his doorstep. At least it wasn't his father, he thought, stepping aside to let his sister enter.
“I don't have to ask if Tim's here,” Brenda said, tossing her thick brown bob away from her face to look at him. “I saw his SUV outside.”
“He's in the kitchen.”
“Dad said you refuse to help us talk Tim into going back to school.”
“As I've said to everyone who asked, it's none of my business whether Tim goes back to school. He's a grown man. It's his choice.”
“I wouldn't listen if he did try to nag me to go back,”
Tim said from the doorway. “Rick understands that I've made my decision and no one is going to talk me out of it. Not Dad, not Mom, and not you, Brenda. Would you listen if I tried to talk you into quitting medical school?”
“But you can't even tell us what it is you do want,” she argued passionately, her blue eyes glinting with a combination of frustration and concern. “What are you going to do? How are you going to support yourself?”
“I'll find a job swinging a hammer or flipping burgers, if I have to,” he retorted. “I'm not entirely incompetent, you know.”
“And you would be happier doing one of those things than going to law school?”
“I would be happier doing either of those things than going to law school,” he said, looking and sounding utterly sincere.
“And what about Mom and Dad? How are you going to make things right with them? You said some very harsh things to them when you walked out.”
“All I said was the truth. That they had no right to try to run my life. To choose my career, my friends, my future path. Maybe it works for you, but I need to control my own destiny.”
Taking offense, Brenda planted her fists on her slender hips. “I happen to like the career I've chosen. The fact that our parents approve of my choice doesn't mean they pressured me into it.”
“Fine. And they aren't pressuring me into anything, either.”
“Look, I know Dad can come across as domineering and intolerant, but surely you don't want to give up on your relationship with him.”
Tim gave a sullen shrug that was probably intended to mask any feelings of hurt or loss. “Why shouldn't I? It seems to have worked for Rick.”
“Don't pull me into this,” Banner said immediately. “I'm no role model. Whatever problems you have with your father have nothing to do with me.”
“'Your”' father,” Brenda repeated, turning on him now. “Can't you even acknowledge that he's
Banner shrugged. “He's the one who created that rift, when I made it clear that I make my own decisions.”
“And because you felt rejected by him, you've holed up here in your solitude and your surliness. Well, you know what, Rick? Tim and I never rejected you. It was the other way around. You make a big production of being the family outcast, but you're the one who pushes away everyone who tries to love you. Maybe that works for you, but I don't want Tim to end up alone and bitter. And I-”
Her voice broke, but she brought it under control long enough to finish, “I don't want to lose the only brother who ever loved me back.”
Tim's young face softened. “You know I love you, Brenda. This has nothing to do with my feelings for you, and I'm not going to let it put a rift between us.”
“I want you to be happy, Tim. And I don't want you to do anything you'll regret just to prove something to Dad.”
Tim put both hands on his sister's shoulders, looking down at her from his six-inch advantage in height. “I need you to trust me to know what's best for myself, Brenda. And I need you to support me in the choices I make. Just as I'll always support you in whatever you want to do.”
She sighed, her shoulders sagging a bit in surrender. “All right. If this is really what you want, I won't nag you anymore about it. But I do hope you try to keep the lines of communication open with the family.”
“As long as they give me the freedom to make my own decisions, I can deal with the other baggage. I'm not closing the door on the family, I just need a little space right now. Okay?”
She nodded. “Will you promise to let me know if you need anything? You can always go back to school if you change your mind, you know. Promise you won't let pride stop you from acting if you decide you made a mistake.”
Tim gave her a reassuring smile. “I promise-even though I know I'm not making a mistake.”
Banner watched as they hugged.
Biting her lip, Brenda turned to Banner after Tim released her. “I'm sorry about snapping at you,” she said, her tone stiff. “I was upset.”
“Forget it.”
She drew a deep breath, her shoulders held with rather defensive dignity. “I promised Tim I wouldn't nag him anymore. I'll give you the same courtesy. If you want me to leave you alone, I will.”
“I don't want you to leave me alone,” he answered gruffly, shoving his hands awkwardly in his pockets. “You're my sister, too, damn it.”
She caught her breath, her eyes suddenly shimmering with a hint of tears. “I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.”
He realized too late what he had triggered with his imprudent comment. He braced his feet as Brenda threw herself at him and locked her arms around his waist in a fervent hug. Awkwardly he patted her back.
Lifting her head, she gave him a tremulous smile. “I know you would rather be nibbled by ducks than be hugged by your sister, but I couldn't help it. That was such a sweet thing to say.”
Grumbling something incoherent in lieu of thinking of a real response, he stepped back and pushed his hands into his pockets again. And then he said, “Are you hungry? Tim and I were just having breakfast.”
“I'd take some coffee.”
“Rick makes really good coffee,” Tim offered, waving an arm toward the kitchen. “He's a great cook, actually.”
Something in the young man's voice made Banner remember what Lucy had said about Tim having a touch of hero worship for his older brother. That possibility made him so uncomfortable that he frowned as he led them into the kitchen.
“Good Lord. What is that?” Brenda asked, staring in disbelief at the beast waiting patiently by the back door.
“That's Banner's dog, Hulk,” Tim replied as Banner crossed the room to let the dog outside.
“Oh. Well, he's, uh…” Brenda's voice faded as she was unable to come up with an appropriate adjective.
“Ugly,” Banner supplied in resignation. “But he's a good dog.”
“I'm sure he is.”
“Lucy said he's not really ugly, he's just making a fashion statement,” Tim said with a grin.
Brenda looked at him in curiosity. “Who's Lucy?”
“Rick's girlfriend. Or, at least, she would be if he'd make half an effort to keep her.”
Pouring a cup of coffee for Brenda, Banner gave Tim a warning look. “Don't start.”
“What's she like?” Brenda asked Tim, probably knowing better than to ask Banner.
“She's great. Funny and warm and bossy and cheerful. She has a doctorate in mathematics but she looks like a college student. She looks at Rick the way a chocoholic gazes at a hot-fudge sundae. The way an astronomer studies a newly discovered galaxy. The way an art lover stares at an original Van Gogh found hidden in some old lady's attic. The way…”
“That's enough, Tim,” Banner growled, feeling his cheeks warm.
“I get the picture,” Brenda assured them. “I'd like to meet her sometime.”
“That,” Tim said with a look of bravado, “is entirely up to Rick, I think.”
“Drink your coffee,” Banner ordered with a touch of desperation.
He didn't believe for a minute that Lucy had looked at him the way Tim had described it, of course. Nor did he accept Brenda's accusation that he was the one who had been preemptively rejecting everyone for the past few years, rather than the other way around.
