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I look between the three of them, and Tasha holds her breath for a second before letting it out.
"She told us everything," Tasha breathes.
I growl. "Really, mom?"
"They're on your side," my mom calls with a chuckle.
"I was the one who brought it up," Tasha says. "I was just over at Sam's last night--she's been really depressed the past week and she told me something happened with some guy."
"And when Tasha mentioned it to me, I put two and two together," Chance says.
I scowl. "Y'all all suck at keeping secrets."
"We're rooting for you," Tasha says.
"So we've gone from ratting me out to all being on my side, huh?" I ask, giving my mom a dirty look.
She shrugs. "You shouldn't lie to the people you love."
"Youlove her?" Tasha gasps.
"Love, love!" Lyra laughs.
"I really like her," I say, shaking my head. "And now the secret's out...the whole family's gonna know."
"Our lips are sealed," Tasha says, but then I hear a voice from behind me.
"Who's in love?"
I turn and find my sister Sadie coming in with her husband and two kids, and I shake my head even more vigorously. "Jesus..."
"He has a thing for Sam," Chance says.
"Chance!" Tasha gasps, shoving him gently in the shoulder.
"...and he needs our help," Chance says. "Turns out our big brother doesn't understand romantic gestures."
"Hey, I don't have to tolerate this kind of slander from my younger siblings," I say, raising my hand.
"What kind of slander?" my brother Jesse says with a snicker, coming in behind Sadie. "I want in."
"It never stops," I mutter.
"Now, calm down," my mom says. "Let's all get to work preparing dinner and getting the kids settled, andthenwe can talk."
I sigh and follow my family into the kitchen, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sudden influx of people. But as we all begin to work together, chopping vegetables and setting the table, I feel a sense of comfort in our familiarity. I've been avoiding them for so long, thinking I was better off on my own...
...but I like it here.
Even if I didn't want to stay for Sam, I might want to stay anyway.
"So, what's the plan?" Sadie asks, settling into a chair with a glass of wine as the kids start chatting and eating at their own table. The only one still with us is Lyra--who could get me in a lot of trouble with Sam if she keeps yelling about love. "How are you going to win Sam over?"
"I don't know," I admit, feeling a twinge of anxiety in my stomach. "I don't have a good track record with this kind of thing."
"You don't have a track record at all," Jesse mutters.
His wife, Piper, nudges him. "Be nice."
