him, but he merely clapped him on the back, took his chair, and stole his beer.
“Rhonda, love of my life, please tell me you have my messages.”
Grayson sauntered to their father’s long-time assistant’s desk, and Jackson took advantage of his absence to swap seats. Some things would never, ever change, and Lowell realized how much he was going to miss all this.You can come back more often. You can visit in between jobs, instead of goofing off at home and doing nothing. You can text more, tell them what you’re doing and where you are.
“We have some excellent news to share this morning,” Jack announced, pulling Lowell’s attention for the moment. “And yes, mom already knows, so we’re not keeping her out of the loop.” He inclined a hand towards Liam, who was already beaming. Trapp raised his fists in triumph, already anticipating what their youngest sibling was about to announce.
“I got into my first choice,” Liam admitted, ears reddening as Trapp whooped. “I’ll be starting pre-med at Mercy in the fall.”
“I knew it! I knew you were going to make it. Just think, dad. Two Hemmings from the same generation doing med school at Mercy. One of us might actually wind up as a doctor!”
Lowell joined the laughter around the table, always relieved when he was not the butt of the joke, and Trapp had no problem being self-deprecating.
“Liam, I know you have years to work on this, and we will do our due diligence to ensure it doesn’t happen, but don’t be the gunner. Don’t be the fucking gunner. Write that down. Put it under your pillow. That’s the only thing I’m asking of you.”
Trapp laughed at Grayson’s words, nodding his head in agreement.
“We will kick your ass if you’re the gunner. Don’t worry, kid. We won’t let it happen.”
“If we’re sharing news, I have some as well.” Jackson cleared his throat and glanced around the table with a smile. “Mom doesn’t know yet, but we have a cake and a bracelet waiting for her at home when she and Jack come home from swimming today. But since we’re all here now . . . we’re expecting. Victoria is due at the beginning of summer, so congrats. You’re all going to be uncles. Again.”
Lowell felt his insides twist and bunch as the noise level in the room rose to what would be considered unacceptable if they were anywhere else. He hoped she would change her mind. He had a flash of himself making the same sort of announcement to his family, flush with the expectation that he too would be raising the next generation of Hemming werewolves, Moriah blushing prettily at his side, her hair burning like the sunset beneath the overhead lights at his parents’ house. He hoped she would change her mind about what she was doing, but he hoped she wouldn’t change her mind about him.
“Can youpleasehave a girl?” Trapp asked. “There is too much testosterone in this family. Is it too late to put in a request?”
“Liam,” Grayson began, over Jackson and their father, “let this be a lesson to you. It’s one some of us have already taken to heart. Clearly, it’s a lesson others have missed. Don’t ever take pull-out advice from a man with six kids.” Jack nodded grimly at Gray’s words, raising his Bloody Mary to clink against Grayson’s as the rest of the table laughed raucously once more.
“If we’re sharing news, I have some too,” Lowell blurted. There was no sense in pretending he didn’t know exactly what he needed to do.
He would miss them, but he was going to leave. He had known from the moment he’d listened to the message from his office, he realized.You already signed up for a broken heart, and now the universe is collecting.He couldn’t tell Moriah what to do, only what he hoped she would do.It’s up to her whether or not that’s going to happen.
“I, um, I got a call from my office. From the publishing group. Travel is starting to open up for nonhumans, and the airlines are all scheduling flights. I’ll be back to work in a few weeks.”
He wasn’t sure if he expected his brothers to cheer the news that he would be leaving again. Several beats of stunned silence met his announcement.
“Wow,” Trapp murmured. “I wasnotexpecting that.”
“Congrats, Lowell,” Jackson said seriously, eyebrows drawing together. “I know you’ve been eager to get back at it. Jack is going to miss you for sure.”
“We’re all going to miss you, Lowell. It’s been really nice having you home for a while.”
His throat closed at Trapp’s words, and the reminder of his nephew.
